pwregan

I was driving home from work today and i hit a series of bad ruts on the expressway surface and i don't know why but i happned to glance in my rearview mirror only to see my spare tire bounce from under my truck , hit the median divider and bounce over and into oncomming traffic , luckilly it bounced over everyone and landed in the opposite side breakdown lane!
verry lucky nobody was hurt or any damage to anyone's cars!!!

CHECK YOUR SPARE TIRE'S
CHECK THE HARDWARE THAT SECURES THEM
my truck is a 1999 and i have honestly never thought about it untill it was too late, this could easily kill someone and we do not want any accidents due to this
PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPARE'S!!!!!!

dkenny

warning noted..
I won't have this problem for quite a while..my spare normal sit in the driveway..the mounting stuff is too rusted to use..that is until I replace..do something better with the spare.
someday I might need it on the road

-dkenny

Danderson

MY wife spotted our spare on the '98.5 laying halfway down on our driveway. The hoist had failed and the spare had fallen. I got the hoist replaced under warranty($70.00) and from that moment on secured it with a Master 6' cable lock. I'm doing the same with the '07. They're available on Amazon.com or locally. Just don't lose the key!

Valv

Excellent idea, I was just wondering how to solve the problem. A cable tied toward the front of the tire will just drag it along if the winch mechanism fail.
Thanks for the hint.

You can put the key with your truck key, next to the hitch lock key, next to the boat trailer key, nest to the camper keys (5), next to the outboard safety chain key, next to the toolbox key, next to the tonneau cover/topper key, next to the house keys, next to the cabin gate key.....

johnh

no problems in the dry, no rust parts of the country

infidel

My buddy had his spare fall off at highway speed and do several thousand dollars worth of damage to his travel trailer.
Good to check them every once in a while.
I've been surprised how many spares I've found flat or missing once the truck is up on a hoist. Owners know nothing about it.

Shovelhead

Good tips.

Another is to check for tire pressure in the spare.
(Especially with alloy rims)

Wifey's Landcruiser's was flat when I checked it due to the ice melting crap they use on the roads around here lately.
The solution sprays up while driving and lays in the bead/rim groove and corroded until it broke the seal between the tire and the rim.

Had to have the tire pulled off, the rim cleaned and sanded back smooth, and the tire remounted.

littlebuddie

Thanks for the warning, this should be a 'Sticky'!

high bid

you left off the lugnut key, the gas cap key and the tailgate lock key.

dj_souvlaki

During oil changes on trucks or minivans in my shop we always check spare tire pressures and make sure everything is secure.

there have been a number of times that i've found the spare flat, loose or missing. and the customer is usually shocked that its gone.

deffintly a good idea to put a secondary safety lock on them. rust does a number on the spare tire hoists. also a good idea to lower the hoist and lube up the cable and other parts of the hoist.

littlebuddie

Geeze, you don't need no stinkin' key! Just chain it up and hook it with a rust-proof carbine hook. Last time I got new tires, the tire guy had to cut the factory cable lock to get the spare out. The lock had seized and was not going to budge with the stinkin' key. That could have led to a tire change epic on the side of the highway in bad weather. Of course there would be bad weather......

PaulDaisy

Yikes!
I have been concerned about this as that flimsy cable ratchet does not look all that strong... Nowdays my tire is in the bed though. A 10.5k winch took its place, held in place by 4 3/8" grade 8 bolts. It shouldn't fall out by its own weight as the fasteners can hold 20k lbs, not just 110 that the winch weighs.
It is kind of bad to lose bed space to the tire though.

12v rollincole

my spare is bike locked to the frame via the last owner, must have lived in a bad neighborhood . luckly he remembered to include the key in the sale.

mopar-or-no-car

hmm ya maybe ill put a cable lock on it, ive worried about it but never thought to do that

J.Suplanski

NEVER HAD THAT PROBLEM THE 15 YEARS THAT I HVE OWNED MY TRUCK STILL ABLE TO CRAWL UNDER THE TRUCK AND CHECK EVERYTHING AT 68 YEARS YOUNG ONE BIG A___ MISTAKE AMERICA