Loose Spare Tire

[Festivalbound]

Last week was the first time out with our 351M and 50 miles from home a guy pulled up next to us and said we lost a tire, was leaking fuel and lost the bumper. We were able to pull in to a park and saw fuel leaking from the toy gas tank and insulation and black plastic hanging down. Also the rear channel that holds the ramp was bent out. The damn spare just dropped and tore the whole under side of our brand new RV. GD said they will repair it but we will see. The spare was snug when we left and only went about two hours away. It appears the cable was twisted around the spool and perhaps came undone and dropped the tire. We are sick over this and I traded in a perfectly good Jayco for this toy hauler. I am going to install a chain with a pin so it cannot happen again. The part that holds the tire up looks like a toy. After reading these many posts I am shocked that they do not have a recall or improve the mechanism.

[MooManChu]

Last week was the first time out with our 351M and 50 miles from home a guy pulled up next to us and said we lost a tire, was leaking fuel and lost the bumper. We were able to pull in to a park and saw fuel leaking from the toy gas tank and insulation and black plastic hanging down. Also the rear channel that holds the ramp was bent out. The damn spare just dropped and tore the whole under side of our brand new RV. GD said they will repair it but we will see. The spare was snug when we left and only went about two hours away. It appears the cable was twisted around the spool and perhaps came undone and dropped the tire. We are sick over this and I traded in a perfectly good Jayco for this toy hauler. I am going to install a chain with a pin so it cannot happen again. The part that holds the tire up looks like a toy. After reading these many posts I am shocked that they do not have a recall or improve the mechanism.

Thanks for sharing your story as a warning to others on the thread. Yes, the mechanism is poorly designed without consideration of the potential impact of it's failure. Every truck I've owned (3) had a similar mechanism and other than rusting in place, I've not ever had a problem in 20 years having similar spare storage. They got to make this right for you. We've had problems with trailers before including high speed blowouts with parts coming off and as upset you are right now, what's important is you and no one else was hurt when that tire came flying out from behind the trailer. If GD said they'd take care of it, that's promising. We bought our trailer based on the reputation of GD after post-sale experiences with Jayco and Sunset Trail that left much to be desired. Where is the dealer in the mix on all this?

[Festivalbound]

Drove the rig and hour and a half yesterday so they could take photos and order parts. GD gave me a number to show the dealer as an open case. The mechanic that crawled under the rig said my insurance will have to pay for the damage and I replied over my dead body. The service manager corrected him as this was a GD defect and as you can see it would not be difficult to prove by all these threads and posts elsewhere. The mechanic said GD may want the unit back to do the repairs. Told him no way in hell am I driving there but he said they would come and get it. I hope the dealer repairs the unit. I traded a perfectly good Jayco for this toy hauler and I never had to take it to the shop in four years. The Jayco dealer was terrible. Two and a half months to repair a vent? I purchased one and replaced it myself despite the warranty. The manufacturer did not put uv protectant in the plastic and it fell apart after a year. I had to take this new rig to the dealer before even using it as GD did not wire the awning lights at the factory. The Lippert rep was very helpful but when I found the wire was not there or connected I decided to let the dealer do it. 300 point factory inspection? Will keep you posted on where we go from here.

[MooManChu]

Drove the rig and hour and a half yesterday so they could take photos and order parts. GD gave me a number to show the dealer as an open case. The mechanic that crawled under the rig said my insurance will have to pay for the damage and I replied over my dead body. The service manager corrected him as this was a GD defect and as you can see it would not be difficult to prove by all these threads and posts elsewhere. The mechanic said GD may want the unit back to do the repairs. Told him no way in hell am I driving there but he said they would come and get it. I hope the dealer repairs the unit. I traded a perfectly good Jayco for this toy hauler and I never had to take it to the shop in four years. The Jayco dealer was terrible. Two and a half months to repair a vent? I purchased one and replaced it myself despite the warranty. The manufacturer did not put uv protectant in the plastic and it fell apart after a year. I had to take this new rig to the dealer before even using it as GD did not wire the awning lights at the factory. The Lippert rep was very helpful but when I found the wire was not there or connected I decided to let the dealer do it. 300 point factory inspection? Will keep you posted on where we go from here.

