Oops - check your spares

[oldjeep]

The thread about the spare tire carrier breaking prompted me to take a look at mine this morning, getting ready to take off for the day. The carrier is fine but it looks like the boat hit the spare pretty hard at least once and bent the bracket enough to push one of the exposed ends of the ubolts into the sidewall of the tire. Tire is not punctured, but in no way is it safe to use. Guess I'll have to trim that sucker off and buy a new tire.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Oops - check your spares

 

[ricohman]

Re: Oops - check your spares

I noticed the construction of your carrier is folded at the top. No way a broken weld will let this type fall of the trailer.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Oops - check your spares

I noticed the construction of your carrier is folded at the top. No way a broken weld will let this type fall of the trailer.

Hard to say, I'm trying to remember which weld even broke. I think it was one of teh sides, but I'd have to take a look to see where my welds are.

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Oops - check your spares

Yeah oldjeep, that thread made me think about my setup also, and I realized I'm lucky. My single-axle utility trailer uses the same size rim/tire as my dual-axle boat trailer. I just keep one spare chained to the bed of my truck (it's a rare occasion that my truck won't be pulling either rig!)

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Oops - check your spares

And while we are all going out to check our Spare Tire Carriers....

Take a hacksaw with you and cut off all the extra thread sticking out of the U-Bolts.
A few minutes of prevention is worth a spare Tire.

Leave one bolt diameter or at least 5 threads worth of bolt sticking past the nut.
Do not cut it flush with the Nut.

 

[CoffeeHound]

Re: Oops - check your spares

And while we are all going out to check our Spare Tire Carriers....
Take a hacksaw with you and cut off all the extra thread sticking out of the U-Bolts.
A few minutes of prevention is worth a spare Tire.
Leave one bolt diameter or at least 5 threads worth of bolt sticking past the nut.\Do not cut it flush with the Nut.

Did the full inspect on mount ,,welding and all for the spare tire .
Does any one even check bolt size / lug spaceing / and center hole diamater on their spare rim ??
I did mine after above post and to my sorrow found "" Trailer has 5 lug , 5 inch pattern & spare is 5 lug , 5.5 inch pattern .

So for heck of it ,, tried to install spare on hub to no avail,,won;t fit and for all these years, I have went many miles blissfully
ignorent and happy to have a USELESS pumped up, spare hanging from front of my boat trailer.

 

[jkust]

Re: Oops - check your spares

Did the full inspect on mount ,,welding and all for the spare tire .
Does any one even check bolt size / lug spaceing / and center hole diamater on their spare rim ??
I did mine after above post and to my sorrow found "" Trailer has 5 lug , 5 inch pattern & spare is 5 lug , 5.5 inch pattern .

So for heck of it ,, tried to install spare on hub to no avail,,won;t fit and for all these years, I have went many miles blissfully
ignorent and happy to have a USELESS pumped up, spare hanging from front of my boat trailer.

Not quite but my first year towing my sig boat, I went out and dutifuly bought a spare only to have a blowout and discover the lug nuts are larger than the lug wrench on the SUV. Lucy for me that Progressive includes trailer roadside assistance in their boat policies. I then got a 't' lug wrench with 4 sizes but now also carry a breaker bar, impact socket and a hunk of pipe for leverage. The biggest issue when I get a flat on the trailer is the SUV jack is usable to change the tire but takes forever to crank it up high enough. Need to carry a bottle jack but nowhere to put it where it wouldn't fly around the truck in the event of an accident. I'm the guy who wrote the post that prompted this one and having the breaker bar and impact socket allowed me to wrench the bent rim enough to at least continue on with the tow. I was praying the lug studs wouldn't break but I was in a difficult spot. I like to be as prepared as possible in the even of a trailer issue.

 

[Gpayne]

Re: Oops - check your spares

I carry my spare in the back of the truck, mostly because I haven't bought a spare carrier for my trailer yet. I also carry a 4-way lug wrench and a grease gun. I've already verified that my truck's factory jack will work with the boat trailer just fine.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Oops - check your spares

Here's where I put my spare tire....When I had bass boats I mounted it in the same place!

Unfortunately most bowrider trailers don't have enough room to mount it behind the winch post. Would be nice if they built in a carrier like most of the comp ski boat trailers have - just a sunken strap welded between the frame arms with a hold down bolt.

 

[jkust]

Re: Oops - check your spares

Here's where I put my spare tire....When I had bass boats I mounted it in the same place!

Unfortunately most bowrider trailers don't have enough room to mount it behind the winch post. Would be nice if they built in a carrier like most of the comp ski boat trailers have - just a sunken strap welded between the frame arms with a hold down bolt.

The deeper the V the fewer the options it seems.

 

[SDSeville]

Re: Oops - check your spares

Did the full inspect on mount ,,welding and all for the spare tire .
Does any one even check bolt size / lug spaceing / and center hole diamater on their spare rim ??
I did mine after above post and to my sorrow found "" Trailer has 5 lug , 5 inch pattern & spare is 5 lug , 5.5 inch pattern .

So for heck of it ,, tried to install spare on hub to no avail,,won;t fit and for all these years, I have went many miles blissfully
ignorent and happy to have a USELESS pumped up, spare hanging from front of my boat trailer.

I noticed the same thing a few years ago -- except I didn't notice I had the wrong spare rim until I had a flat in the middle of nowhere. I had to unhitch the boat, leave it on the side of the freeway, drive an hour, and spend triple the regular price for a new rim and 2 tires (figured I would replace the 5 year old spare tire while I was at it) .