Will Aftermarket Hitch Fit with 35" Spare Tire on a 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup

Updated 05/05/2025 | Published 11/12/2020

Question:

Hi, does a 35” spare tire still fit with this hitch? Judging by the center bumper bracket placement in the crosstube it looks like the tube site 1-2” forward of the frontmost point of the factory hitch and by my measurements would still allow a 35 to fit. Have you or any of your customers tried it? Thanks so much.

asked by: Rick

Expert Reply:

**UPDATE IN COMMENTS**

The instructions call for the complete removal and relocation of a 20" spare tire so if your spare tire is a 35" then I have my doubts about it fitting. The only way a spare tire will fit with the Draw-Tite Hitch # DT45509 is if it's no larger than 18". None of our other trailer hitches will be able to fit with anything larger than 18" either.

- Update is that Draw-Tite is talking about the wheel size, as they are assuming the OEM tire for that wheel size is being used.

expert reply by: Jon G

Don S.

3/8/2025

Will my Spare tire fit under my 2005 dodge ram 3/4 ton truck when installing the DT45509 receiver . Spare tire size is LT265/70 R17

Jon G.

3/8/2025

@DonS Your tire has a 31.6" diameter so it will need to be removed to install the hitch.

Don S.

3/8/2025

Hi Jon. What I meant to say: After the hitch is installed will the spare tire fit under the truck bed??

Jon G.

3/8/2025

@DonS I apologize, I should have said that it won't fit at all with this hitch so it will need to be relocated. According to the instructions any tires over 20" will need to be relocated. - sorry for the confusion!

See All (4) Replies to Don S. ∨

Spare T.

3/9/2025

Hi Jon. When I view the install instructions it states 18” tires require the removal of the spare tire bracket for tire to fit under the truck. I assume the 18” is the rim size?? My tire is the stock size for the 2005 Dodge ram truck. LT265/70 R17 Please confirm if spare tire will fit under truck. Don.

Jon G.

3/12/2025

@SpareT It could be talking about the wheel, but since it states "tire" I have to go with the overall diameter of the tire. I've reached out to Draw-Tite for their take on this, but they still haven't gotten back with me, so I need to stick with what I believe it's talking about.

Robert

5/1/2025

@JonG - It would be great if we could get an answer on this. The wheel size (their install instructions mention 18" and 20") has nothing to do with tire size. My truck has a spare with a 17" wheel and 34.4" tire. Nobody has been able to tell me if this will fit or not.

Jon G.

5/5/2025

@Robert Finally heard back from someone about this. They are talking about the wheel size, as they are assuming the OEM tire is on the wheel. So, if the truck has a factory spare tire with an 18" wheel, then it will work. But if the truck has a factory spare tire with a 20" wheel, then the spare tire will need to be relocated.