Spare Tire Rant

Remember when spare tires were real tires and located where you could easily get to them without laying on your back in mud or snow or rain??

Anywho I have this Chevrolet Colorado with spare under the bed and the usual insert you turn which lowers a cable and the tire YEAH RIGHT #@%^* So I turn it and the tire starts to lower but then the tire stops lowering but the cable continues ahead out grrrrrrrrr *&^%$# Being a BuicknDeere friend I look at the OWNERS MANUAL that describes a safety latch. It says if that happens and the cable comes ahead out but no release to re tighten it until it clicks/skips twice WELL I TRIED THAT MANY TIMES TO NO AVAIL. I also sprayed n cleaned and lubed the mechanism so all turns free n clear. Then the manual says if no release to lower the cable and jack the tire up tight and that should release the latch YEAH RIGHT *&^%$#

Being an old boy scout type instead of relying on wimpy factory jacks n lug wrenches I usually carry a bottle jack and wooden blocks and a Bloomfield (Hi Lift) Jack plus a Four way so if I ever get that freaking spare out there will be some changes made./

I can get to a sort of flipper flapper which I can manually place on one side or the other of a pin and that's all free but regardless which side I manually force/place it on or WD 40 out the ying yang and doing the 2 things the manual says THE TIRE WONT LOWER AND RELEASE MORE THEN A FEW INCHES (*&^%$ yet the cable does

Its awful early in the AM to start drinking but I may resort to that, its driving me to drink lol

Any tips or hints out there from anyone who knows including Billy Bob and Bubba ?? I bet they experienced this and I also have cable cutters lol

A frustrated Ol John T

On our 2013 Dodge van, you go inside the center console, take out a rubber flap, and insert the wrench to lower the "spare" under the center of the car. Brilliant.

Well that's alotta help!

John T I took a lot of them down, sometimes you gotta crank it all the way up, get under there with a hammer and hit the cable end that sticks through the tire to release the catch. The main problem was the federal govmnt mandated the catch, they thought someone might lose a spare tire and cause a wreck.

I have a Chrysler T&C and a Dodge Grand Caravan that are both like that. It's necessary because of the "stow and go" seats, (which I love) but you'd still think they could have come up with something better.

You'd think one of the small "donut" spares could mount vertically against one side inside the rear tailgate, inside the trim, or something.

I had the same thing happen on my Chevy pickup, and my Dad's Ford. They're just not a good idea, especially with all the miles of dirt we drive. I never did get them to lower (just what you wanted to hear). Ended up cutting both out from under the truck, and carry the spare in the bed now. Not ideal, but a least you can change your tire on the road if need be. Not sure what would have happened if we'd had a flat somewhere other than in the yard.

David

I had problems with those spare tires under box of pickups. I cut them out and made braket in box up in front corner or mounted them out on nose of truck. I didn't like them under truck because evry time I had a flat it was raining or packeted with snow.

Ya those newer safety catch contraptions are a real joke. And when they get all dusty and dirtied up they seem to fail. Sooner or later you'll have a flat and not be able to get the spare out, and your stranded. To make matters worse, this is likely to happen in the mud or snow. Just what I want to do, roll around on the ground fighting it in the mud and snow. I ussualy throw them in the back, and your good to go. Unload, and change. And those little doughnut spares, if I get a car with one of those I instantly go to a salvage yard and get a full sized tire and wheel to put in the trunk and leave the doughnut there when I leave. No need to mess around with low rate of speed and only so many miles messing around with a doughnut.

I had one of those on an S10 pickup it let itself down one day just as I was leaving a gas station. Felt the bump, looked back and the spare was laying on the ground. Cable rusted thru. On my 2002 Chevy, I decided to check it one day and the cable was rusted but no where near as bad as the rim. The spare had never been on the truck. Now it's in the back of the truck waiting to be cleaned up and repainted.

(quoted from post at 12:07:51 08/21/14) Remember when spare tires were real tires and located where you could easily get to them without laying on your back in mud or snow or rain??

