I agree, funny how it something doesn't happen to someone..then it must not happen to anyone. Krawler is not a good daily driver tire, which is what the majority here do. *hit happens..

Run a spare.

 

Oh please. Do you guys honestly think that we blindly jumped on some of the hardest trails in the country without giving a thought to what equipment would be required to get from end to end? The decision to stop running a spare didn't come lightly, it came from experience.

I've torn lots of tires... MT/Rs, BFG MTs, etc.... but they were all conventional radials. Once I made the jump to a tire that was designed for rocks failures went to zero and stayed there. Its not like I was the lone wolf running around without a care in the world, either. There are whole stack of folks that run hard trail with the equipment it takes to get from end to end... and that doesn't necessarily mean a spare tire. I can plug a sidewall tear and carry the tools to do so. Changing a tire on some trails isn't always safe or possible.

I realize that this flies in the face of the 'conventional wisdom'. But parts can be upgraded to the point of no failure. 60s... Atlas... 1350 driveshafts... beadlocks... and ultimately tires. If you build the car RIGHT failure doesn't happen unless you're being eggregiously careless or just plain unlucky.

 

Failure can happen to anything. I understand your point of view Seth and Goody.

What matters is the driver themself feels comfortable with what he's running. If Seth says his rig is bulletproof, then it's bulletproof in his hands. If Goody drove Seth's rig in his own style, never know about snapping a 60 or puncturing a Krawler. Etc...

My friend had a '69 bronco with 44s front and rear with 35" tires. He wheeled everywhere without a problem. He had the axles built, etc.. and on ONE trip, I snapped the front axle like a toothpick - literally. Wish I had a pic! Damned farmer put concrete blocks inside the mud to deter us wheelers, and it worked... (I was 18)

 

And for the guys itching to flame, let me add:

Life is about compromise. I run a compromise tire on my JK (KM2 WITH a spare) b/c it doesn't see enough dirt to require a better, tougher tire.

I'm not advocating pitching the spare for everyone. If you're running a conventional radial, a spare is a great idea. You're probably going to need it at some point.

My point is ease up on the guys that don't run them. A spare isn't mandatory if you have the right tires. The preaching of YOU MUST HAVE A SPARE OR YOU'RE GONNA DIE AND YOUR FRIENDS WILL HATE YOU FOREVER is just wrong.

 

I just throw my spare in the back when i go off roading!

 

Dang Renzo that is a super clean look. I like that break light.

 

You guys do whatever you want, I think the jk looks good without a spare on the back, but....That being said, I have a spare. My jk is my daily driver and having a spare is one less thing that I have to worry about. I have onboard air and a tire plug kit too. I carry enough tools in the back to disassemble my jk and also work on houses. Having a spare is Common Freakin Sense, mostly all vehicles come from the factory with one, duhhhh, (except for those high$$cars with the fancyfixaflat). If your running a trailored rig, by all means, go for it. I'm sure you can find someone on the trail to drag you back to the trailor.

 

wow this looks awesome.... how did you do that brake light??

 

how did you do that brake light ya

 

I took my spare off a couple months ago. Does it look good? Not in my opinion. But I work within 10 miles of my home, and most of my weekly driving is within Boulder so for that I'd rather not hang a heavy 35" on the tailgate. I did leave the stock carrier on so when I travel farther or head into the mountains I can throw the spare on. If all goes well I'll have a tire carrier bumper setup in the next month or so



Sorry for the crappy cell pic, snapped it this morning on the way to work.