How do you remove spare tire?

Thanks Chris!

 

Unfortunately I didn't flip mine over like some on here have. I didn't do this just because I know I won't be fooling with it that often since it doesn't have a sensor in it. Also I just prefer the way the tire sits with the valve stem pointing up, but that's just me.

 

I went to look at mine & decided to leave it pointed up, but I rotated the tire till the valve was closest to my license plate. Then I still can check & fill up the tire easily. Gotta get down on the ground either way...

 

I bought this and mounted the air fill end at my trailer power connector:
https://www.makariosrv.com/products...eel-36"-Hose-Spare-Tire-Inflation-System.html

 

I searched before asking the same question (thus finding this thread). The 2009 owner's manual says to crank the spare up and keep going until you hear three "clicks". Well, I didn't hear or feel anything that I would describe as a "click", but it did feel like I reached the end of travel and cranking the handle would "override" the crank mechanism. So I cranked it three times (thus overriding the mechanism three times) and figured that's a "click".

It makes me a little nervous, though. That compresses the spring completely, which makes me wonder if this procedure over-tightens the spare. I'm really not interested in seeing my spare skidding down the highway behind me.

 

good work! i missed this thread last month.. glad i caught it tonight..

 

Tire is facing up for a few reasons:

A) keeps the outward side of the spare away from direct road debris, to keep the exterior face looking better when being used on the truck

B) the tire lifts more level due to the balance point or center of gravity on the tire. If you have it with the valve facing down, it will not lift flat and might not sit against the underside of the frame properly

C) to make it a pain in the anus to check/adjust tire pressure.


The tire retainer mechanism has a clutch in it. The 'clicks' may not be audible, but you should feel it. It's just the point where the clutch engages and slips. That spring is going to be fully compressed so the tire doesn't bounce around, a spring that size probably only takes a few hundred pounds to compress fully.

 

I have not found (B) above to be the case.

 

This thread reminds me to go get the spare tire lock. Better than nothing I suppose.........I'd be concerned about puttin any bigger tire under there & having to trust that skinny cable. This is a carryover part from my 82 prerunner. The spare mounted the same way, XCEPT, it had a nice chain instead of a cable of seemingly questionable capabilities.

 

As far as a lock for the spare, I just used some heavy cable and had loops swaged on both ends, then ran one end up through the wheel and over the frame and used a master lock the secure the ends together. I figure if the cable ever breaks on the lowering mechanism, the cable lock would keep the tire from flying down the road.
An idea to make lowering the spare easier would be to have a rod welded to the lowering mechanism and long enough to sit flush with the bumper hole with a fitting on the end to attach the crank handle or a drill motor with an extension. The rod could go through a rubber grommet in the bumper hole to help keep it in place and not bounce around.

 

They failed on that one... there are wear marks from where the tire meets the frame under the truck. There's a thread around here somewhere, where someone posted pics of his/her spare with the marks. I have the wear marks on my spare.

 

FYI, Toyota answered my question, and tried it out--they said the manual will be changed, that there are no clicks.

 

It's going to rust!

 

I had to increase the air pressure on my spare today due to the sensor going on. The stem as positioned was very accessible. It was pointing directly towards the rear of the truck. I was able to insert my PSI tester and double check the pressure - it was super low!

Drove to the gas station and was able to easily insert the hose thru one of the openings of the rim and inflate the tire.

I did look at lowering the tire first but that looked too darn complicated!!

 

I am still thinking about the cure for this debacle by Toyota. I WILL find a sublime anwer to this. No, it will not rust. I use 100% high grade stainless steel in everything I do that involves metal. Do it....Do it right.