spare tire dropping

[khughes02]

The other morning I stumbled on a thread on Facebook about a spare tire on a Reflection dropping on it's own. I checked mine as i broke camp and it was secure.
We arrived home in the dark. The next morning, looking out the kitchen window, Tobi asked if the trailer's spare tire always hung that low. Well, it shouldn't.
The first photo from the Fb post is a robust fix that prevents the spare from self unwinding. I didn't want to have to go into the underbelly to secure the eye-bolt so I used a latch keep instead. Now on my pre-travel checklist.
I can just imagine what mayhem would follow should the leading edge of a dropped spare happen to catch the pavement.

[LCBoyer]

I check mine frequently,and have noticed it does tend to creep down

[TucsonJim]

When we were at the Quartzsite rally last year, our campsite had a perfect view of units as they were pulling out when the rally was done. I stopped two owners who had their spare tires flopping around while in motion. One of those had their spare hanging down over six inches. Thanks for posting these pics. Now I have another project to do.

Jim

[Barbara & Dave]

Found ours was hanging down too, at the beginning of last season. Guess it just relies on friction to keep the cable from unwinding.

Thanks for the fix.

Dave




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[Joscelyne3]

I have noticed that our spare drops on it's own. It became part of my walk around, to ckeck. I also check when we stop at rest areas.
Thanks for posting. It will be on my list of things to do.
Wishing are a HAPPY and Blessed New Year.
Stay warm and be safe.
Safe travels to all.
John and Carol Joscelyne and Hexy too! ! !

[JFF&KRN]

This was my resolution to not having to go underneath the trailer to get my spare. You know when yo get a flat, it will be on a muddy road or pouring rain or snow and cold.

[Cate&Rob]

This was my resolution to not having to go underneath the trailer to get my spare. You know when yo get a flat, it will be on a muddy road or pouring rain or snow and cold.

Jeff - I really like that solution! That platform looks custom made and attached by more than just the stock single centre receiver. If so, could you share more construction details? Based on other discussions on this forum, I am thinking that it would be wise to carry two spare tires . . . and as you note, the roadside repair would be with the easy-to-get-to one on the back.

BTW, if you are messing about with the standard spare underneath, lower it all the way to make sure the lift cable is not tangled and turn it over so that you can access the air valve without lowering the tire. I think GDRV continues to load the spare with valve up despite suggestions that this makes it a lot more work to check spare tire pressure.

Edit: Jeff - Just found your earlier posts on this subject including the 3rd picture which helps a lot. (I knew that I had seen this before ) Did you originally have the rear bumper or the rear receiver?

Rob

[JFF&KRN]

Rob, and of course all who read on: The original was the receiver only that was bolted on with two bolts on each side. 300 lb capacity as well. When i took it off, I weighed it, about 75 lbs. so now according to the original limits, 375 #'s. My new rack if i recall weighed in at less than 75lbs, with generator and tire I believe i am at only about 300 lbs total. so in reality, you could add an extra spare. I don't have any dimensions on this but could do it if someone needs it. Good Luck & Be Safe ! ! !

[JCR GD]

I would be interested to know if those of you that have had the spare tire drop had ever lowered and then lifted the tire back up before that happened.

Most peeps that have tried to lower the tire have found a rats nest of tangle cable and difficult to lower. I can see where a ball of tangled cable could have enough slack to drop the tire some even if the winch does not move.

[D2Reid]

When I upgraded the axles on my old 5th wheel the new tires were much heavier than the original tires. I did not take that into consideration. Somewhere between Green River Utah and Salt Lake City Utah the entire spare tire rack fell off, pulled the bolt holding the unit up out of the support bracket. It too would creep down.

Now that I have a blown tire and had to use the spare on my new Momentum I will have to keep an eye on the spare to make sure it isn't creeping. The locking devices on the winch handles looks like a good idea.