I picked up a stock '01 L rim off of Ebay and was going to use it as a spare and was wondering if it would fit where the 16" spare is mounted? Has anybody tried this?

 

I think it would fit, considering the diameter would be roughly the same. But it might hang a little lower than the factory spare due to the width. And of course it wont stay too clean under there.

 

That would be my first thought, It would be a dirty spare! You would have to spend 10 min. cleaning the spare before you put it on the truck!

 

The tires are also directional. Hope you only have a flat on one side.

 

I replaced my spare the first week I had the truck I got the rim & tire from TireRack.
Fits perfectly, you just see the last inner tread block of the tire hanging down, if you stand about 10 feet from the back of the truck.

I used one of the cardboard cutouts that came with the already mounted/balanced tire, to protect the spokes from the crossmember that holds the spare's cable winch. If you don't you'll get a black mark on the rim from the wax on the crossmember.

At each rotation I take the thing down and clean it up. I don't run in the rain, so it just gets pretty dusty.

Even though they are directional the manual says it won't hurt the tire if you have to run it. They do warn about running in the wet with it rotating backwards.

 

How much is a spare rim?

 

I got mine for $71 off of Ebay.