I have three vehicles.  One is the camper.  That I keep 5 excellent tires on, and maintain a 5 tire rotation.  That way, I can venture across country without worry, and even into some fairly remote locations.  One is a Toyota Prius.  That one I keep 4 excellent tires on, and the crappy compact spare that came with it.  So, that one gets a 4 tire rotation.  That one I can also go across country with, but not much to back road locations.  I need to be able to drive the compact spare to a service location, and the road can't be real rough.  The third is an old Honda Accord, 200K miles.  I just drive it around town, not even on freeways.  That one I have tires that still have good tread, and a spare that will get me to a service location, but that will generally be within a mile.  I only drive it around 3K miles a year, and at this point with the tires on it, rotation seems moot.   But for the camper, for sure, 5 tire rotation and keep that spare in service.

mcneely

---- David M <covrambles@YAHOO.COM> wrote: 
> I always seem to replace my tires in pairs. Whenever I've bought a 
vehicle it always has 2 good tires and 2 not so good, so I always seem 
to replace the 2 bad ones first whereas the others last a few more 
years. I cant see throwing 2 good tires away just to replace all 4. Thus
 I never do a 5-tire rotation. The most I ever do is front to back on 
the same side as I've been told never to change the direction of 
rotation. Oh and the spare is always crap so I usually replace it with 
the best take-off. I do agree though that when tires wear out its nigh 
impossible to find the same brand and model again.
> 
> --- On Sun, 3/6/11, John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET> wrote:
> 
> From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
> Subject: Re: 5 tire rotation 
 was: How to get spare tire out
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Date: Sunday, March 6, 2011, 7:14 PM
> 
>   My experience with tires demands that I buy five of the same size and
> type, every time I buy tires. Why? Well for the last 5 times that I have
> bought tires - the tire type on the van was no longer in production.
> When a tire would go bad for whatever reason, and have to be replaced -
> I could not get a matching tire anywhere. So, in self defense, I started
> buying my tires in sets of 5 and rotate religiously, bringing the spare
> on board one the left rear, and bringing the right front to the spare
> location.
> 
> Just me.
> 
> John
> 
> John Rodgers
> Clayartist and
 Moldmaker
> 88'GL VW Bus Driver
> Chelsea, AL
> Http://www.moldhaus.com
> 
> 
> On 3/6/2011 12:48 PM, A PETER MARSH wrote:
> > This the reason I am trying to buy FIVE
 tires for my renovation.
> >
> > Peter Marsh
> > Naples
> >
> > On Mar 6, 2011, at 11:59 AM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
> >
> >> I am curious as to why folks would not include the spare in the rotation.  That is obvious for cars with compact spare tires,
 but with a regular, full size spare like we have with the Vanagon's 
.......... why?  I can see why some might not for cars that they just 
drive in town, where a spare might be expected only to serve to get from
 home to a tire shop.  Buying only four tires at a time is cheaper than 
buying five at a time.  But if one drives a vehicle on long distance 
trips, and especially if one ventures out to remote locations, having a 
capable spare is a necessity.
> >>
> >> Help me out here.  mcneely
> >> ---- Edward Maglott<emaglott3@GMAIL.COM> 
 wrote:
> >>> I haven't done it 5 tire style since about 1983.  Anybody else
> >>> including the spare in their rotation?
> >>> Edward
> 
> 
> 

--
David McNeely