Tires again

[billdor]

I hope i'm not beating a dead horse here but I have heard a lot about tire age and that you should replace them after 7 or 8 years regardless of the mileage but what about the spare? If the spare tire has not been used and has been covered (out of the sun) should it still be replaced along with the rest of the tires?

[Ray,IN]

This is why it is important to rotate the "spare" along with the tires on the ground. You have a spare that may have some dry-rot even though it has never been on the ground. This is also the main reason todays autos come with a "doughnut" spare that costs much less than your operating wheels, and is designed only to get you to a tire shop safely.
I guess that's the long way to say, IMO yes the spare should also be replaced along with the used tires. Now if it had been stored in a dark climate-controlled place, uninflated, it would last a lot longer.

[vsheetz]

I think a minority of Motorhome owner rotate their tires at all, much less to include a mounted spare if they have one. I know I don't rotate. I do maintain a spare tire, which I replace when the other tires have aged out.

[asuperheat]

Spare? I don't have a spare.

Yes they go bad just sitting there. It needs to be changed also. It won't be safe to run if it is aged out and probably will fail before you get to your destination.

I know a guy that had one explode under his RV, it never was on the ground.