How do you get to your spare tire with the camper on?

[zzyzxpat]

I have the spare mounted on the front of my 2000 Dodge, but now with a new F350 I would prefer not to do that. Anyone have any suggestions as to how you are able to crank down the spare? Thanks, Pat

[Geewizard]

SideHillSoup wrote:
I went to the auto wrecker and bought for $20 a second set of hand crack tubes and pouch. Now I haven’t had to use because of of a flat, however I have tested it and it works great even with the camper on the truck.

+1. A cheap and easy solution for my Tundra.

[Eric_Lisa]

zzyzxpat wrote:
...Anyone have any suggestions as to how you are able to crank down the spare?...

Did that, done that. Middle of a freeway interchange. Busy freeway, in the city. On a hot afternoon. Right front tire, so it wasn't carrying the load of the camper. Had to put the jacks down and lift the camper in order to get at the bumper hole to lower the spare tire. Definitely in the not-fun category.

That said... This should be a relatively rare occurrence. It will suck if/when it happens, but I wouldn't put too much effort in to engineering a different solution.

-Eric

[zzyzxpat]

Thank you all for the responses. Pat

[specta]

AAA

[mountainkowboy]

^^^^hahahaha

[mkirsch]

I had one flat with my rig. While it wasn't as convenient as just the empty truck, I didn't find any insurmountable issues. I just took my 1/2" ratchet and turned the tool to lower the spare and raise the flat.

Worst part about the whole thing was having to unpack EVERYTHING behind the seat to get at the spare tire tools. I looked at the pile on the ground and just shook my head. I was sorely tempted to leave most of it laying there.

[ticki2]

If you consider removing the spare from behind the rear axle then adding it to in front of the front axle the affect can easily be 175# . It doesn't mean the spare weighs that much.

[NRALIFR]

Another thing to consider if you have a dually is: can you get the center cap off to access the lug nuts on the rear wheels? I had to throw an extra tool in the truck for mine.

It’s a good idea to go through the motions of changing a tire at home once just to make sure you can do it.

:):)

[Bedlam]

bwlyon wrote:
I moved the spare to the front of our 2015 Ram 3500. This was accomplished by mounting a receiver hitch and receiver mounted tire carrier. The benefits are two fold: 1. The spare is easy to get to. 2. It effectively took 175lbs of the rear axle.

That is a heavy wheel. My 18" aluminum rims with tires were under just under 100 lbs each and my 19.5's on aluminum were just over 125 lbs.

[Bedlam]

With a 28" SuperTruss, I was still able to reach the spare using the crank and extension that came with my Ford without any modifications. My Ram carries the spare on top of a 42" SuperTruss and is secured by four bolts. I found once the tire is dropped to the ground, it is easier to pull the truck forward rather than trying to reach underneath and drag the tire out. I also carry a heavier bottle jack that has no trouble lifting the truck with the the camper loaded.

[GTO66]

You can use the rods that came with the truck and a twelve inch crescent wrench clears my camper. I also carry a 20 ton bottle jack as I'm not sure I would like to use the stock jack without the camper. The fun part is dragging the heavy tire from under the truck. I try to drop it on a tarp and than drag the hold thing out.

[bwlyon]

I moved the spare to the front of our 2015 Ram 3500. This was accomplished by mounting a receiver hitch and receiver mounted tire carrier. The benefits are two fold: 1. The spare is easy to get to. 2. It effectively took 175lbs of the rear axle.

[mountainkowboy]

haven't ever had a flat, but it's easy to get to

[opnspaces]

Jay Pat wrote:

cavie wrote:

Jay Pat wrote:
If you are in a parking lot, turn your pickup the best way so you can the tool in the hole and crank.

If not, you may have to disconnect the truck.

I do believe the op is talking about a truck camper as that is the forum he is on. I could be wrong.

Oops, I understand that now....
Pat

Sorry Op no suggestions here.

To cavie and Jay Pat,
While true it is in the truck camper forum, I appreciate the suggestion. My new to me Suburban has the crank hole in the rear bumper and now I know what to try if I get a flat with trailer in tow.