Hi Eric,
The entire wheel, including the tire (rubber pattern), can be made with native tools only and it is.
The important idea is to draw that pattern in just one section, which then multiplies it by radial array, and this is done with Line, Arc, PushPull and Intersect Faces + Rotate.
For the rim/disc, in YT video, using FredoCorner for the bevel can be replaced with Follow Me, so it is not necessarily to use the extension.
But maybe your idea of using a texture instead of geometry is enough, maybe even better. But now, with all the new information, she can learn a little more about modeling in SketchUp.