Simple question really. If a trailer has a spare tyre attached to it does it have to be roadworthy by law? The reason I ask is I’ve picked up my trailer for tomorrow and the spare tyre on it is bald, not boarder line legal it’s BALD! All the other tyre’s are legal it’s just the spare.
I maybe wrong but I was always given to understand, that the spare tyre had to be legal.
altitude:
I maybe wrong but I was always given to understand, that the spare tyre had to be legal.
If it is designed and secured as a spare tyre then it must be legal
If it is a tyre being carried inside the trailer then it could just be ‘ballast’ !! 
my thought was that it didnt matter provided it wasnt going to be used
after all you could just be transporting the wheel and tyre to a garage for repair.
Spare tyre isnt an MOT requirement anyway.
You could always take it off the chassis or wherever its stored and leave it behind, end of problem
Always thought that if its fitted it should work goes for everything so if its a spare then it should be sutiable for purpous
Of course it doesn’t have to be legal. Think about it, if it had to be legal you could never use it for it’s intended purpose and it would simply be a weighty ornament.
If a tyre blew or got damaged in some way and you swapped it with the spare you would then have a non legal tyre in the spare position meaning you would have to leave the spare where it was and call out a tyre fitter. It’s not a legal requirement to carry a spare anyway.
Coffeeholic:
Of course it doesn’t have to be legal. Think about it, if it had to be legal you could never use it for it’s intended purpose and it would simply be a weighty ornament.If a tyre blew or got damaged in some way and you swapped it with the spare you would then have a non legal tyre in the spare position meaning you would have to leave the spare where it was and call out a tyre fitter. It’s not a legal requirement to carry a spare anyway.
You’r rite, haddent thought of that and it does seem it’s not a requirment. this is a section from the “aa” website I just found.
Spare tyre
There is no legal obligation to carry a spare tyre and it does not have to comply with the legal requirements while it is stowed away. However, when fitted to the vehicle (for example, following a puncture) it must then comply with the law. A spare tyre is not a testable item in the MOT test, though the examiner may draw your attention to an unserviceable item as a matter of courtesy.
Thanks folks - cannot think why I thought it must be a legal spare… 
Learn something new every day 
ROG:
Thanks folks - cannot think why I thought it must be a legal spare…Learn something new every day
You and me both ROG maybe a little different, but I had a car fail an MOT a few years ago because the spare was illegal, when I said it was only a spare they said, that it had to be legal because if I had a puncture I would put it on. Sounds like I may have got screwed there. 
altitude:
ROG:
Thanks folks - cannot think why I thought it must be a legal spare…Learn something new every day
You and me both ROG
This is why I asked, I was told the same thing on a car MOT but then a few drivers at work told me otherwise while other’s thought it was a requirement. Nothing is bloody simple is it 
londonerupnorth:
altitude:
ROG:
Thanks folks - cannot think why I thought it must be a legal spare…Learn something new every day
You and me both ROG
This is why I asked, I was told the same thing on a car MOT but then a few drivers at work told me otherwise while other’s thought it was a requirement. Nothing is bloody simple is it
Must be just on trucks then mate, but it don’t make sense does it.
I seem to remember some weird rule in Italy or France and the tyre had to be legal if fitted so they used a stretch cover over the tread.
But the answers in the above posts are correct as shown in the MOT Testers Manual.
This inspection applies to
Tyres fitted to the road wheels only. The vehicle presenter should be informed when it is noticed that there is a defective tyre on a spare wheel.
There seems very little point in carrying 100kg or so of useless weight around the country 
The little scroat! I once had a car fail its MOT on an illegal spare! He wanted £50 for a new tyre, I took it out and asked him to oblige me with the offered free retest! 
a car presented for an mot with a baldy spare would fail an mot. simply answer is to remove the spare before going for the test.
never been to sure on a dud spare on a truck, but if you had a puncture and swapped them over then the dud has to go somewhere.
how many trucks carry spares now a days ■■?
dave:
a car presented for an mot with a baldy spare would fail an mot. simply answer is to remove the spare before going for the test.
never been to sure on a dud spare on a truck, but if you had a puncture and swapped them over then the dud has to go somewhere.
how many trucks carry spares now a days ■■?
No Dave the quote I took was from the MOT Testers Manual and they only test the wheels on the road, as stated they can mention it is bald but not fail the vehicle.
The only check that they can do is to make sure that it is secure and will not fall through a hole in the boot or that it is securely mounted to the bonnet or back door on a 4x4
I like the idea of an examimer pointing out the bald spare as a courtesy.
A friend of mine took a vehicle for test with two tyres on one side of the drive
axle down to 3mm.The vehicle passed the m.o.t. but the pass sheet recieved
an adviser for the tyres which obviously goes on your record with vosa. My point
being if the tyres were not legal it would rightly have failed so why was the adviser
issued when the tyres still had 2mm before they were down to the minimum
requirement?