diff --git a/roles/rke2_common/tasks/tarball_install.yml b/roles/rke2_common/tasks/tarball_install.yml
index 3c97726f..2f455bdc 100644
--- a/roles/rke2_common/tasks/tarball_install.yml
+++ b/roles/rke2_common/tasks/tarball_install.yml
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
   ansible.builtin.tempfile:
     state: directory
     suffix: rke2-install.XXXXXXXXXX
+    path: "{{ tarball_tmp_dir | default(omit) }}"
   register: temp_dir
 
 - name: Send provided tarball if available