Freelander 1 Spare Wheel - Cover or not?

Juzza6720 · Mar 28, 2019

Took my cover off the spare wheel other day and it got me thinking whether to bother putting it back on...my other half says she thinks it looks better without it.

What's peoples views and are there any advantages / disadvantages or having one or not?

Old diver · Mar 28, 2019

Juzza6720 said:
Took my cover off the spare wheel other day and it got me thinking whether to bother putting it back on...my other half says she thinks it looks better without it.

What's peoples views and are there any advantages / disadvantages or having one or not?

Took mine off ages ago to rub down the brake light stem and repaint, there was a load of wet leaves and mud up the back of the wheel holder, so left it off. No more leaves and mud.

Nodge68 · Mar 28, 2019

I prefer to leave them off, and show off my lovely 18" spare.

trx · Mar 29, 2019

Yep leave it off looks better with a nice alloy on the back door, make sure theres a locking
nut on it way to easy to nick.
Dave

Rich in Vancouver · Mar 29, 2019

If you need one why not support Aussie tourism? The Northern Territory in particular.

https://ntunofficial.com/products/nt-wheel-cover
(Caution-This link could be considered rude so use discretion!)

Nodge68 · Mar 29, 2019

trx said:
make sure theres a locking nut

I've got 3 on mine!

saxavordian · Mar 29, 2019

Do you not run the risk of little cheeky Timmy sticky fingers deflating the spare. Also leaving exposed and unused to the sun would harden the rubber. Nowt wrong with covering and checking monthly when doing a vehicle inspection PETROL/DIESEL.

Old diver · Mar 29, 2019

saxavordian said:
Do you not run the risk of little cheeky Timmy sticky fingers deflating the spare. Also leaving exposed and unused to the sun would harden the rubber. Nowt wrong with covering and checking monthly when doing a vehicle inspection PETROL/DIESEL.

Ha ha ha, how we laughed over your comment about the sun hardening the rubber. We live in Scotland FFS!

Nodge68 · Mar 29, 2019

saxavordian said:
Do you not run the risk of little cheeky Timmy sticky fingers deflating the spare.

Never happened in 10 year's of Freelander ownership.

saxavordian said:
Also leaving exposed and unused to the sun would harden the rubber.

See above response.

baptista · Mar 29, 2019

still using 19 years old factory fitted Michelin spare,
owned it since 2008, never had a cover and only needed to use the spare once.

Dippypud · Mar 29, 2019

baptista said:
still using 19 years old factory fitted Michelin spare,
owned it since 2008, never had a cover and only needed to use the spare once.

UV will effect it, check regularly for cracking ... what the date code for it ?

Nodge68 · Mar 29, 2019

Dippypud said:
UV will effect it, check regularly for cracking ... what the date code for it ?

For new tyres from about 2010, then yes. But older tyres do seem to withstand UV much better than the newer tyres. I've still got tyres that have been in the sun/rain since 2004, which are currently showing no real signs of UV damage, except for a slight bloom on the parts exposed to direct sunlight.

I've also got tyres that are much newer, about 2013, which have started to show UV distress.

Dippypud · Mar 29, 2019

baptista said:
still using 19 years old factory fitted Michelin spare,
owned it since 2008, never had a cover and only needed to use the spare once.

The plasticisers are supposed to "settle" after about 5 years if you don't use them...

Once it's on a car in the wind/rain/cold/heat/sun then 5 years is the recommended limit...

baptista · Mar 29, 2019

Dippypud said:
UV will effect it, check regularly for cracking ... what the date code for it ?

has some cracking on side wall but can't seem to find facturing code, probably on the inside

Dippypud · Mar 29, 2019

baptista said:
has some cracking on side wall but can't seem to find facturing code, probably on the inside

Do you consider sidewall cracking to be 'safe' ?

Maybe at motorway speeds with the family in the vehicle ?

baptista · Mar 29, 2019

I'm not saying it is safe,
just saying in 11 years of ownership only had to use the spare once.
it drove about a mile to the nearest petrol station where I extracted a rusty nail out of the tire and used the puncture repair kit I carry in the boot to fix the puncture.

GrumpyGel · Mar 29, 2019

Dippypud said:
Do you consider sidewall cracking to be 'safe' ?

Maybe at motorway speeds with the family in the vehicle ?

As opposed to a silly little space saver or nothing provided by motor manufacturers these days?

I suppose the temptation is to use it without consideration, but if it is just used for an emergency to get you somewhere then complete integrity isn't an absolute.

Personally, I prefer having my Land Rover cover on - but that is falling to pieces now through UV and assisted by a Kea ripping it open!

Nodge68 · Mar 29, 2019

baptista said:
has some cracking on side wall but can't seem to find facturing code,

I'd replace any tyre that's showing cracking, regardless of date code.

Dippypud · Mar 29, 2019

GrumpyGel said:
As opposed to a silly little space saver or nothing provided by motor manufacturers these days?

I suppose the temptation is to use it without consideration, but if it is just used for an emergency to get you somewhere then complete integrity isn't an absolute.

Personally, I prefer having my Land Rover cover on - but that is falling to pieces now through UV and assisted by a Kea ripping it open!

That's the trouble though ... not everyone thinks before using a spare they've had sitting around ... we all done it ...now the manufacturers are side stepping the issue ... a friend wouldn't take her new vehicle without a full sized spare fitted on the carrier ...

Major Eazy · Mar 31, 2019

Juzza6720 said:
Took my cover off the spare wheel other day and it got me thinking whether to bother putting it back on...my other half says she thinks it looks better without it.

What's peoples views and are there any advantages / disadvantages or having one or not?

Does not make much different either way. All I can think of is...

Some claim that the sun's UV light will damage the spare tyre's rubber after many summers, but the 4 main tyres in use are exposed to the sun anyway. Although the 4 main ones are mostly covered by wheel arches and the ground, leaving the side exposed, the spare tyre on the back door is mainly totally exposed.

Sometimes it may help protect your tyre from people, someone letting the air out or slash it with a knife, but it is really pointless considering that they could still slash it anyway, by slashing through the cover. Unless you use one of the hard cover types, but it's bit expensive to buy.

Some may like to personalise their cars by using a personalise cover. You could use some graphics or text on the cover, it's only useful if you find it boring looking at the spare tyre every day, or if you're self employment and want to have your company name on the cover.

When I got mine second hand, it did not come with a spare tyre cover, either the previous owner didn't want it or lost it, I have no idea. But at moment, I'm thinking of having a go buying a cover, I need to put one on and see how I feel, so I could compare covered against uncovered, but unless I experience it for myself, all I can say is that it hardly make much difference.

Freelander 1 Spare Wheel - Cover or not?

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