yes..i have seen many vans that still had the original 15-20-25 year old
spares under the front..  all dryrotted of course..   once i went to pick up a
van..  it had a flat... i didnt have a spare with me, so i had to use the van's
spare..which was an original C rated Continental and had never been out of the
carrier or even seen pavement.. still had the little nibs on the tread...  it
had been in there so long the steel rebar had left rust marks and indentations
into the rubber and the top part of the wheel was filled with dirt and
stones...     i got 5 miles with that spare before it grenaded at 65mph on the
freeway, the slinging rubber bending the rear 1/4 body panel behind the
wheelwell...causing the van to fishtail in-tow.  not fun.   had to unload off the dolly
on the side of the interstate, (in the dark, of course) and  use one of the
front tires on the back..mounting the blown to smithereens spare back on the
front and ratcheting the tie downs all the way down over the bare rim..

definately check your spare tires..  an original 20 yr old Conti is NOT
something to be proud of.. :<)

chris