superduty spare tire holder

Justin SE IOWA · Nov 20, 2013

On my 2003 superduty the spare tire winch thing was all jammed up and wouldn't come down. So I had to cut the cable and let the tire fall down. New ones are quite spendy so I am thinking of building my own. I have a lot of stainless steel 1" ACME thread all thread rod. I am thinking of cutting a piece 12 inches or so and welding that to a small plate and bolting that into the original location under the bed. Then welding 2 'wings' to a ACME nut so I have a large wingnut. Then drill a hole through the shaft under the nut and put a snap pin in there so the nut cant work loose. What do you think?

Ted in NE-OH · Nov 20, 2013

Have there been any cases of the cable rusting in two and the tire falling to the road??

Kow Farmer · Nov 20, 2013

Justin,
I had a very similar problem on my old Chevy Tahoe some years ago. I wanted to make sure the spare tire was good before I took a family vacation out West. And guess what? The cable wouldn't release for me to let the tire down. So I cut the cable and used a threaded ready rod and welded a plate to it like you want to do. Great idea. You won't regret it.
Kow Farmer Kurt

Howard H. · Nov 20, 2013

Well - whatever you come up with - post a picture
of what works!

Mine did the exact same thing - and I also had to
cut the cable in order to get back on the road...

I"ve been wondering how to fix mine, too...

ha...

Howard

oleblu · Nov 20, 2013

Ted...yes, there have. Not a pretty sight.

Kow Farmer...How do you hold the tire in position to get your plate with the nut started??

RayP(MI) · Nov 20, 2013

Yes - wife slammed the trunk and spare fell on the ground. I took winch apart - ground off the rivets. Replaced damaged cable, filled it with grease, reassembled with machine screws. Winch was still good when we traded the car, years later.

504 · Nov 20, 2013

I keep mine in the shed,I always know where it is if I need it.

jon f mn · Nov 20, 2013

Not a bad idea but I wouldn't use stainless tho.
Stainless will gaul up and you won't be able to get
the tire off when you want it. To see what I mean go
to the hardware store and buy a couple stainless
bolts and put them in something ant tighten them
down, then try to take them out. I will be surprised
if you can do it twice before they are locked on. I
would use regular rod and just never seize it good.

k6zrx · Nov 20, 2013

You plan should work as long as the rod doesn't hang too low. Remember that the cable mech setup is to help lift the wheel into place under the truck. Lifing the wheel up into place might be a not so pleasant job.

The only truck I had with the hanging spare tire was a work truck. I cut down tires so often on the dirt and rock roads the cable mech never got a chance to rust and seize.
I have a 120V inverter in the truck. I used a drill with an adapter to take the tire down and back up and raise and lower the jack, along with an electric impact gun for the lug nuts.
I got off the dirt road onto the state highway to change a tire once. A highway patrolman stopped just as I was getting everything out of the truck. He had never seen a tire change operation like mine before. I could do it in about 5 to 8 minutes!

Josh

Steve A W · Nov 20, 2013

Ted
I had a Ford Explorer that did that.
I was towing an empty tow dolly and hit a bump in the highway.
Thankfully the tire got hung up in the dollyand didn't hit any cars on the hwy.
Kinda ground the sidewall off the tire.

Steve A W

dcarp · Nov 20, 2013

Your idea should work as long as you can figure out how to hold up the spare & turn the wing nut. If I had to put the spare back for my Dodge 3500 that way I wouldn't have a spare. I'd guess the spare weighs at least 50 lbs. trying to hold that up in place then thread the nut & tighten it, not for this old man.
I'd buy a length of cable at tractor supply and replace the broken cable.

John A. · Nov 20, 2013

Justin, I hate to be the lone voice of descent. Why not call the local wrecking yards and get a used one. I can't imagine a used on in the wrecking yard would cost too much. If the ones in the Great White North are trash due to salt an other road additives them get one out of Texas shipped in. Got go be more and better usage of one time, I would think!
Later,
John A.

Mike in Mn. · Nov 20, 2013

I have the spares hanging under my GN trailers with a similar set up, only use a nut that takes the same wrench as the wheels, also use the hitch pin clip for a safety, hope I never have to use them. Taking a 89 Chev pickup apart today, box off to build a flat bed for a farm/beater, the winch lowered the spare to the ground with ease, brand new Michelin that had never been on the ground, the wheel was so rusty it was unusable.

D beatty · Nov 20, 2013

I take mine out from under truck and make braket and stand tire up in front corner of box or braket and put it out on the nose of truck. If left under box it is under inflated or so rusty that you can't get it out. In this area they use salt or this new liquid like its going out of style.

