Spare tire removal fail

[Socalx09]

The low tire warning went off on the Suburban about a mile from the chevron in Essex. Went from 32psi to 21psi in a minute. Pulled into a shady spot at the chevron and you can hear the tire losing air. Ok-Time to lower the spare and switch it out. We are in shade and at a gas station, we are good. My dad and I attempt to lower the spare, but it won’t lower! WTH. It’s broken! My dad was ready to cut the cable off somehow to get it down. After an hour+ with dogs in the car and grandma. I read the service manual and it says to use the wider square end! Well that worked and we felt like idiots. AAA was still an hour or so away. We knew the tow service guy would have just called us dumbasses for using the wrong end! So use the wide square end on the jack kit. Might be common knowledge, but never had to change a spare on 3 Suburbans!

 

[HNL2LHC]

Yeah, things are a little different these days with standard equipment. I typically do a dry run when I get a new vehicle to be sure everything works and I have everything needed. Try and teach that to your 20 year old kids that always drive your vehicles that are maintained. I cringed to think what might happen when our son was in college and had to take care of the Jeep. I was just waiting to have the call. Hey Dad the car died on me and it needs a new engine. LOL

 

[RVR SWPR]

Live and learn.Good you guys on pavement in shade and not cooking on off ramp.

 

[185EZ]

At least you have a spare
Our new Acura has a tire repair kit and air compresser

 

[boatdoc55]

As was said before, we do dry runs right in the garage at home with any new to us car or truck. I even throw something in the storage area that's not OEM, star wrench, small jack, moving blanket, ect, if it's going to help on the road. If one drives at night, which we try not to, a good flashlight with battery's. Glad you were able to get unstuck and back on the road.

 

[Waterjunky]

On ;many new vehicles I just end up with the owners manual out. Trying to find all the tools is a challenge sometimes.....

 

[ka0tyk]

I usually replace the junk tire irons for a breaker bar and socket. Nothing sucks more than some guy at the tire shop that gave it five ugga duggas and you have a 10” tire iron that bends.

 

[Ziggy]

I did the same 20 yrs ago. My f350 had a keyed adaptor(like a wheel lock) you put on rod to turn down spare. I did end up cutting the cable. $18 to replace that part.

 

[HocusPocus]

At least you have a spare
Our new Acura has a tire repair kit and air compresser

Same with my Challenger widebody, not sure how that will work out, most likely a tow from AAA.

 

[The Prisoner]

The low tire warning went off on the Suburban about a mile from the chevron in Essex. Went from 32psi to 21psi in a minute. Pulled into a shady spot at the chevron and you can hear the tire losing air. Ok-Time to lower the spare and switch it out. We are in shade and at a gas station, we are good. My dad and I attempt to lower the spare, but it won’t lower! WTH. It’s broken! My dad was ready to cut the cable off somehow to get it down. After an hour+ with dogs in the car and grandma. I read the service manual and it says to use the wider square end! Well that worked and we felt like idiots. AAA was still an hour or so away. We knew the tow service guy would have just called us dumbasses for using the wrong end! So use the wide square end on the jack kit. Might be common knowledge, but never had to change a spare on 3 Suburbans!

View attachment 908647
View attachment 908648

Charter member of that club. Happened to me couple of years ago. Was losing my mind wondering why it would not connect. Never needed to change a tire before with that system and it pisses you off when you figure it out.

 

[Socalx09]

Well we made it back to corona a bit ago thankfully.

Live and learn.Good you guys on pavement in shade and not cooking on off ramp.

So very glad we were in the shade at a gas station. That would have been 100x to deal with that issue on the side of the 40.

Need to order a new kit because one of the rods broke and the tire wrench wasn’t great. So will upgrade those parts like mentioned above. It was a great weekend at the lake! Even made it in 3.5 hours on Thursday to havasu! This trip took a bit longer lol.

I did the same 20 yrs ago. My f350 had a keyed adaptor(like a wheel lock) you put on rod to turn down spare. I did end up cutting the cable. $18 to replace that part.

Haha I think if I told my dad the cable was $18 to replace, he would have cut it within 10 mins of having issues! Lol!

 

[The Prisoner]

On ;many new vehicles I just end up with the owners manual out. Trying to find all the tools is a challenge sometimes.....

Bought a new Escalade on 07......got a flat just past Hoover dam....could not find jack at all. Tried Onstar and it never connected and it was still in the free trial phase. The couple I was with, the guy finally found the jack behind a piece of moulding under the rear seat. hidden very well right under our noses.

 

[Socalx09]

At least you have a spare
Our new Acura has a tire repair kit and air compresser

Same with my Challenger widebody, not sure how that will work out, most likely a tow from AAA.

My Chevy volt comes with a tire sealer and compressor as well. Probably only good for a short distance. No spare either.

 

[Socalx09]

Charter member of that club. Happened to me couple of years ago. Was losing my mind wondering why it would not connect. Never needed to change a tire before with that system and it pisses you off when you figure it out.

Yep! Felt dumb and helpless. I crawled under and lifted my head over the spare tire and saw the tubing and removed that. Thinking somehow the tubing that is suppose to lead the rod to the connection point of the cable was misdirecting it or seeing if the connection was broken. Then, got the rod in that way and couldn’t get it to spin. Just frustrating! Haha.

