Check your Spare

[TDaub]

I have to admit that I do not check my spare as often as I probably should. Usually gets checked when I'm washing off the clay.



Anyway, was going fishing and saw my rear tires were low. Went to air them up and one would not hold more than 50psi, air was coming out along the bead,(turns out there was some sand and mud between the bead and the rim). Thought I would swap the wheel with the spare, it then that I discovered or UN-discovered my spare, it was gone!



After inspection, it appears that the lift cable broke, depositing my wheel along some roadway somewhere.



I would recommend that everyone drop their spare and check the cable, especially the older models.

 

[fox]

A lot of spares are stolen that way. Was the cable rusty?

 

[DZink24]

i occasionally go an extra step, and actually put my spare on and drive it for a few days. it helps keep the rubber "relaxed", as well as gives you the opportunity to find any problems with it before you need it. i also grease the cable and cinch it up and down fully to distribute the grease evenly. if i do all this and never need it, it is well worth it.

 

[goodguys75]

my spare on my 06 is never been used, always check the P. S. I on every oil change, but it is cracked, i guess from the heat... ... but it happend early on almost like when it was only 2 yrs old... which i thought was a little to early..... so if i need it, i hope it will last a few miles

 

[JR]

I dropped my spare not long after I bought my truck. It was flat as a pancake, the rim was rusted around the beads and the valve stem was dry rotted. I pumped it up and it actually held air, but i just couldnt leave it like that. I ended up breaking the tired down and sandblasted and painted the rim and put a new valve stem on.

 

[BruteForce]

Old thread, but worth replying. I have a ratchet strap tightened against my spare to ensure it won't just fall off. Additionally, I incorporate my spare into my tire rotation process, every 5-10k miles.

 

[BDaugherty]

I visually inspect spares and check the pressure for myself and my customers at every service interval. I also commonly keep the best tire and swap it onto the spare rim when installing new tires. I figure its more important to have a newer tire with less dry rot than it is to have tread.

 

[trudydog]

good post for an often overlooked but important item. Interestingly, I lost a front drive shaft from a 78 Toyota Fj40 at a truck stop; it was in tow and I was asleep in the truck it was hitched too. funny how those for 1/4 in bolts wiggled themselves loose over the trip! There are thieves out there;-(

 

[Misenheimer]

I lost my spare on the road I am just so glad that I did not have a trailer behind me. I am also thankfull that no one was hurt. I never found the spare because I do not know where it fell offf. I have seen two other Dodge 2500 trucks on the side of the road with the spare jammed up under them. My theory is that the tire goes flat and that lets it move back and forth under the truck. Over time the cable will fail. Is there a recall on this???

 

[JR]

On a truck thats well over 10 years old things like that are bound to fail. I make it a habit to drop the spares on all my vehicles to check for proper inflation, damage, and to grease the cable in the spring and again before winter.

 

[RodMorris]

I rotate all 5 tires, including the spare, so it gets checked every 5000 miles one way or the other.

 

[BrianJ]

A week or so ago there was a story in the Denver area about a rash of thefts of Dodge Ram spare tires by cutting the cable that secures it. One night alone there were 12+ stolen in Aurora.

 

[Misenheimer]

Why would you need to cut the cable to get the tire?? The tire covers the cable till it is on the ground then just un hook the support and it is off. I think that you wold need to crank the tire down to do anything. Insurance problem????

 

[seafish]

Why would you need to cut the cable to get the tire?? The tire covers the cable till it is on the ground then just un hook the support and it is off. I think that you wold need to crank the tire down to do anything. Insurance problem????

It's QUICKER to cut the cable.