That’s why the first thing that I do when getting a new truck is take the spare tire out. Up here leaving it in place just leaves you with a rusty rim by the time that you need it, and it also holds the road salt so that you end up with a rusty frame. My first Ford Ranger had a nice tire holder which hinged down. I run a lot of dirt roads so when I had my first flat I dropped the tire, only to discover that the rim was completely filled with gravel. Because it was winter I had to bring it into the cab to thaw enough so that I could clean it out. More recently I had left just my house with my 3 YO Sierra when I heard a “thud”. Looking in my mirror I saw my spare tire laying in the road. I thought the cable had probably broken as you had experienced, instead the bracket which attaches to the frame had broken. It’s a pain sometimes having it take up space in the bed: but nowhere near as bad as having a flat miles from nowhere and discovering the spare is gone.