full size spare for 4-touring?

I keep putting it off. That's what I do. I would like a compact spare but I don't want it to take up room in the back. The best solution would be to either cut a hole in the foam or purchase the foam inserts. But I keep putting it off.

 

If you have room under the deck in the cargo to accommodate a full size spare, yes that would be the best solution. Having a Prime without that space, I am keeping a full size spare at home. My driving consist of within 20 miles from home 99% of time. If I have a flat on a road, I will just call home to have my family bring a spare to me. For a long trip, I was planning to carry the full-size spare in already small cargo if I am worried about flat, but so far I haven't done that.

 

It's not really practical to haul a full size spare around all the time. However that doesn't mean it can't be useful. How you would use it depends on whether you are in town or on a trip.

In town - You would keep the full size spare stored in your garage or basement. If you get a flat you would attempt to patch it. If successful, then when you later go to get it permanently patched you would bring the full size spare with you in case you run into the same situation that you just did. However if you can't patch it you would call spouse, friend, Uber etc. to come get you so that you can go home and get your full size spare.

Trip - A full size spare is really nice to have on a long trip, because if you get a flat in the middle of nowhere and are unable to patch it, you can be really stuck. Even a donut spare can be problematic depending on how far away from home you are when you get the flat, as having to drive on a donut for hundreds of miles of Interstate is not a great situation.

Whenever you carry the full size spare be sure to lash it down securely as it would be a dangerous projectile in an accident.

EDIT - Well Salamander_King beat me by two minutes so you can ignore my post Except for the last sentence which is important.

 

Maybe you could check with @booke02 - I seem to remember that his car came with a full size spare. Maybe he might be willing to take a photo of the spare-tyre compartment for you to emulate.

Only thing is - the 17' without a donut has a lower floor than a 15" with donut - so you might have to change the floor?

 

Not sure if these photos help at all, but this is how my Prius was factory-configured with full-size spare. I think that the round piece that is sitting in the center of the spare is to provide support for the floor that sits over the top of it.

 

Thanks for that!!!!

Looking at the rim and tyre - is it the same size as the alloy wheels on the car? It looks like it's a steel rim?

 

I am embarrassed - it is just dirty. The spare is the same size as the the other 4 wheels. It is also alloy, not steel.

 

amazon.com/CURT-31006-Hitch-Mounted-Spare-Mount/dp/B0009YIE1O

 

makes it tough to get in and out of the back.

 

I wondered about one of these if I were to go long distance travelling into remote areas. But we don't have provision for a tow bar and I was told that it's not compliant for towing.

When I had my first VW Microbus, I converted it for camping and hung the spare at the front - but that hasn't go a door in the way.

 

Do note that the "D" ring tie-downs are in the hatch of the "hatchback Prius", even if you don't have a spare with your model. Be sure to use those if you decide to place a spare wheel/tyre in there. Don't want that spare flying around in the car in the event of an accident!

 

Gen 4 is the only UK Prius that is compliant for towing, towing capacity 725 kg (1598 lb) under vehicle specifications in the manual.

 

When I looked a few days ago, they seem to have withdrawn that explicit compliance notice. I didn't car it down to verify, but the page in was on showed Max towing weight 'zero'.

 

Once in a while I'm driving with four rims with mounted tires in the back, loose, coming home from the tire shop. It does cross my mind that I better take it easy.