Spare Tire Crank Assembly Failed

[StringFellow]

Today I had to utilize my spare tire (one of my tires had a bulge and was loosing air). After I had the original tire replaced I attempted to crank the spare tire back into place and it appears that part of the crank assembly for the metal tire wire failed. I currently have no place to store the spare tire until this is fixed.




I have contacted GD via email (they are closed for the evening - will follow up with a phone call in the morning) with pictures and additional details. I am hoping they can ship me the replacement part(s) so that I can perform the repair. It looks like a simple repair as long as I have the correct parts. Local GD dealer is backed up for weeks.

 

[TucsonJim]

What a shame. I've lowered and raised mine about 3 times in 2-1/2 years. It's still working okay, but it certainly is an area to keep an eye on now. As far as I know, you're the first one to report a problem.

Jim

 

[Canyonlight]

StringFellow--curious about the tire......you had one that had a screw in it which you covered in a post about a month ago.....same tire or different tire ?

As Jim shared this is the first post I have seen regarding a problem with the assembly other than a couple about lowering/raising challenges. Keep us posted on GDRV response and the replacement process.

Dan

 

[StringFellow]

StringFellow--curious about the tire......you had one that had a screw in it which you covered in a post about a month ago.....same tire or different tire ?

As Jim shared this is the first post I have seen regarding a problem with the assembly other than a couple about lowering/raising challenges. Keep us posted on GDRV response and the replacement process.

Dan

This was a second tire that had a very slow leak (about 1 PSI per day) since we got the unit back in March. Decided to take the tire off to investigate the issue. Turns out there was a small bulge on the back side of there tire. Not sure if that was the cause of the leak but have a new tire and valve stem.

As for the spare tire winch, GD is overnighting the part to me. Emailed GD Tuesday evening and by the next morning GD customer service had already place the order to have the part shipped to my home. Got my fingers crossed that it is the right part and arrives tomorrow.

I removed the defective part this evening....very easy removal, 2 bolts accessed through the opening of the belly cover for the spare tire winch cable.

 

[StringFellow]

Received the replacement spare tire winch from GD. Installed in about 20 minutes and reinstalled the spare tire. I did notice that the under belly cover material was pushing against the cable on the winch. I belive this was the cause of the failure. I made a slight modification to the opening to ensure the cable comes straight down.

On a slightly different note, it looks like the tire that was replaced due to a slow air leak and possible bulge is still leaking slowly. Lost about 3-4 PSI over the past 24 hour period. Since it is a new tire (no road time) and new valve steam, it now seems to point to a possible issue with the wheel itself. I will monitor it more over our weekend trip and if it is still leaking I will contact GD to determine how to resolve the issue.

 

[Cate&Rob]

Received the replacement spare tire winch from GD. Installed in about 20 minutes and reinstalled the spare tire. I did notice that the under belly cover material was pushing against the cable on the winch. I belive this was the cause of the failure. I made a slight modification to the opening to ensure the cable comes straight down.

On a slightly different note, it looks like the tire that was replaced due to a slow air leak and possible bulge is still leaking slowly. Lost about 3-4 PSI over the past 24 hour period. Since it is a new tire (no road time) and new valve steam, it now seems to point to a possible issue with the wheel itself. I will monitor it more over our weekend trip and if it is still leaking I will contact GD to determine how to resolve the issue.

Stringfellow,

If you are interested in figuring this out yourself, it is as simple as a soapy water solution and a small brush. All around the valve stem and along the inside and outside tire beads are the most likely places to find leaks. Bulges don't usually have slow leaks, but this is also easy to check with the soap solution. Next to check would be the welds on a steel wheel.

Rob

 

[Festivalbound]

First time out last year with our new 2020 Momentum 351M the spare tire winch failed and the tire dropped tearing the whole underneath of the RV from the spare tire back smashing both gas tanks and bending the back bumper channel out. Grand design picked up my unit and made all repairs plus several on my punch list. They are finishing up and will return my unit over 200 miles hopefully next week. I bolted a chain to the frame next to the Lippert spare tire winch with a bar and pin to prevent this from ever happening again. Very pleased with the service of Grand Design and I camped all summer and fall before scheduling the repairs since I wanted to get use out of the unit. I think everyone with this winch should install a safety chain as I have read many reviews of the spare hanging down when returning from trips.