Any mods to ease lowering the spare tire?

I can see that 100%, it's definitely annoying to get the tools out and they are poor quality as is the jack itself*; that lug wrench especially is pure junk. I keep a breaker bar and 20 and 21mm deep sockets in the storage compartment because those cheap lug nut covers strip off changing the size of the nuts.


*I switched to one of the bottle jacks from Tractor Supply that some other folks on here recommended, it's much easier to use.

 

When first reading this I thought of a cordless also. Then I thought how do you keep it charged. Is it dedicated so I’ll be there that rainy night when you need it.

for the jack I use a portable floor jack and tee wrench which I place on the floor behind my seat since the extended cab really isn’t great for seating

 

How often are you changing spares?!

 

I’m doing 5 tire rotation so potentially more frequently than others. I like knowing my spare tire has proven itself recently since it’s not a donut. It is a definite bummer that the truck can only track 4 TPMS.

More concretely, I’ve removed / replaced my spare 3 times in the last 6 months. Once to swap the steelie with an OEM OR rim, once when I flatted, then again later on to stow the patched spare, then a final time when I contemplated replacing the tire that was patched but decided not to.

I like where it’s stowed, I like the OEM tools, just want a bit of a nicer shop option and perhaps some added security to prevent theft similar to the tailgate anti theft bracket.

 

I had the same problem and thought. I was getting ready to go on a long road trip and wanted to test the spare mechanism and air up the tire and had a bear of a time getting the rod inserted into the actuator. The spare tire lock made it even harder than it would have been. I ended up crawling under and putting it in there by hand which wasn't ideal. So I made this plastic docking interface that makes the job dead solid easy. It essentially gives you a much bigger and solidly placed target that funnels the tip of the rod into place. You can download the file here and print one. Fasten it into the hole in the frame with JB Weld or other good epoxy.

Toyota Tacoma spare tire crank lock guide by raylo32 - Thingiverse