Spare Tyre Cover; Yay or Nay

[RisingSun]

Do you use a spare tyre cover?

What is the thought process / evidence behind your decision?

[ADMIRAL]

Out of sight out of mind- hopefully reducing the temptation for light fingers.

Protecting the tyre from UV - no idea why I bother, as the other 4 on are rims and also cop a dose of daily UV.

Advertising - either the vehicle or a business, as a favour or as payment for services rendered.

Works for me. I don't feel like I am justifying the use of a cover.

[loanrangie]

When i bought my disco i think it was the first thing i removed but its back on now because my spare has bugger all tread and doesnt look so good.
But it will come off tomorrow because it wont fit a 32"tire.

[TeamFA]

I'm interested in people's thoughts on this.

We have some fairly big tyres - Mickey Thompson MTZ 35 x 12.5 R15, as fitted when we bought her.

We haven't been able to find a tyre cover that will fit, though half of us think it would be a good idea to have one - UV and general weather exposure being the primary concern.

We're going to have to replace the 4 used tyres shortly, and it was my plan to utilise the unused spare on the road, with a new as the spare.

I would think doing this each tyre change would mimimise the effect of exposure to the spare.

[DiscoMick]

Not currently, because the covers I have won't fit the larger tyres, but I have in the past.

[Phil HH]

When I bought my Disco recently it had a cover advertising a now-defunct Land Rover dealer (where, incidentally, I bought my RRC 29 years ago). It also came with a cover advertising the dealership that it came from.
It is currently wearing one advertising Asquith and Johnson, an even longer-defunct dealer. This is because of the way Richard Asquith helped me when I was shopping for a RRC, even though he knew that I would not be buying from him.
My feeling on dealers' tyre covers, number plate surrounds, stickers, etc. is that it is all advertising. If the dealer makes it worth your while, OK, if not then rip the damn things off.
Otherwise, covers are just cosmetic. I like them, and will eventually get a plain one.

[sam_d]

I don't use a cover any more.

The main reason for this is that if it is a tight fitting cover and you are cold, wet, muddy and ****ed off because you've got a flat, trying to remove the cover is just one more annoyance you don't need.

[Hay Ewe]

Yes
to protect from the UV and weather
the road tires are mostly shaded, get run almost daily and so the effects are negliagble.
Did have a stainless steel one (with no key) that I removed because that was not practible, prefer the vynil ones.

as for advertiseing - agree - if the people advertising are with you and help, sure, if not stuff 'em!

Hay Ewe

[loanrangie]

I'm interested in people's thoughts on this.

We have some fairly big tyres - Mickey Thompson MTZ 35 x 12.5 R15, as fitted when we bought her.

We haven't been able to find a tyre cover that will fit, though half of us think it would be a good idea to have one - UV and general weather exposure being the primary concern.

We're going to have to replace the 4 used tyres shortly, and it was my plan to utilise the unused spare on the road, with a new as the spare.

I would think doing this each tyre change would mimimise the effect of exposure to the spare.

I rotate my spare with the others as its no point having 1 brand new tire sitting there then all of a sudden you have 4 worn and i new tire, rarely have i ever replaced a tire same for same.

[Gerokent]

Nay, they get full of dust and crudd, hard to get off and back on, and if you put a blown tyre on the carrier, the cover wont fit anyway, it ends up in the back of the car making everything dirty.
P.I.T.A in my opinion

[TeamFA]

I rotate my spare with the others as its no point having 1 brand new tire sitting there then all of a sudden you have 4 worn and i new tire, rarely have i ever replaced a tire same for same.

I forgot about that. That was actually my plan for the new set of tyres, it just slipped my mind.

When we got the car the tyres had never been rotated (at least including the spare), so there was a substantial difference in tread depth between the spare and all of the others, making including it in the rotation a bit dodgy.

[loanrangie]

I forgot about that. That was actually my plan for the new set of tyres, it just slipped my mind.

When we got the car the tyres had never been rotated (at least including the spare), so there was a substantial difference in tread depth between the spare and all of the others, making including it in the rotation a bit dodgy.

Nothing dodgy about, i just chuck in on the left rear first off.

[slug_burner]

I think you will find that the recommended rotation of radial tyres is a 4 tyre pattern with the back and front tyres swapped, keeping them on the same side of the car (same direction of rotation).