 

[Hypnautic]

Was running to Lowe’s today. I pass this couple with a flat on their toy box 5th wheel. They are in the shade under the freeway, I pass them but back up to offer help. Thought they might be far from home and need some help. Turns out they had two flats both on the same side.
Guy thought he was prepared. Had floor jack and tire iron. Problem is floor jack can’t even reach the axle to lift tire up. Were able to find some wood blocks and get it up and new tire on. He only had 1 spare and no ratchet straps to get the other wheel up. Limped the trailer to tire shop about 3 miles away.
So make sure what you buy will work on what you need it to.

 

[RVR SWPR]

Well we made it back to corona a bit ago thankfully.


You guys “define” Family

 

[LHC Kirby]

New to you vehicle. Do a practice of replacement.... if they don’t provide a spare and give you a kit .... going long haul... find room for a spare.... just saying

 

[lbhsbz]

It’s amazing what one can accomplish after reading the instructions.

 

[jet496]

I got a flat & had to read the manual just to find the jack & then the challenge of lowering the tire. Tis ridiculous anymore.

 

[lbhsbz]

I got a flat & had to read the manual just to find the jack & then the challenge of lowering the tire. Tis ridiculous anymore.

You have a relatively complex piece of machinery who’s manufacturer was kind enough to provide you with spare parts and tools and you feel it it ridiculous that the instructions as to how to use them are written in the supplied manual?....and the task was “a challenge”?

Next time ask your wife for help.

 

[ka0tyk]

You have a relatively complex piece of machinery who’s manufacturer was kind enough to provide you with spare parts and tools and you feel it it ridiculous that the instructions as to how to use them are written in the supplied manual?....and the task was “a challenge”?

Next time ask your wife for help.

I hit the spare tire with my purse and it didn’t come down, what should I try next?

 

[pronstar]

Was running to Lowe’s today. I pass this couple with a flat on their toy box 5th wheel. They are in the shade under the freeway, I pass them but back up to offer help. Thought they might be far from home and need some help. Turns out they had two flats both on the same side.
Guy thought he was prepared. Had floor jack and tire iron. Problem is floor jack can’t even reach the axle to lift tire up. Were able to find some wood blocks and get it up and new tire on. He only had 1 spare and no ratchet straps to get the other wheel up. Limped the trailer to tire shop about 3 miles away.
So make sure what you buy will work on what you need it to.

Good lesson here:
Carry two spares.
It’s a good idea for many trailers.

Reason:
These trailers are pushing the limits of the axle and tire ratings.
One flat will instantly overload the other tire on this side.
Trailer tires are so cheaply made, there’s little headroom to handle the excess weight, so there a good chance it will soon fail.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Taboma]

You have a relatively complex piece of machinery who’s manufacturer was kind enough to provide you with spare parts and tools and you feel it it ridiculous that the instructions as to how to use them are written in the supplied manual?....and the task was “a challenge”?

Next time ask your wife for help.

If you think the machinery itself is complex, just wait until you've waded through 628 pages of the new Ford Truck Owner's manual, then another 55 pages of the Raptor Supplement, then with any luck, you've found the subject matter, but now must follow another three links to other various chapters.

With any luck, it's not 115 degrees out and you've spent an hour entertaining yourself by reading the manual and AAA has arrived before you've used the tire iron it took you a half hour to find, to beat the windshield out of your new truck out of frustration.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered in the Raptor Supplement fine print, that if I want to offroad my offroad truck, first I should remove the front license plate to allow the turbo inter-cooler to get clean air --- WTF ?????????

Interesting how with many of today's high performance and specialty vehicles they offer performance driving classes, but what they should be offering is free classes for better understanding how to use the features we've just spent $ 80K to purchase.

Anyway thanks to this thread, I'm reminded, I have no idea how to lower my spare Yes, I did read my manual, but that was 2.5 years ago and between three different vehicles, close to 1800 pages ago as well.

And NO, I have not tried a different prop !!!

 

[Maestro]

I carry battery power impactgun, extension, hydraulic jack ,torque wrench, and sockets, plus other tools on road trips. Last place to be struggling is in the middle of no where. Usually get the job done in about ten minutes. Hardest part is spare tire removal. Biggest mistake people make unknowingly is uneven or over torquing wheel studs. Seen many tires come off vehicles because of improper mounting. Have those lugs nuts torque check asap.

 

[Cobalt232]

Last year was in Durango driving back to Albuquerque for the flight home. Had a rental Tahoe or Suburban - can't remember. We knew we would have some extra time before the flight home, so we made the detour to Chaco Canyon. The road to Chaco Canyon is about 15 or so miles of gravel road. Ended up getting a flat. After I found where the jack was hiding, I went to reach for it and ended up cutting myself on a sharp piece of metal in the compartment. Still had a good time in Chaco Canyon, pretty neat place to spend a few hours.

 

[PlumLoco]

The factory "tool" to drop the spare in my 2007 Ram has to be assembled for use. No instructions necessary, but there are 5 separate pieces.