How To: Spare tire and wheel lock

[John E Davies]

There is nothing securing the spare under the fiberglass cover, and because there are no studs like on the hubs, you can't use a conventional Gorilla or other threaded wheel lock.

 

I considered drilling a 5/16" hole in the threaded rod for a padlock, but I decided instead to use a steel cable looped through the wheel itself.

 

 

The cable is 1/8 plastic coated, 24 inches overall length, the "wire rope sleeves"are aluminum. I used a big old hand crimping tool to secure the loops. None of the parts will scratch the wheel or mount. Anything bigger would be hard to get through the openings between the mount and the wheel.

 

I wanted to try going naked - no cover installed - so I used the star nut that secures the cover to run the flat washer down tight on the loops, to keep them and the lock from moving. If you wanted to install the cover, you would need to thread the cable in a different configuration, so that the lock and loops are hanging down and keeping the flat part of the wheel retainer free and clear.

 

 

 

It is secure enough, IMHO. Anybody who was really determined to steal it could get through it pretty fast with a bolt cutter, but it is much better than nothing at all, and it is a very good visual deterrent.

 

I had all the parts on hand in my garage, so it took only half an hour. It's an easy mod if you have the tools.

 

EDIT: Thanks to Raspy for this tip. I screwed the threaded rod into the mount another 1.25 inches, so the exposed part was not a hazard or eyesore.

 

 

 

More better! One thing I don't like about this design is that the ring scrapes badly on the inside of the wheel face as you tighten it hard, shedding aluminum particles. This is not good, but anything added there to act as a pad needs to not trap moisture.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Try2Relax]

Hey John, if going naked why not turn the wheel around so the matching side shows?

[John E Davies]

Hey John, if going naked why not turn the wheel around so the matching side shows?

It won't fit that way due to the wheel offset - I tried - and also the pretty side of the wheel would get scarred up by the ring on the retainer. It would definitely look much better, especially as the wheels get aged and dirtier.

 

The entire mount would have to be rebuilt, with the center part extended back half an inch, plus there would need to be some way to pad the good side of the wheel without scarring it or letting water sit there and corrode it. It would be best to just weld a great big thick flange on the cylinder, with steel studs sticking back for real lug nuts and a lock.

 

To be honest, I don't know why they chose this design. It keeps the clean side of the wheel pretty, but the good side of the tire sidewall chafes hard on the hull and will mess it up it and the gelcoat after a long time.....

 

Plus if the tire deflates, the wheel will get loose on the mount.

 

Well built, but ...Perplexing engineering! Not at all how I would approach the problem.

 

The one positive note is that with drum brakes almost all the dust gets blown away and very little accumulates like with disc brakes, so the back sides of the wheels can be kept reasonably clean. If kept heavily waxed, and cleaned routinely during rotations, they all will look good for a long time. If not, I guess the cover goes back on, or I build a new mount one winter.... Oh WAIT! Does anybody other than me rotate their spare?

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Raspy]

I already did mine.  I had the undersized spare so I left the cover off and put on a full sized spare.

 

I wrapped a chain around the aluminum piece sticking out of the back of the trailer that supports the tire, and bolted it tight to itself.  Then I ran the two chain ends out through the wheel spokes.  I then put an eye bolt on the large aluminum bar that holds the tire and put the chain through the eye.  Then a lock through the chain ends secures it very well.  It cannot be unscrewed.

 

The threaded rod that the wing nut goes on is too long if you leave the fiberglass cover off.   So, just unscrewed it, turn it around and screwed it back in.  It sets deeper with the jamb nut and is out of the way.

 

Then I put on a cloth tire cover to keep the sun off.  It all went very well and fixes the "too small" fiberglass cover problem.

 

Then I installed the license plate to the left of the tire, in a frame.  It's bolted through the rear body.  I left off the license pate light.  Just clipped the wires, pulled them in and taped them out of the way.

 

The full sized spare just clears the bumper to I was able to get the cover on.

 

The wheels must be put on "backwards" to allow the chain and lock to sit in out of the way.

 

This is an excellent mod for those with the undersized spare.

 

I think it would be easy to re-design this mount if desired.  A simple flanged spare tire mount would bolt on in place of the setup now used.   There is a nice reinforcing plate inside to carry the load.  I'm not sure it's a good idea though.  If you get bumped from behind the load will be transferred to a much larger area from an inflated tire, and the tire sticks out the minimum amount.  The hit going to a small steel bracket is more likely to do damage.  Plus, any other bracket would make it stick out farther behind the bumper.

[John E Davies]

The threaded rod that the wing nut goes on is too long if you leave the fiberglass cover off. So, just unscrewed it, turn it around and screwed it back in. It sets deeper with the jamb nut and is out of the way.

 

Great idea, I will try that. Thanks.

 

I think it would be easy to re-design this mount if desired. A simple flanged spare tire mount would bolt on in place of the setup now used. There is a nice reinforcing plate inside to carry the load. I’m not sure it’s a good idea though. If you get bumped from behind the load will be transferred to a much larger area from an inflated tire, and the tire sticks out the minimum amount. The hit going to a small steel bracket is more likely to do damage. Plus, any other bracket would make it stick out farther behind the bumper.

 

The comment about possible fiberglass hull damage is a good one and something I had not considered. I think I will leave the wheel facing wrong side out, and consider it to be protecting the wheels good side, and also the hull, from crash damage, sort of a "soft auxiliary bumper", in case I back into a tree. At least, that is what I will tell anybody who asks ;)

 

Do you have pics of your lock setup?

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Raspy]

I finally got some pictures of my spare tire modification.

 

Since my trailer had the small sized spare tire and cover, I can not run the fiberglass cover over the full sized spare I now have.  There is just enough room under the full sized tire to slip on the cloth tire cover.  One slight advantage of the soft cover is that it doesn't stick out beyond the bumper like the fiberglass one does.

 

I also upgraded all five wheels to the star wheel design in the pictures.

 

The locking chain is fixed to the bracket behind the tire and goes through an eye bolt in front that will not allow the wing nut to be removed.  If the tire is turned around, the wing nut and locking setup will stick out beyond the tire and the wing nut piece won't tighten up against the wheel to hold it securely.   It might be better to change this whole bracket to a more conventional spare tire bracket that would mount the tire with the front out.  This would allow for easy tire pressure checks and easier installation of the soft cover.

[MAX Burner]

Clean set-up... NICE!