Anywho I have this Chevrolet Colorado with spare under the bed and the usual insert you turn which lowers a cable and the tire YEAH RIGHT #@%^* So I turn it and the tire starts to lower but then the tire stops lowering but the cable continues ahead out grrrrrrrrr *&^%$# Being a BuicknDeere friend I look at the OWNERS MANUAL that describes a safety latch. It says if that happens and the cable comes ahead out but no release to re tighten it until it clicks/skips twice WELL I TRIED THAT MANY TIMES TO NO AVAIL. I also sprayed n cleaned and lubed the mechanism so all turns free n clear. Then the manual says if no release to lower the cable and jack the tire up tight and that should release the latch YEAH RIGHT *&^%$#

Being an old boy scout type instead of relying on wimpy factory jacks n lug wrenches I usually carry a bottle jack and wooden blocks and a Bloomfield (Hi Lift) Jack plus a Four way so if I ever get that freaking spare out there will be some changes made./

I can get to a sort of flipper flapper which I can manually place on one side or the other of a pin and that's all free but regardless which side I manually force/place it on or WD 40 out the ying yang and doing the 2 things the manual says THE TIRE WONT LOWER AND RELEASE MORE THEN A FEW INCHES (*&^%$ yet the cable does

Its awful early in the AM to start drinking but I may resort to that, its driving me to drink lol

Any tips or hints out there from anyone who knows including Billy Bob and Bubba ?? I bet they experienced this and I also have cable cutters lol

A frustrated Ol John T

Click to expand...

Consider yourself Lucky you even have a spare to deal with.

Very few cars and some trucks have a spare anymore.
Most give you an "Emergency" bag.
Can of Fix o Flat and a few other needles items.
Tom

John, can you lower it enough so the tire will sort of "dangle" enough so you can lift it by hand and get the little thing that holds it to slip through the center hole...(did that make any sense?)

I had to take out the spare on my truck when I installed a cushion hitch bumper on it. The original system looked like a joke. Does anyone remember when almost all the farm trucks either had the spare mounted on a peg on the inside or outside of the bed or, better yet, when they were mounted on the front of the truck? Mike

john, our tow trucks get a lot of service calls for that. tire is jammed up in the winch. end up towing the vehicle and then cutting the cable. then buy a new winch. seems like you have to drop and re-lube the winch assembly at least once a year, and even then there is no guarantee it will not jam. and remember, never tie yer neutrals to yer grounds.

I can only remember three of my families' small trucks that did not carry the spare tire under the frame, ahead of the front bumper:
a '53 Chevy step side that carried the spare on the outside of the bed;
an early '60's GMC fleetside that carried the spare inside the bed;
and an '84 Dodge Ramcharger that carried the spare inside the cargo area.

You could move the spare to inside the cargo area, but a full size tire does take up a lot of space. I try to carry several large sheets of cardboard in case I need to crawl under a pickup.

If you can wiggle the wheel around to where you can see the winch through one of the holes, you should see that the tire hanger has a shank that inserts into a socket on the winch. Part will be black, part will be silver. The silver part contains a notch that latches into the winch body.

The silver part retracts sideways into the black part, releasing the latch and allowing the tire to drop.

What has happened is the silver part and the black part have become dirty/corroded, and will not slide against each other.

In one instance, I had to reach up through the tire with a conglomeration of wrenches and detach the bolt holding the winch to the truck frame. Once I had the tire and winch out from under the truck, I was able to force the latch to release. It's only one bolt, but it can be fun to get to. Also once the bolt releases, the tire falls on your head.

The second time it happened, I was able to insert a long screwdriver up in there and pound the silver piece into the black piece until the latch released.

After that, I ground the notch off the silver part, so the spare is now only held by the cable.

It's a stainless cable, and it's been that way for several years now. The spare is still there.

Forget the tire and go for your second option. Stan

The only place they should be !

or here

UPDATE I been under there cussin n beatin n cussin n jackin and cussin n prying the (*&^%$#@ thing including what the manual said and many of yall said, STILL WONT RELEASE

Tell ya what after I rest and cool down I WILL GET IT DOWN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER and Im going to remove that safety latch system (cable winch still works fine and holds tight) and I may hang a small chain with brass hooks just as a safety drop down preventer.

Wouldn't you like to get the designer and the government or OSHA dude who came up with this and stick their a$$ under there grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Its NOT like theres ever dirt or sand or crud or rust or snow or mud or rain that ever gets under there right grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

THANKS YALL FOR THE MORAL SUPPORT AND HELP

John T

The only folks around here that still have the tire underneath are the ones that live in town and occasionally haul a sack of feed for Phydeaux. When we buy trucks the 1st thing we do is get the spare out from under the truck and put it in the bed. All it takes is one trip down the road after a rain to fill the spare up with mud when it's left underneath. Yes it does take up space in the bed but seldom is that a problem. Some of the more inventive folks build a carrier inside the bed but I prefer to be able to move it if needed.

Interesting - never had a problem with either of the Toyota trucks that I had. Tundra will be 12 years old in January. I let the spare down a couple times a year to air up the tire, which has never been used.

