Any range gain within spare removed?

[21st Century Truck]

Full sized. Stock replacement wheel and tire from factory

Ah, that explains it. My spare has different tire numbers. Thanks!

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[csukoh78]

Some one should make a aero cover for the rear and any open spots in the front.

Thought about it.

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

I have a couple of thoughts on that… I don't think it will help. Yes it will be easier to access but how often do you have a flat tire and need to use the spare?

cons: occupies the bed, it's exposed to the sun and will get dry rot, you're carrying the same amount of weight, and it makes the area behind the axles much rougher with a big hollow empty space that would act like a parachute aerodynamically.

Oh, I not concerned about weight, I just want ease of access and I have a tent over my bed, and the last time I got a flat I wished it was in the bed where its empty 99% of the time.

 

[citengr]

I know it doesn't remove much weight but it surely affects aero. Anyone remove their spare and test to see if there is any potential to gain a little range? Understand the "no spare is not smart" debate and I am good with not having a spare tire....

About 10% better by removing both the spare tire and tailgate. The weight of my 2023 XLT dropped from 6100 to 5960#. For those who don't know, 6000# is a magic number tax-wise in California. Instead of 2-2.3 miles/Kwh, I got 2.3-2.5 MKH. The catch is that the 360 camera will not work. BTW, the rim and tire of the spare are not the same as the regular tires.

Also, just a reminder to all readers, put a chain to lock your spare. Somebody stole my spare from 1999 F150 by cutting the cable.

 

[csukoh78]

About 10% better by removing both the spare tire and tailgate. The weight of my 2023 XLT dropped from 6100 to 5960#. For those who don't know, 6000# is a magic number tax-wise in California. Instead of 2-2.3 miles/Kwh, I got 2.3-2.5 MKH. The catch is that the 360 camera will not work. BTW, the rim and tire of the spare are not the same as the regular tires.

Also, just a reminder to all readers, put a chain to lock your spare. Somebody stole my spare from 1999 F150 by cutting the cable.

Aerodynamics are *much* worse with the tailgate removed. This has been well known for quite a while, MythBusters even did an episode on it.

 

[RickLightning]

About 10% better by removing both the spare tire and tailgate. The weight of my 2023 XLT dropped from 6100 to 5960#. For those who don't know, 6000# is a magic number tax-wise in California. Instead of 2-2.3 miles/Kwh, I got 2.3-2.5 MKH. The catch is that the 360 camera will not work. BTW, the rim and tire of the spare are not the same as the regular tires.

Also, just a reminder to all readers, put a chain to lock your spare. Somebody stole my spare from 1999 F150 by cutting the cable.

Yeah, no. As was just posted, removing the tailgate loses range.

Ah, California. Paradise. Where people steal spares...

 

[PreservedSwine]

Just an FYI: I’ve used the Jack three times now, and it’s worked great every time. The only issue I had was wrapping it back up in the sack, I have no idea if I’m pointing it the right direction when I put it back.

 

[Zprime29]

Just an FYI: I’ve used the Jack three times now, and it’s worked great every time. The only issue I had was wrapping it back up in the sack, I have no idea if I’m pointing it the right direction when I put it back.

Mine is still in the bed cuz I'm too lazy to wind it back closed.

 

[21st Century Truck]

Not sure exactly how much improvement I got, but I feel the underside is quieter and the airflow is definitely smoother by putting a hard plastic cover on the spare. Looks better from the rear too.

Don't remove the spare, aero will be significantly worse. Bumper would act like a parachute. Best to smooth the air with this since weight isn't a big consideration.

This one fits perfect and I've had zero issues for a year now.

Hummer H3-33" Rigid Tire Cover (Plastic Face & Vinyl Band) - Black Textured
https://a.co/d/5vjUYAW

I intend to keep this truck over 100,000 miles (maybe "forever" haha) and I tend to travel all over the USA so I just got this Hummer spare wheel cover for my extra (5th) regular OEM spare wheel I got off EBay.

