I recall my wife's old Honda 600 had a metal tray for the spare beneath
the rear, hinged at the front and suspended by a T-bolt, with a wingnut
in the breadbox-size trunk. It tended to retain a lot of moisture,
however, and rust the heck out of the rim.
David Deutsch had this to say:
>I believe that being a little too tight is better than too loose.
>Extremes in either directions are no good. I personally like the system
>that holds the spare up in the wife's MPV. It a tubular rack that is
>secured with a S-hook type bolt.
>Safety Fast,
>David Deutsch
>
>Michael Lupynec wrote:
>
>> When I removed the cable mounted spare on my 98 F150, it had very
>> defined indentations, (wear marks) where the tire sidewall had
>> abraded against the frame members.
>>
>> Could it have been loosening up or was it too tight? Whatever -
>> it's a bad design.
>>
>> Mike L.
>> 60A,67E,59Bug
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: David Deutsch <mgman@optonline.net>
>> To: mgs <mgs@autox.team.net>
>> Sent: December 2, 2000 8:35 PM
>> Subject: falling spares
>>
>> > There is a bumper sticker that reads something like ' the parts
>> falling
>> > off this car are made with the finest British Craftsmanship'
>> that I have
>> > found amusing. There is something happening on a regular basis
>> these
>> > days that is not amusing however and it's going to increase
>> dramaticly
>> > as time goes on. I'm talking about spares, as in spare tires,
>> dropping
>> > out from under mini vans and SUVs. I believe it was Chrysler
>> who began
>> > placing the spares under the rear of their mini vans back in the
>> early
>> > / mid-80's. Now almost ever mini van and SUV uses this method
>> of
>> > storage. A spooled cable raises and lowers the spare. The
>> problem is the
>> > cables are wearing and breaking.
>> >
>> > As a tow truck driver / roadside assistance provider I have gone
>> out to
>> > at least a dozen tire change calls where the spares are missing
>> and only
>> > a frayed cable end is under the vehicle. In most cases the owner
>> had no
>> > idea that it was missing and in few cases, that this was even
>> where the
>> > spare was supposed to be. This passed week I was called to an
>> accident
>> > site where a driver lost control after hitting a spare that
>> dropped out
>> > of the vehicle in front of them. Guess what? the vehicle did not
>> stop
>> > and probably didn't know that it had lost it's spare. Luckly it
>> was a
>> > donut spare that caused this accident. The all wheel drives are
>> required
>> > to use full size spares. I don't even care to think about the
>> havic that
>> > is going to be wreaked when the 17" wheels start dropping out
>> of
>> > Navigators and the like.
>> >
>> > So if you happen to own a vehicle with a cable secured spare
>> under it
>> > please check the condition of the mounting, especially in older
>> models.
>> > Additionally if you happen to be traveling behind one of these
>> vehicles
>> > please be aware of this hazard.
>> >
>> > Safety Fast (but not to close),
>> > David Deutsch
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
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