When we did the van shopping thing Honda was the only one that had the spare tire up in the body. As much as we like Hondas we bought a Dodge because it was about $6,000 cheaper. Seems on Mom & Dad's '64 VW bus the spare tucked in under the front seats but you pulled it out from the passenger compartment.

Not to play safety cop here, but I hope you tie it down. I used to carry mine in the bed occasionally until I got hit head on some years back. I really got lucky because that time the tire landed in a field about 50 yards from where I stopped. I also had a gallon jug of water in the back. The jug hit the bed so hard it left a dent and shattered the jug of course. What got me about the whole deal though was that if that tire has gone straight forward and through the cab, instead of out the bed at an angle, it would have had way more than enough force to kill me had I been hit by it.

Nowdays I might have empty cans, etc in the bed, and the occasional jug of water under the tool box that now resides there, but anything else that gets put in the bed, gets tied down.

Can't help you John, but after reading the other replies I might get the spare out from under my Colorado and put it in the bed. I use it more as a spare car than a pickup anyway and it has a bed cover. Jim

turn the truck on its top so when tire does come loose it will not fall on your head

I got the spare down and ready to put on my 1997 Dodge Dakota when I needed it, but then the wheel wouldn't come off the pickup (aluminum rims)...a lot of good a spare does when that happens.

On my farm pickup, 1994 F 250, My spare is mounted in bed. It sure is handy to get to if needed.
My Sunday pickup, 2012 F 250, well you know where it is, under the bed, have to have A key wrench to get it off. Hope I never have to use it.

Hammer Man

You"re not going to get it down with their prescribed method. At least I couldn"t on my "07 Silverado.

Let it down as far as it will go, pry it down to make sure you get all the room you can get. Get a wrench up in between the tire and frame and take out the bolts that hold the assembly up.

Then make a threaded hook, with a wing nut and lash it to the bed rail behind the drivers seat.

Yes, the "donut" spare, AKA " A damned o ring on a rim."

(quoted from post at 15:22:11 08/21/14) Not to play safety cop here, but I hope you tie it down. I used to carry mine in the bed occasionally until I got hit head on some years back. I really got lucky because that time the tire landed in a field about 50 yards from where I stopped. I also had a gallon jug of water in the back. The jug hit the bed so hard it left a dent and shattered the jug of course. What got me about the whole deal though was that if that tire has gone straight forward and through the cab, instead of out the bed at an angle, it would have had way more than enough force to kill me had I been hit by it.

Nowdays I might have empty cans, etc in the bed, and the occasional jug of water under the tool box that now resides there, but anything else that gets put in the bed, gets tied down.

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Nope it just lays back there with whatever else I'm hauling. All of my trucks are work trucks and they my change cargo several times a day. Tool boxes, feed, parts, and so forth.

Sam Adams' place!!!

Hey John T - I feel your pain!

I've had somewhat similar issues with my '99 F250. First time the winch cable snapped (rusted thru). The suddenly freed spare skipped once in the road then bounced off into a cornfield.

A new replacement winch worked - marginally - to secure the spare in place. A year later I attempted to lower the spare and the crank input coupler self-destructed leaving the spare dangling a couple inches below "home". That one needed the gas wrench to cut the spare free.

After THAT experience I removed and pitched the spare tire winch. I now carry the spare as in Ron and Hammerhouse's photos - although padlocked so it will still be there if/when I need it.

...Bob M

My Colorado is sitting at home, but if you send me an email, I will try dropping my spare tonight (unless this problem is contagious) and get some pictures of the mechanism you are talking about. Might be easier to figure out if you know what is behind the tire...

(quoted from post at 09:07:51 08/21/14) Remember when spare tires were real tires and located where you could easily get to them without laying on your back in mud or snow or rain??

Anywho I have this Chevrolet Colorado with spare under the bed and the usual insert you turn which lowers a cable and the tire YEAH RIGHT #@%^* So I turn it and the tire starts to lower but then the tire stops lowering but the cable continues ahead out grrrrrrrrr *&^%$# Being a BuicknDeere friend I look at the OWNERS MANUAL that describes a safety latch. It says if that happens and the cable comes ahead out but no release to re tighten it until it clicks/skips twice WELL I TRIED THAT MANY TIMES TO NO AVAIL. I also sprayed n cleaned and lubed the mechanism so all turns free n clear. Then the manual says if no release to lower the cable and jack the tire up tight and that should release the latch YEAH RIGHT *&^%$#

