Spare tire mounting on 2018 16TBS

[ADR]

What a poor design-  a single 1/2" bolt through a lug hole in the wheel.

No mechanism at all to help one lower or place the spare back in its spot.
I guess they think we are all young and fit enough to hold a 50+lb tire and wheel up flat against the frame with one hand while attempting to thread said bolt through a lug hole and into the tapped hole in the frame.

Speaking of the tapped hole- it is aluminum so if you don't perfectly align the steel bolt- stripped threads are a real possibility. 
A tip- when you do take it loose liberally use a quality antisieze on the bolt threads before putting it back.   
I can guarantee a steel/ zinc chromated bolt will effectively weld itself in the tapped hole after the moisture gets in there and time passes. 
Would hate to discover in the dark lying in the mud one night on the side of a busy highway that the bolt won't come out.

The sadist that mounted mine at the factory even made sure to align the valve stem under the frame so you cannot access it to check pressure while it is mounted.


So who has come up with a better way to mount the spare?   I'm thinking a spare winch like comes on vehicles that have the underneath full size spare eg the Ford Transit.   Or even the cross bar like my pickup where you manhandle the spare onto the bar that is hanging at one end...then lever it up and hold the tire up with your knees while securing it back in on the other end.

[Steve Sanders]

Your point is valid, but the design is from the Quicksilver series that has 12 inch tires that aren't so hard to handle. When they started making bigger campers, they probably just said "we already have a solution" and moved on.

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[tbwrench]

Not sure how well it would work, but I did find this on the web. https://www.amazon.com/Lippert-159056-Spare-Tire-Winch/dp/B00JMHFK4S

[dlb53151]

Got a nail in the rear passenger trailer tire last week on our trip.  Fortunately I noticed a hissing sound at the gas station so I was able to investigate it further there.  Must had just picked up the nail as the tire still looked full. 

However, the Trailer-Aid Plus came to the rescue as I was able to quickly change the tire using it.  Highly recommend it. 

I agree with the comments about the difficulty with pulling the spare off from under the trailer and reinstalling it.  I have to wonder about if I really want to use thread locker on the bolt since that could make the next time more challenging to remove??




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[Diversteve]

We experienced a flat tire on our 14 DBS. I had already removed the spare and located it to the covered bed of our TV, i did not like the location of the spare from LL.
Yes the Trailer Aid made changing the tire very easy. The only thing we did not like was the look of the spare tire wheel, we were only half way through our trip, the solution for us was a replacement wheel that matched the existing. A search on Amazon got us just what we wanted.
This was the listing on Amazon
Lippert 376825 RV Radial Tire ST175/80R13 LRC on a 13X4.5 5-4.5 Lynx Aluminum RV Wheel.
These seem to be unavailable now, but the part number may help with a search.

[stu1965]

that spare tire nearly throat chopped me when putting it on underneath yesterday. It really sucked to do it alone. This is one of the few times I was happy i had a 'post covid belly' to help hold it up when screwing it back up. I dread getting a flat right now, new tires or not.

[GrampaKilt]

For your very concerns is why I'll do anything to avoid reinstalling my spare underneath whilst on the road. Better yet, kindly ask the tire tech to put the spare back after fixing the flat . GK

[Chappy133]

Added this so we now carry two spares.  I think we got it from etrailer dot com.

[LoneWolf04]

Not sure how well it would work, but I did find this on the web. https://www.amazon.com/Lippert-159056-Spare-Tire-Winch/dp/B00JMHFK4S

The problem with the spare tire winch is that where the current mount is located, you would end up running into the trailer boxed frame where you need to connect to the winch in order to lower the tire. If you tried mounting it lower, the tire will just become the first thing to hit the ground while traveling.

[ADR]

Better yet, kindly ask the tire tech to put the spare back after fixing the flat . GK

No way would I trust the "tire tech" to put that securing bolt in without stripping the aluminum threads in the frame!

[dlb53151]

Although it is a total PITA to reinstall the spare tire underneath the TT, it is still worth it to me to keep it under there.  The post-Covid belly does help.  It's like a second set of hands lol.  I figure I shouldn't have to access it that often so it's ok.


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[DavidM]

Out of sight often means out of mind. Make sure to check the tire pressure periodically.

I kept the spare tire underneath my 16TBS for the seven years that I owned it and crawled underneath to check its pressure at least yearly. A total PITA but essential.

David

[dlb53151]

Absolutely.  I check it 2x per season.


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[MikeT]

Did you ever come up with a solution?  I too want to take advantage of the space under my 2015 RBS21.  I would like to have my two spares for the TT and an extra spare for the TV.

Cheers

Mike

[Merlin]

Did you ever come up with a solution?  I too want to take advantage of the space under my 2015 RBS21.  I would like to have my two spares for the TT and an extra spare for the TV.

Cheers

Mike

Going someplace extra exciting?