Flat tire

From your description, I imagined it lying flat just like with the tire straps, just with DIY hardware. By your objection, you apparently mean some other way, but which way is still not clear.

Do you mean the tire is upright? If so, that is neither neat nor discrete as the tonneau cover could not be used.

I was trying to be helpful. I'm not sure where you are trying to go with this...

 

Toyota evidently had no "all purpose" viable and asthetically functional option for including the spare tire in the PIP. There does not appear an option for placing a spare tire that satisfies the particular use of an particular owner.

I don't own a PIP and don't know the how each owner uses their own car.

For most, having the tire mounted in the center of the cargo area with straps would not be viable, if the owner uses the cargo area at all.

Placing the tirs flat at either the right or left corner with a tire cover would still free up the major part of the cargo area for placement of flat boxes and grocery bags.

Fot those, who do not freqently carry more than one passenger in the rear seat, if the PIP is equipped, a discrete option, if possible, would be to place the compact spare in a cover vertically behind one of the back seats with the seat slid forward enough to accomodate the tire and back again to retain the tire.

In either option, a matching cover made of a carpet type of material would make it almost an asthetic looking install, if that.

 

Thanks for the comments anyone. It seems there are really only two possible solutions for carrying a spare in a plugin

1-strap/secure it down in the trunk verticle or horizontal. It will either block your tonneu cover from closing or eat up a good amount of your flat space.

2-place it in the cabin somewhere. This doesnt work for me since I have two car seats in the back.

Like the previous poster said, there is very little clearance under the rear to place the spare like that leaf owner.

I thought someone might have come up with an interesting solution, maybe carrying an even smaller spare that would fit the car?

 

Another possibility is getting a rear hitch and something like this:
TireGate.com - The Ultimate Spare Tire Carriers!

There may be another one that is better suited for the Prius and I would check that the rear hitch could support the weight, but if it all works out you can carry a spare tire without sacrificing any space.

 

It is what it is. Luscious Garage told me they buy their tire plug kits from this place:
http://www.blackjacktirerepair.com/index.asp?cat=10

 

There's something called an inflatable spare that would be more compact, but I don't know the details.

 

I would imagine that there are a lot of "trade secret" experimental "thin section" spares in development, that are lightweight and will not need air. I "flat" disk can still be made to clear the brake hardware with a thin tread and the same technology as the "run flat" insert and without air in the form of a foam core.

Until there is a public outcry on the "goo" and the inflator, and a mandate for a spare, they will not become widely produced and included with all vehicles. In quantity, they will not cost more and would cost about the same as the "donut" spare.

This spare can be made as thin as 2-3 inches and would fit between the batteries as the top cover of the cargo area.

It might, however, be required that it cannot be used on a "drive" wheel axle.

It might take a widely distributed publicity incident, where someone famous died for the lack of a spare in a remote area for a mandate.

It too bad that someone has to be "sacrificed" for certain improvement to take effect. TPMS came on new cars on account of the Firestone tire flaw.

 

I think for most people it's a non-issue. Tires are pretty reliable now. Get a can of fix-a-flat if you want, should plug it for a bit. Honestly now, when was the last time you had a flat tire? For me it was 1996. Then I had a slow leak in a tire about 2000, but I only got it plugged when I got tired of pumping the old bicycle pump to add in a few more pounds (started at needing topping off every other week, then once a week, then every few days, then I was motivated to get the tire fixed).

I've only changed a tire on the side of a road twice in 28 years of driving. And the first time was for a lady who was stranded on the side of the road, before the age of cell phones. So one time for myself in 28 years. Is it really worth the expense of hauling the weight of a spare tire all the time if it only happens once or twice in your life? Maybe so if you live in really remote areas, especially with extreme heat or cold, maybe then it's worthwhile to carry your own spare.

But soon, we probably won't ever need to worry about that - check out the 'tweel':

 

Are you thinking of something like this perhaps?

 

Haha, that certainly does fit the bill of a compact spare and will fit nicely in the plugin. But at the risk of looking like a 3rd world spare, I'll just stick with the inflatable kit.

The real reason I asked about the spare is that my wife was not too happy to hear the plugin doesnt have one. She would not have agreed to get the car if she knew beforehand. So I wanted to see what "spare" options are available. She had a tire blow out while on the freeway recently. A good samaritan helped her put on the spare and off she went.

 

It's like fire extinguishers and sprinklers when you are in a hotel or a large building.

You hope that you'll never ues them. But, you want them there.

 

This is interesting. You can even carry a spare gas tank with you. You may be able to drive 1000 miles using this system without having to stop at a gas station.