Spare wheel chain

It's the slack in the chain when the spare is up that hangs down. Maybe I'm anal but I also put a lock on the chain, if/when the time comes to lower the spare I'll get a little dirty, no big deal.

 

how much time do you spend under your truck looking at the chain? The only time you see it is when you look under there. petty shit

 

Everybody is different.

 

Powder coat and better steel.

If I had my way, Toyota would have been boxing them, then galvanizing the frames for the past 25 years.

 

Mine hangs like that on my second gen.

 

I'm just happy the truck has a spare, my wifes car is a 2013 Hyundai Elantra and they do not come with spare tires- what you get is a very small compressor and a can of fix a flat, trouble is we were out in the middle of nowhere in 113 degree heat when I drove over a glass bottle on a dirt road I didn't see, which sliced my left rear tire with a 3 inch cut, no can of fix a flat is going to do a damn thing about that. Called for a tow and 2 hours later had the car on a flatbed heading home....I mean seriously, no spare tire? Bozos. Imagine my surprise when I lifted the spare tire cover and saw it was empty.

 

I am torn, flip the wheel to collect mud and debris or leave it and not be able to check air pressure since it doesn't have tpms? Is there such a thing as a plastic cover sold aftermarket?

 

Never seen a valve stem extension. My first truck, but I bought my son a truck in high school and the last 6 years I tried both ways and in the inverted OEM way, the wheel collected gravel road and hardened like cement. However, I left it to check the tire pressure more easily.

 

My 15 has a chain too, being paranoid about theft I wrapped it up through the tire and put a padlock on it. 2 birds one stone. I sprayed some wd40 in it and taped the bottom but now I am concerned the lock may be jammed up when I need my tire. Good idea in theory though.

 

I have heard of it but not nearly as common as on jeeps. Probably ranks less common than tailgate theft. I don't think it happens around here much (although I do see a lot of jeeps without a spare) but if i go to Denver or California you'll get everything stolen that isn't locked down in certain places.

I had 4 KC lights stolen off my jeep locally a couple years back and I have been paranoid about people stealing crap off my vehicles ever since.

 

I'm 99% sure my spare tire was stolen. It must have been the past few days because you can see it just walking next to the truck and it's suddenly not there. I'm in Denver. Why do people do that!?

 

I guess on the scale of petty thefts, it's pretty minor. At least no one was killed or mugged, and nothing was broken. I had a previous truck broken into and some spare change for parking meters stolen. The problem was that they broke the side window to gain access. I wished that I had left it unlocked!

 

That's crazy. At least they didn't steal any valuables from under my unlocked tonneau cover.

 

You should be lowering the tire down at least once a year for a number of reasons. Check air pressure, check wheel for rust and paint if needed, grease the chain and crank components. The chain hangs down a few inches below the bumper, it clearly visible from the back of the truck without even looking for it. Petty you say? I think not, it looks like crap. Hobby grade thin zip tie can be broken with a good yank, problem solved.

 

Toyota did use a cable for the 2005-2011 Tacoma (one of the few trucks they used the cable on) and switched to the chain for 2012. I don't know if it was related to the recalls for the spare tire cables that affected so many Sienna models or not, but it seems possible. The 2016 continued using the same spare tire chain as the 2012-2015.

Jeff

 

My first 4X4 Toyota pickup was a HiLux in 1980 and it used the same system as my current 2015. My second HiLux was used and the spare was seized. I tried everything to save it but in the end I cut it off and learned how important maintenance is for system like this. I hardly ever stow the tire under there but is convenient when the box is being used for other stuff. Where I live, in a central Ontario snow belt, 4 months of the year you wouldn't want to have to crawl under there if you ever had a flat tire!!

 

I'm with you Peter... Mine is chained and locked in the box.... Under the Tonneau, so mine is available when needed and will be clean.

It's no fun getting it out from under the bed.... My chain is zip-tied up tightly and out of the way of branches, etc...

 

Yep! A handful of zip ties to squeeze every ounce of movement out of the chain and this, a 285/75R16 don't fit under without cutting anyhow.

 

Will running a stock size spare with a 285/75 on the other side of the same axle harm anything? I could see it causing the rear diff to bind if you've got a posi rear (not sure if I do or not) but I don't believe it will harm anything up front as long as 4wd is not in use. What do you guys think?

 

On my 88, 98 and 04 I just tucked the chain in on top of the tire. Never had any problems.