Dan T in MO · Nov 21, 2013

Hmmmmm.... I used mine on my '02 SuperDuty for the first time last month. Worked like a charm.

ohiojim · Nov 21, 2013

yea,..lost mine on a ford ranger years ago, just so happened that I went back the way I"d come home and found it in the road, my first thought was " some dummy lost his spare" turns out it was mine

Mike M · Nov 21, 2013

I'm in the salt belt in Ohio. My spare carrier on the 1996 Dodge 2500 worked fine up until I got rid of it a few years ago with almost 200,000 mi on it.
The secret is oil spraying and undercoating. I'd usually pull the spare out once a year and lube the cable and spray the frame area up above the spare. Also tried to keep the spare rim coated up too as it really wanted to rust.
Really gets to be a chore at times wallering around under a truck or car trying to keep the rust at bay.

Leroy · Nov 21, 2013

Never use them, the tire comes out of it and is either in the bed of truck or inside of car. On what I have now if I needed it you could not get under the vehical to get to the tire. And for years I carried 2 spares in my daily driver and one time I needed 3 spares. Got home on a broken belt.

Eric in IL · Nov 21, 2013

Jon I agree, I don't know if all series of stainless are prone to galling but some are terrible.

I am pretty sure the 3xx series is noted for galling. 4xx series may be less prone.

Definately something to consider BEFORE doing the build !

Fordfarmer · Nov 21, 2013

My problem is, my Super Duty (bought used) came with
a 'security device' - you have to have an adapter in
the wrench to turn the winch...which I don't have. I
got a rim from a local tire shop (free - because I
get all my car and truck tires there) and carry the
spare in the bed. Original spare is still under the
bed...

Kow Farmer · Nov 21, 2013

Funny you asked that. It sucked. LOL I had to crawl under the truck, lay on my back and hold the tire up with my feet. Not an easy task for a pot bellied guy like me. LOL
Kow Farmer Kurt

Michael Soldan · Nov 21, 2013

I had the same problem with my Ford truck when I bought it,I had to cut the cable to drop the tire. A new hoist was around $120,so I went to the auto wreckers and got a used hoist for $40 that works like a charm. Grease the heck out of the cable and as another poster said,spray grease in the area of the frame and bed where the tire goes. I dropped my spare and had the truck undercoated then replaced the spare. My truck has a box rust free from Georgia and I plan on keeping it rust free. The hoist comes off with four bolts on the frame and although it looks like it will never come down through the opening in the frame,just wiggle it around and it will drop out and the new one will go back in the same way and bolt back in. The problem of having a spare loose in the box is that it becomes a projectile if you are in an accident. If you must have your spare in the box ,do as others and build a bracket to hold it in place.

DP · Nov 21, 2013

Interesting, have an 04 at home in the garage that I've owned since 07, and an 02 that I've had a couple years. Have never dropped the spare out from either of them. I don't think the spare on the 04 has ever been dropped. Needless to say, I should probably exercise them someday. Getting ice here at present, so it won't be today!

MSS3020 · Nov 21, 2013

Bought one in feb. 2000. I didnt have the "lock" tool and cut mine loose. I took my old one and cleaned it up. Put the cable through the hanger and put on a large nut that wont go through the hole on hanger. Then at the end I made loop and put loop through one of those "c-clamps" smallest possible tightened the nuts and heated it up and brazzed it up. Also brazzed the nut. and away we go.. So far so good. Ive heard you should move these at least once a year.. that was my fix anyway..

robgIN · Nov 21, 2013

that security device is just held in the plastic tube by a couple tabs, you can pry it out and throw it away and just use the tool as you used to before they started putting those stupid security devices on. I have done it on a few trucks when people lost the "key"

Robert Major · Nov 21, 2013

Hi
Here in Canada the carrier for a 99 superduty is 4- $500 from Ford, so a used one in a wreckers is half new if a guy can find one thats good.
If you look on a certain online auction site you can find brand new genuine ford, with free shipping sometimes.
The one my parts guy got was around 145 Canadian in my hand, I paid him a bit for doing it. He had a U.S paypal account for the free shipping address. If I got that carrier shipped to me in Canada U.P.S wanted over $150. so I was a happy camper at $145.
Plus I have the bed space back that was lost with the wheel in there, and I don"t have to fight
putting the wheel up, or getting it down on a cold wet day on the highway or gravel roads.
If you can find a new genuine Ford winch online cheap, buy it
. Im glad I did!
Regards Robert

Justin SE IOWA · Nov 21, 2013

Jon I know what you mean about gualling! I work with stainless bolts and nuts everyday and we go through a lot of anti seize! I would use a regular steel nut and anti seize so it wont gaull.

495man · Nov 22, 2013

1) Use chisel/air hammer to notch the "T" that holds the spare tire to the cable
2) Bend one tab of the "T" so the tire falls off the cable/carrier
3) Unbolt the carrier from the truck frame
4) Remove carrier
5) Pry plastic tube off carrier and remove stupid security key
6) Open winch up and soak with fluid film, get cable and drum working good
7) Weld "T" back into normal shape.
8) Reassemble
9) enjoy working tire winch

I had to do this to my Super Duty. Cost nothing out of pocket, just some shop supplies (fluid film, welding rod etc) I even had the security key!!!

superduty spare tire holder

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