Loose Spare Tire

[Cahriad]

Like a lot of things on RV's the spare tire assembly is not the best in the world. In my SOB I played the cinch up game for a couple of years,
then one day I went out to re-tighten it and the whole assembly was gone, including the spare...


So I would definitely cinch it up and then be studying the problem a little more in depth. The addition of a locking brace that is not dependent on the winch is advisable.

Any suggestions on adding a brace?

[ThePowells]

Maybe not a brace, but I used threaded rod the same size and thread of the wheel studs on my spare tire mount under our class C. This gave me the security on not having to worry about a winch or cable issue and I could use spare lug nuts to secure it.

[Steven@147]

Absolutely, I check ours on the Solitude and it hasn't come lose yet. The one on my older Ram truck has the same winch system, the cable broke and dropped the spare tire (ST285x75x16) right in the middle of the street, a lady with a mini cooper right behind me, scarred her to no end, she got stopped before she hit it. I hate to think what that could have done to her car or her! Check your truck spare tire winch also.

[powerscol]

I had my holder replaced under warranty. That one started dropping so I got Curt receiver mount tire holder and an anti rattle bracket at etrailer. Works great. I left the old on in place - foamed the hole closed, so if I ever want to keep a second spare I can.

[D2Reid]

Any suggestions on adding a brace?

Simplest is 1" flat metal bar, either welded or bolted to the frame, one on each side, then a horizontal bar over the middle of the tire. Fancy ones consist of a whole "cage" that the wheel slips into.

I have also seen chains bolted to frame.

Or just check it frequently.

[Dentil]

This was my fix to the dropping spare tire. Beam clamps and a pin.
Dennis

[SGT ROC]

This was my fix to the dropping spare tire. Beam clamps and a pin.
Dennis

Good Idea! I have a beam clamp or two. I also see me at some point in the future trying to get the tire down and forgetting to remove the pin.

[JCR GD]

You may find the cable is a rats nest of wound up cable. Start by rewinding the cable under load to eliminate the slack caused by uneven winding. Vibration will cause the rats nest of cable to tighten and allow the tire to become loose.

[Saldog]

Very good idea. Thank you for sharing this post.

[papermakermd]

Mine only worked loose one time. I cinched it back up and it has been fine ever since. I check it when I think of it but no problems. I have probably traveled 8000 miles the past two years over our great roads.