GD has a repair facility. When I've attempted to schedule work, they were several months behind. If you have any concerns re the capability of the dealer doing these repairs, you may want to work in getting you trailer into GD sooner in the queue. Also, a consult with a good product liability attorney as to your position in this situation may not hurt either.

As far as other issues, goes with the territory. The industry has moved to a model to push as many units as you can and fix it later, GD is on the better side of that equation, but you're still hampered by the dealer. I had a Sunset Trail where the front cap was detaching from the trailer I took to the factory to get fixed.. I was not comfortable with my dealer making repairs.

If it were me, I'd get a level or repair performed to keep camping (Safely) for the summer and get a hard date for repair in the fall at GD. Easier said than done, of course.

[Festivalbound]

That makes sense about GD doing the repairs. The only visible damage is on the rear channel that holds the deck/ramp. We are going for two weeks soon as is and my only concern is critters getting up under the exposed part in the insulation but I looked at this thing in my back drive for six months and am going to use it. We had a big trip planned for April to Myrtle Beach and North Carolina but of course cancelled due to Covid 19. I am more than happy to stay in Ohio and go to our TRA resorts. GD can have the unit Nov-Feb if they do the repairs. I really do love the RV with the garage/bedroom/dining room/workout room or whatever I want to use it for. Last week people came up to us at the campground sitting on the patio telling us how cool it is. Another bump in the road of life. I will make sure there is a chain bolted next to the spare mechanism with a pin through it so this never happens again.

[MooManChu]

That makes sense about GD doing the repairs. The only visible damage is on the rear channel that holds the deck/ramp. We are going for two weeks soon as is and my only concern is critters getting up under the exposed part in the insulation but I looked at this thing in my back drive for six months and am going to use it. We had a big trip planned for April to Myrtle Beach and North Carolina but of course cancelled due to Covid 19. I am more than happy to stay in Ohio and go to our TRA resorts. GD can have the unit Nov-Feb if they do the repairs. I really do love the RV with the garage/bedroom/dining room/workout room or whatever I want to use it for. Last week people came up to us at the campground sitting on the patio telling us how cool it is. Another bump in the road of life. I will make sure there is a chain bolted next to the spare mechanism with a pin through it so this never happens again.

I lost an axle on a trip from Akron to Boston (not my GD). I can relate to frustrations. Bad ten cent bearing seal did $2,000 damage, lost three days of travel, and camping world in NY installed the new axle upside down requiring a second repair, replacement of two new tires, and multiple weeks at a shop.


I've done the drive from Akron, OH to Goshen IN for factory repair on my previous Sunset Trail. Goshen is near GD's HQ. Wasn't all that bad and at the end of the season, we made a trip out of it getting it back. As far as keeping critters out, some water based expanding foam and plastic sheeting might do the trick. Easy to remove

[Pete717]

https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...051#post142051

Some people do this to keep the cable from loosening.

That is what I did. Pinned it. I still noticed after a 1200 mile trip that it was a bit loose again so I took the pin out tightened two turns and repinned it. I think the cable stretches.

[huntindog]

As a preventative measure, I secured my spare..... After looking at all of the different methods posted here, I went with the KISS system.
I simply drilled a 1/4" hole thru the hex shaft then used a 1/4" bolt 3" long. Used two nuts and locktight to secure it to the shaftleaving about 2.25" sticking out. If it goes to loosen, it can't go more than 1/4 turn before the bolt hits the upper flange of the frame.

I did not feel like dropping the coroplast to see what a drill bit might hit for the other methods I have seen.

[Festivalbound]

An update on my spare tire problem. Grand design sent a carrier to pick up my rig January 8 and are set to return to me next week. I installed a chain attached to the frame next to the LCI spare mechanism with a bar a pin so my tire will never fall again. They sent me a list including the punch list of interior repairs such as the paddle in the fridge would stick, the garage A/C unit rattled like crazy, the trim above the sliding door left the unit exposed to outside air, garage man door hard to close ,etc. I am amazed that they are paying for freight over 200 miles each way. Originally I was to pick up the unit but they offered to deliver it. LCI is near them so they came and repaired the frame where bent out the back under the garage ramp. I am very pleased by their standing behind the product and doing all the repairs. GD even added 10 gallons of gas to the new gas tanks that were destroyed.

[Bribed2]

Checkout the tire stop at last penny workshop on etsy. That's what I put on mine. Seen on untethered on YouTube.