Being an old boy scout type instead of relying on wimpy factory jacks n lug wrenches I usually carry a bottle jack and wooden blocks and a Bloomfield (Hi Lift) Jack plus a Four way so if I ever get that freaking spare out there will be some changes made./

I can get to a sort of flipper flapper which I can manually place on one side or the other of a pin and that's all free but regardless which side I manually force/place it on or WD 40 out the ying yang and doing the 2 things the manual says THE TIRE WONT LOWER AND RELEASE MORE THEN A FEW INCHES (*&^%$ yet the cable does

Its awful early in the AM to start drinking but I may resort to that, its driving me to drink lol

Any tips or hints out there from anyone who knows including Billy Bob and Bubba ?? I bet they experienced this and I also have cable cutters lol

A frustrated Ol John T

Click to expand...

ell, you either have to get more flats so the little winchy thing doesn't freeze up or you cut the cable and throw the spare in the box.
I did the latter on all my trucks.

Bison,

Just did that with mine. Tried to crank the tire down and the cotter/roll pin (or whatever the heck they put in the dang things) broke and there was no way to lower the tire to replace the pin. So I torched the winged thingy holding tire and tossed the tire in the bed.

Around Dallas, anything in the bed of a pick up that isn't LOCKED down disappears - especially tires.

The spare on my 97 Ford is mounted under the bed. If it wasn't such a pain to get off, it would have disappeared long ago via the 5 finger discount.

John, here's a cut and paste direct from GM service info:


If the vehicle is equipped with a spare tire stowage lock cylinder, open the spare tire lock cover on the bumper and use the ignition key to remove the lock.
Caution: Use only hand tools to lower and raise the spare tire hoist assembly. Do not use air tools. The use of air tools at high speeds will damage the spare tire hoist assembly.

 2. Turn the hoist shaft counterclockwise to lower the spare tire to the ground. Continue to turn the hoist shaft until the spare tire can be pulled out from under the vehicle and removed. If the spare tire does not lower to the ground, the secondary latch is engaged causing the tire not to lower.
 3. If the secondary latch is engaged and the cable end is visible, perform the following procedure:
3.1. Tighten the cable by turning the hoist shaft clockwise until you hear two clicks or feel it skip twice. You cannot overtighten the cable.
3.2. Loosen the cable by turning the hoist shaft counterclockwise 3 or 4 turns.
3.3. If the spare tire can be lowered, repeat steps 1 and 2 to see if the spare tire can be removed.
3.4. If the spare tire cannot be lowered, turn the hoist shaft counterclockwise until approximately 15 cm (6 in) of cable is exposed.
3.5. Raise and support the vehicle. Refer to Lifting and Jacking the Vehicle.
3.6. Place a transmission jack, or equivalent, under the spare tire.
3.7. Position the center of the transmission jack under the secondary latch release button at the center of the spare tire. Arrange the arms of the transmission jack so they will support the tire after it has been released.
3.8. Raise the jack until the spare tire stops moving upward and is firmly held in place, releasing the secondary latch.
3.9. Lower the tire. If the spare tire is hanging by the cable, turn the hoist shaft counterclockwise until the tire is low enough to remove.
 4. If the secondary latch is engaged and the cable end is not visible, perform the following procedure:
4.1. Raise and support the vehicle. Refer to Lifting and Jacking the Vehicle.
4.2. Place a transmission jack, or equivalent, under the spare tire.
4.3. Position the center of the transmission jack under the secondary latch release button at the center of the spare tire. Arrange the arms of the transmission jack so they will support the tire after it has been released.
4.4. Raise the jack until the spare tire stops moving upward and is firmly held in place, releasing the secondary latch.

I've always said that engineers should be condemed to an eterntiy of working on thier own creations. I was never real popular with the Oliver TM at the time Pop was selling tractors for some reason..................
Wasn't much of a fan of their warrenty people either. It's a wonder I didn't get punched in the mouth. (chuckle)

yeah it is that 1933 plymouth is what i learned to drive a standard

(quoted from post at 14:43:16 08/21/14) [b:0fea5f1bb5]Around Dallas, anything in the bed of a pick up that isn't LOCKED down disappears - especially tires.[/b:0fea5f1bb5]

The spare on my 97 Ford is mounted under the bed. If it wasn't such a pain to get off, it would have disappeared long ago via the 5 finger discount.

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hat's the beauty of living way out in the boonies like me.
I always leave the keys in my trucks and tractors, the shop and house never get locked either, even if we are gone for the day.
Not saying it won't happen but i never had a theft yet.

One of my sons lives in the city, last night his truck got broken into and trashed and everything in there stolen for the third time in 2 years.