I figure if it saves "only" 0.1 kW over my usual kW use, over the life of the truck it'll more than pay for itself... not to mention the residual potential range flexibility gains on long trips. Really, any electricity it saves because of smoother underbody aerodynamics = a good gain for our flying brick truck.

It's well made and it does look good. It just came in today.

 

[csukoh78]

I intend to keep this truck over 100,000 miles (maybe "forever" haha) and I tend to travel all over the USA so I just got this Hummer spare wheel cover for my extra (5th) regular OEM spare wheel I got off EBay.

I figure if it saves "only" 0.1 kW over my usual kW use, over the life of the truck it'll more than pay for itself... not to mention the residual potential range flexibility gains on long trips. Really, any electricity it saves because of smoother underbody aerodynamics = a good gain for our flying brick truck.

It's well made and it does look good. It just came in today.

Glad you like it. I just looked under the truck at mine and it still looks brand new. Over 15,000 miles now. You don't realize how ugly the spare is from the back until it's protected with a cover

 

[21st Century Truck]

Not sure exactly how much improvement I got, but I feel the underside is quieter and the airflow is definitely smoother by putting a hard plastic cover on the spare. Looks better from the rear too.

Don't remove the spare, aero will be significantly worse. Bumper would act like a parachute. Best to smooth the air with this since weight isn't a big consideration.

This one fits perfect and I've had zero issues for a year now.

Hummer H3-33" Rigid Tire Cover (Plastic Face & Vinyl Band) - Black Textured
https://a.co/d/5vjUYAW

So I mounted this Hummer spare wheel cover on my spare full-size, full-function wheel & tire back in September.

I did observe about a .1kW .1 kWh efficiency gain overall since then.

We had a very dry Fall here in Virginia this year, until the past week+. Lots of cold rain on the wet roads since Thanksgiving.

Today, a sunny day, I got under the rear of the Lightning to replace a faulty Diode Dynamics hitch light harness. I lowered the spare wheel for more access.

I then realized that the spare wheel Hummer cover was significantly filled with water. It's obvious on reflection: the spare wheel cover is a hard plastic dish.

I dumped the about half gallon of nasty water out and drilled 11 holes with a 3/8 drill bit... roughly one every 10 inches or so. I drilled these drain holes right on the edge of the cover's lip, at an angle and didn't need to pull the cover off of the spare wheel to do this. BTW the truck's PowerPro bed receptacles came in very handy for this job.

No need for our Lightnings to carry around a half gallon of nasty water down there, or a potential ice block during Winter, for those of us who bought the spare wheel cover.

Pix attached.

 

[Maquis]

I did observe about a .1 kW efficiency gain overall since then.

What does this mean? How can efficiency be measured in KW?

 

[csukoh78]

So I mounted this Hummer spare wheel cover on my spare full-size, full-function wheel & tire back in September.

I did observe about a .1 kW efficiency gain overall since then.

We had a very dry Fall here in Virginia this year, until the past week+. Lots of cold rain on the wet roads since Thanksgiving.

Today, a sunny day, I got under the rear of the Lightning to replace a faulty Diode Dynamics hitch light harness. I lowered the spare wheel for more access.

I then realized that the spare wheel Hummer cover was significantly filled with water. It's obvious on reflection: the spare wheel cover is a hard plastic dish.

I dumped the about half gallon of nasty water out and drilled 11 holes with a 3/8 drill bit... roughly one every 10 inches or so. I drilled these drain holes right on the edge of the cover's lip, at an angle and didn't need to pull the cover off of the spare wheel to do this. BTW the truck's PowerPro bed receptacles came in very handy for this job.

No need for our Lightnings to carry around a half gallon of nasty water down there, or a potential ice block during Winter, for those of us who bought the spare wheel cover.

Pix attached.

Perfect. Nice catch. I'll check mine tomorrow. Thanks.

 

[21st Century Truck]

What does this mean? How can efficiency be measured in KW?

It means I was typing it on a small screen on a windy driveway

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