If you run mud tires you should rotate 5...if you ruin one tire after rest has noticeable wear, you should change all 4. If you rotate 5 and ruin one, you can switch to just rotating 4. This way you get as much life out of each tire.

 

Here was my thought process in the mix and have often wished I reconsidered. But, there are pros and cons on both side.

If you rotate the five:
Pros are- longer life, and saves your cash for a little longer (great if you save, invest or buy more goodies for your rig)
Cons are- cost more to replace when you need 5 new tires. But, I know many who will throw on a used tire for the spare.

If you rotate the four (not the spare):
Pros are- when you do need new, you can save some cash by using the spare and mounting a used tire as the spare. Buying just 3. It's far cheaper to mount, balance and pay for 3. If you run 35's, cheaper by about $400.
Cons are- if you want to run a different tire, like I do, you either buy 5 new tires and hopefully sell the spare (which few are interested), or sell it really cheap. Either way, cost you more in the long run.

I just might buy 3 new of the same tire I have now and on the next tire purchase, buy 5.

In hind sight, I think it's best to use all five in the life cycle of the set. If you figure, a tire that gets 50k miles, will extend the overall life of the 5 set by 10k miles or a little more.

 

Use all 5 if you get a flat in one then the tires should ride similarly if tread size is close

 

There is one reason not to and that is mud tires ware quick and do I want to buy 5 new or 4 new. I've got 20000 thousand on mine and did not rotate 5th and now I need 4 new ones and I still have a new spare so it gets put on the jeep and the new one goes on the back. All depends on how you look at it.

 

I agree!

 

Wow, 20K miles and you need to replace them... I would purchase a different brand next time. I have 47K on my Toyo Open Country MTs and can get at least another 12K.

Think about it this way, if you rotate 5 tires instead of 4 you should get 20% more tread life because of the extra tire. That gives you more time on this set and allows you to save up for the next set (at least that's what I do). I put a little back every month and when the next set is due I have cash to pay for them. As of January I will have 3 years on this set. If I can get 3 years on every set, I am good to go... that's like $50 a month to save for tires that around $1,800.

 

Taking the 4-tire rotation logic to it's most extreme...

If you want the least outlay per tire purchase, why not replace one tire every 10k miles? By the time you get to the 4th tire the first is ready to be replaced again!

Sure rotating 4 you will pay less to replace the 4 than 5 BUT rotating 4 will only give you 80% of the miles you would get rotating 5. That extra 20% miles saves you enough to pay for the 5th tire.

Besides, like JeepStin12 said, how many of us will want to re-shoe with the exact same make, model and size next time?

 

Stored tires deteriorate in time, more so an exposed spare on a Jeep. It may look new, but the compound becomes unreliable.

Rotating all 5, adds 20% to the overall mileage between replacements, and an unused spare shouldn't be driven on after 3 or so years anyway (depending on climate & conditions).

 

I have this taped inside my tool box, as well as a few other quick references. I like this rotation because all of the tires rotated face the opposite direction (opposite tread bite)