I use a cover on my Disco but don't have one on the Defender. If I could get a reasonable one for the defer I would do so. The tyre stays a lot cleaner with less carbon black coming off onto you hands due to UV breaking down the surface.

[ATH]

I've got one on the back of the Deafener with a rude message to the retailer of our van.....and when the vans on the back the cover goes on that.:D
I usually use one as they supposedly keep the tyre in better condition anyway.
AlanH.

[Jeff]

I use one to protect the tyre, but you tend to neglect checking the tyre pressure when you do the others because of the cover.

I got two covers made to cover Mini 10 inch wheels on my trailer, about $50 each from an upholsterer. I am thinking of getting one made when I get a spare 33/12.5-15 on the back.

Jeff

:rocket:

[Fat Smurf]

We use one to protect our spare tyre and never rotate them because as Slug Burner mentioned the tyre rotation pattern is either front to back or diagonal depending on the manufacturer.

We've also got a generic "Land Rover" logo one so we can rub it into all the other drivers that we have one and they don't :banana:

[Reads90]

Have one on each of the cars

Good quality ones from a Uk Landy garage

But put on as I think it makes then look tidy and also for me the garage where mine come from have southampton on which is where I am from and the company that redid and rebuilt the 90.

They just send me new ones if I buy a new car or damage one.

[Eevo]

i got a cover with the flap to push rubbish in.

highly recommend it for any trips away

[Bushie]

Don't use one, used to have one when new but can't remember what happened to it.

Rotate tyres, and now it's not a daily driver so spends a lot of time under cover locked up.

I did however think it was a pain in the arse to get on and off.

Martyn

[worane]

I use a plain black one form auto barn. Don't like to see crooked signs on the back. It does not need any special care when putting it on.

[loanrangie]

Rotating just 4 of 5 identical tires doesnt make sense, only reason i wouldnt rotate a spare is if its one of those ****y space savers.

[Reads90]

I use a plain black one form auto barn. Don't like to see crooked signs on the back. It does not need any special care when putting it on.

To be honest that is a pet hate of mine.

[numpty]

I have one on the Defender. It makes the rear look tidy in my opinion and also protects from UV for what that's worth.

Bought from MR in Bris and it is a good fit and not difficult to get on or off.

[zulu Delta 534]

I used one for a couple of years many years back. It was good for advertising (we had a Company back in those days), and also extremely useful for picking up bull dust and water, which after a while made an interesting mixture which I am sure would/could have been useful for something had I thought about it a bit longer.
They are handy though in the case of a flat tyre in murky country as they offer a contained dry spot to put the removed road wheel nuts during the change, and this can be pretty important especially considering the fact that LRs don't have hubcaps fitted for just this purpose.
As a down side I feel that the tyre being covered neatly out of sight (no one really recognises what that big round vinyl bag covers apparently) it tends to put the spare subconsciously out of sight and mind when tyre pressure checks/top ups come into play.
In my mind they really don't serve any real useful purpose at all apart from making ones pride and joy look more attractive, and really, with a recreational 4x4, isn't that the whole point?
Regards
Glen

[POD]

I put a couple of brand-new spares on the rear of the vehicle prior to a trip a few years back, I bought a couple of $5 vinyl tyre covers so that there wasn't such an obvious temptation for thieves. Too easy to steal $450 worth of tyres without even having to jack up the vehicle, best out of sight. They also got full of that muddy bulldust mixture that ZD mentioned, would have been much cleaner changing a tyre without the cover.

[ATH]

I'm like others and won't have adverts or silly signs on the back of my vehicle. Apart of course for my message re the seller of our van and his crap service.
I rotate all 5 tyres in the pattern recommended by BFG....I think.... and that ensures the wear over all 5 so if I want to change brands at least I won't have one still not worn.
AlanH.

[trav 110]

No i don't have one, simply because car never had one on when i purchased it, and never thought about it....

[d2dave]

I have one as it was on both my disco's when I got them. The one on my D1 is now gone as it became brittle on the top. My D2 has a dealer ad on it but it is keeping the UV's off the tyres.

I will be going to bigger tyres soon so it wont fit, but I will be after another, mainly for the purpose of UV damage. Had not thought about the theft issue, but it does make good sense.

I am hoping Dave might do another run of AULRO ones.

[DiscoMick]

None of my covers will fit my 245/75/16 tyres. And in previous experience they used to fill up with crud and leaves, which would rot.

[Cobber]

Not for me. I understand some of the benefits of having them, but I've never once wished I had one.