Check the spare tire carrier

[MillWeld]

I was driving on our bumpy farm road to pick up some debris and on the return I saw a spare tire in the path I had just driven. "How/when did THAT get there" Oh, that's MY spare. It is held to the underside of my 95 Ram 1500 by a winch and crank system and the cable must have broken! As I put the wheel in the truck I thought how lucky I was that it didn't break while I was on the crowded interstate. It could have caused an aweful wreck!

Has anyone had this problem? did you solve it with a factory replacement or design a more reliable system? I'm thinking about a stainless cable.

 

[Soundguy]

did the cable break, end come off or the lil sheet metal catch tab that sets in t he hub opening fail?

 

[Clint S]

That and the mechanism that lowers it freezes leaving you stranded with a tire that will not drop.

 

[s219]

I had that happen to a friend with an old VW diesel rabbit pickup, and it lifted the back of the vehicle off the ground when it dropped off going down the road and got wedged under the frame as it tumbled. Was quite a shock!

 

[Soundguy]

That and the mechanism that lowers it freezes leaving you stranded with a tire that will not drop.

not sure on the dodge.. but if a ford does that you can take the end of the cable and spring and retainer assembly apart and scootch out of the way and let the spare hit then worry about re-assy later.

 

[Diamondpilot]

That and the mechanism that lowers it freezes leaving you stranded with a tire that will not drop.

Had that happen to a customer. Had to remove the bed and cut it out with a hot wrench.

Chris

 

[Wolfy]

I always thought, if they brought back the front mount spare tire carriers, like the 1970's trucks, they would be a big hit.

 

[Gunny]

That and the mechanism that lowers it freezes leaving you stranded with a tire that will not drop.

That happened on SWMBOs van once several years ago, stranded her way out in the country with a perfectly good spare that she couldn't get to. The towing company couldn't get it down either, so we wound up with a tow bill and one new tire just so she could get home.

That made a real believer out of me. Since then, when I change the oil and check tire pressures on any of our vehicles, I always drop and raise the spare to check things out. Sometimes I give the cable and life a shot of silicone just for the heck of it.

Of course, since I started doing that, neither of us has had a flat, but that's fine with me.

 

[herringchoker]

For all of the above reasons, plus (on the salty winter roads around here) serious corrosion of the spare wheel under there, I mounted my spare up in plain sight (but easy access) on the box rail behind the driver. After 23 years with the spare mounted on the RHS step on an F-100 fenderside, I just don't like those under frame mounts.

 

[Wolfy]

Herringchoker, that picture of your F100 is just awesome.