The AIR in your SPARE

Good advice!

 

In my now almost 4 year old 13' Avalon, I tried to check the spare air pressure but the tire is mounted in the trunk with the valve on the underside of the spare, I guess I'm going to have to lift the spare out, or at least turn it over to check the pressure. That is a PITA.

 

agreed. terrible design by toyota. i always check it before a trip. last weekend, before leaving for manhattan, i:

1) emptied the trunk

2) took out the carpet

3) took out the hardboard cover

4) unscrewed the spare

5) took out the spare

6) checked the pressure (which was spot on)

7) put the spare back in

8) screwed it back down

9) put the hardboard cover on

10) put the carpet back

11) put the junk back in the trunk

12)

 

Thanks for the list, I can't wait looks like it will be a lot of fun, almost as much fun as an oil change.

 

Toyota is not alone. ALL the auto manufactures do the same thing.

In higher end vehicles, spares are gone in the name of weight loss for fuel efficiency. Even non high end cars are loosing the spare too. This is the trend.

Is it that hard to check and fill, infrequently? For Gen2, this is probably a good thing due to the cracks near the hatch hinge on the roof, you will likley notice water entry.

$8 spare valve extender.

$30+ for 12V portable automobile air compressor.
Search your favorite shopping site. For those of you are near a Pepboys, Pepboys seems to always have a 12V air compressor on sale on Black Friday, for < $20. No need to camp out for this.

I personally feel every vehicle should have a 12V compressor, in addition to jumper cables.

 

why cannot the valve be up instead of down?

 

I guess it usually sticks out the convex side of the wheel, where it's easy to get to when you're using the spare.

And then I suppose they like to store the spare with that side down, so the space dished into the wheel is usable for storage ... of stuff like jacks and jack handles.

Or stuff like an air compressor ... then you just occasionally hear the spare bringing itself back up to 60 psi, but without having to dig stuff out of the back of the car.

-Chap

 

Yeah do tell: self monitoring the pressure?

 

Sure. The blue nylon hose seen wrapping around the tire to the underside ends in a Schrader fitting screwed onto the valve stem (which, as earlier remarked, is on the underside).

The black thing with blue label and wires attached where the hoses join is a pressure switch. (The relay is out of the picture, over by the battery.)

Harder to see in the pic, because of glare, in the end of that manifold pointing up-and-to-the-right (the opposite end from where the blue hose attaches) is a spring-action, overpressure relief valve, something you always want in such an arrangement in case the pressure switch or relay misbehave. I picked one for something not much above 60 psi, maybe 70.

I made the whole picture a link to an earlier post describing it more.

-Chap

 

spare tire is like health insurance. seems unnecessary until you need it.

 

I just put the spare and jack in a large trash bag behind the passenger seat and hold it in place with a bungee cord ... been there 2 years as the car is always loaded if I need it I don't have to unload a ton of crapolia

 

Grasshopper: "Yes Master"!

 

Spare? What's that ......
Yea - neither of the 2 cars we last purchased (new) even had spares. Not even the measly pathetic inexpensive donut types. That's the way many manufacturers are going nowadays.
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that's why we boyscouts carry one with us. the model 3 trunk should just fit a spare.

 

An update, I finally got around to checking the air in my spare on my almost 4 year old Avalon Hybrid. Total time, from in front of the TV to back in front of the TV 55 minutes. Had to empty the trunk completely (boy I keep a lot in the trunk, but I'm a golfer). Lift out the two mats, the cardboard cover, the cover with the jack stuff in it. Unbolt the spare, flip it over check the pressure (26lbs), inflate it to 59 pounds, then reverse the procedure after cleaning out the dust and dirt with a vacuum.
Think I'll make it a biannual event.

 

Many cars nowadays need to clear larger calipers & therefore need at least an 18"rim as a spare. That makes for a lot of room used up in your car. Found an 18" compact spare that folds down - & inflates with electric compressor fed from cigarette lighter. It's deflated size saves that needed trunk space. Watch from around the 1½ minute mark

Pretty sick !!
They make these for littler caliper cars as well. The other great thing about these is you don't have to worry if your spare tire is running low on pressure because you don't store air in the tire until you need it!

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Is there a version that fits the Prius bolt pattern?