In 2013 the RAV4 was redesigned and the spare tire moved from hanging on the back of the vehicle to inside - laying flat in a well behind the rear seat. A bike rack and bike attached to the spare tire holding hardware is a lot of overhanging weight on the back door , but it does allow the door to open, whereas a rack on a hitch would not allow the door to swing open. I agree - a 14 year old tire is junk and even if you can't see any cracks, it is still highly prone to quick failure if it used. Time for a new spare tire.

By the way, the tires I had replaced were the truck 2nd set. Now about due to have my Wife's 97 Monte Carlo's (58K original miles) 2nd set of tires replaced. They look great at 9 years, no cracks I can see, but we have our annual beach trip vacation coming up, with a round trip of over 700+ miles, so don't want to chance that one.

I have a 94 Chevy S10 PU with only around 55K original miles, and last January 2014, I finally had all my tires replaced due to weathering, side wall cracking. I had been told by two different tire guys that they were fine, but ONE of them>>IMO> looked bad enough for me to put the spare on, which is stored UNDER the truck bed, and came with the truck, and still looks perfect, not a single crack. When I bought my new set, I had them put the original spare back where it belongs. And it still looks fine, and IMO will still suffice as a spare for ANOTHER 21 yrs.

Two observations. I once tried to get a new spare for my son's Charger. This was about 2009 when the Charger was about 6 years old. It was very difficult and I don't remember if I ever succeeded.
Also, I just had to use the spare on my 2005 Jaguar S-Type for the first time. I was 1/2 into the first half of a 350 mile roundtrip. The spare looked fine, though it only had about 40 lbs. I was able to fill it about 20 miles down the road. I kept it to sixty rather than the 50 mph recommended and I obviously exceeded the 100 mile (or 50?) maximum. It still looks good. I usually inflate my spare to 65 or 70 because I forget to check. This keeps them 5 or 10 lbs higher than they would have been. Plus, on the road, it's easier to let air out than get it in. I have never done this, but it seems to me green slime or something similar would be a good idea in a spare. There are no electronics to foul up and the tire shop won't be changing it, so no harm.

Assuming you have a full-size spare, it might make sense to replace your spare every time you replace your tires. Just take one of the old tires as your new spare. They will be close to the end of their life, but should be able to get you to the tire shop in an emergency, which is really all a spare is designed for.

Gordon seems to have an attachment to the tire cover. Perhaps it has a logo on it. An option for him would be to purchase a bike rack that attaches to the hitch instead of the type that hangs on the spare tire thereby eliminating any concern of the spare tire or the cover.