The Nitto 295/70-18 (34.3x11.7) Fits in Spare Tire Well (LONG)

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Expedition Dave

Full Access Members
Joined
Jun 7, 2020
Posts
576
Reaction score
269
Location
A Tiny Little Dot in Florida
The Nitto 295/70-18 (34.3x11.7) Fits in the Factory Spare Tire Well!

BACKGROUND:

My very willing local, intrepid, fearless 'mech signed on for the experiment.

Just prior to my project, I procured an additional factory FX4 rim to fit Nitto #5. I wanted to have a full size-spare with me at all times when driving any substantial distance. Plugging is easy, but I have had catastrophic tire failures in the past making the tire repair impossible. I wanted a real option that would do more than allow me to "limp home" when home for me may be hours or days away. Remember your spare only matches factory height, is not the same width or rim diameter--so you can forget about a clean swap even at a tire place. This problem compounds when you have 35, 34s and 33s and your spare is a 17 inch 265/70-17 32 inches tall. YMMV.

Besides, during a Zombie Apoc, when they see you on your little donut rim, by default you are now the slowest gazelle ;-)

INSTALL:

At first blush, the tire would only fit slanted nose down at the kind of angle where it would catch on nearly everything it tried to crawl over like a snowplow. That was a 'no go' so I asked about deflating it which was tried, buying more room. While it was even now, it still hung too low.

My 'mech finally got the idea to un-clip the electric brake module and this freed up enough room to get it wedged snugly up into the frame (pics below).


full?d=1616919330.jpg


At this point, it is not necessary to do anything else with it as it is well secured at other points and resting on part of the tire and not at risk of rubbing on a sharp corner and shorting. This will be a point to keep and eye on, just in case. A few lashes of electrical tape maybe as needed, if needed.

AS FITTED
:

OLD Factory Goodyear 265/70-17 Spare:


39220-4163d2ae3225cb2d5bb3cf9d6b3660c9.jpg



39219-fede6a0a7695d15a097b3737c2efa46e.jpg



39218-65aab0b2101a7cada7420a9cef952fd8.jpg



39217-98dfa874b7eddfe9daa59eec9d9c0131.jpg




NEW Nitto 295/70-18 Spare:


Tow Hitch:
39400-1c07f1ceecf1a5d83f6d868573a33d4b.jpg


Frame Side:

39406-1882c79926534c67c06f431d89f4fb6b.jpg


Cross member, facing front by diff:
39405-52757ce033248cc6a94092dc1147ddc0.jpg


Heat Shield:
39403-dd644eda5c7c7c009600a30399b53dc4.jpg



Heat Shield:
39402-d4083ea51b63854f562a9b709ad2bdb2.jpg


Heat Shield:
39401-5684dc900ba798c955e0861ba4e9ca94.jpg



I have only a slight concern for the bead on the deflated spare--I would of like a few pounds of air in their but considering (if you review my measurements when the tire is off the rim and un-inflated, you can see an aired tire grows almost .70 taller and wider). The 'mech thinks it will hold for many years w/o drying out. Besides, I know a few tricks ways to make a field expedient bead if necessary. At worst, I will always have a 100% matching tire to remount if necessary at the local "mule and fuel" even if far away from home.

Still, at next visit, I will engage him in a reattempt to fit it with maybe 5 PSI just for my peace of mind and some strips of electrical tape.

Adding the bigger spare does look like a slight bit of departure angle was lost--as the factory spare tucks better b/c it is thinner (10.5 inches) than even the already too thin stock tires (11 inches). So the fatter Nitto, even un-inflated is still a bit thicker.

Before:

full?d=1616924944.jpg


After:

full?d=1616924452.jpg


So yes, it appears the spare sits maybe a half/to full inch lower than the factory spare? (the spare seems to sit a lot lower when you actually get under the truck, as seen in the first pic)

Still, I'd rather have the spare rim and tire smack an object before the edge of the factory bumper--which would just rip off. Further, I have no fear of the internal, factory spare tire winch failing, because the steel rim spare and tire is very HEAVY. The aluminum FX4 rim (31lbs). with Nitto (50.6 lbs) should weigh approximately 82lbs--probably about equal. I would of weighed these myself, but my fancy-pants scale is glass and don't want it cracking just for you bums :p

Final thoughts? It worked for me. Anything you do to these vehicles comes with risk, and if you are running any other tire than mine--chances are good it may not fit especially if you are wider (12.5s come to mind), on wider rims (mine are still 8.5 inch) or if your tire is more square shouldered (Nittos on the smaller rim are pretty rounded), or in the LT category (maybe harder to squish, even deflated). Further, the extra weight (some tires alone weigh as much as my rim and tire combined) could potentially cause failure of the cable and mechanism. Size could force the tire too low to the ground as well. To have that fail and drop at highway speeds--or dislodge during an accident--would be catastrophic.

All things to consider whenever you choose to mod these things, on any level. Justy some lawyerly advice :)

Stay safe!
 
Last edited:

JamaicaJoe

Full Access Members
Joined
Dec 20, 2020
Posts
628
Reaction score
239
Location
Oviedo FL
Carry a packaged tire tube in case your efforts at forcing the bead to seat fail. You might find the tire accumulates a lot of sand rocks and water over time. You will have to wipe that all out before airing up.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
 
Top