Spare tire help

[ChrisParise]

and you are paying by the hour/difficulty

And here he is, the man who would know! [emoji849]

 

[BehindBars]

.Let the guy that changes your tire wrestle it down.

You do that, and maybe while you’re still waiting for “the guy”, I have changed the wheel and I’m already on my way.

And what if the guy can’t get it down? The problem falls right back in your lap.

Put a proper winch system on the spare wheel, or carry it on the receiver, then you are prepared.

 

[mnoland30]

The winch idea is good, but I'd carry a boat hook so I wouldn' have to crawl under the rig. The winch will drag it back when the time comes.

For a trailer, I'd get a Hide-A-Spare. It drops the spare and then slides out for access to the tire.

I carry two spares in my tow vehicle, and keep them in the garage when not traveling. They fit both my boat and travel trailers. I also carry a plug kit and compressor. With TPMS, you can catch a slow leak before it blows the tire, and fix it in 5 minutes without removing the tire.

The idea of waiting for someone to come change my tire seems crazy to me. When my truck broke down 10 miles out of Blanding, UT, it took over an hour for the tow truck to arrive. Three dogs and the DW in 100° heat wan't fun.

They make battery powered impact wrenches and jacks to make the job easier.

 

[phalexander]

Thought I’d close the loop on this…..my 2023 Forester has the usual provision for mounting a spare tire underneath but did not come with one. I now have the tire and wheel and decided to give mounting it a try. My thought was that there is a good chance that it’ll never be needed so having “easy” access was not terribly important. But it did have to at least be possible for this 70 year old fellow. So I got it done using “Wandering’s” method of leveling blocks and a jack. But it was a bear to do. Met my criteria of “possible but not easy”. But the thought of doing that on the side of the road somewhere - even if it’s not terribly likely - was off putting. Turns out that adding a winch will only cost about $100 and likely will take less effort to install than the R&R of the spare using the OE method. Winch ordered!

 

[Wandering-FRF]

Thought I’d close the loop on this…..my 2023 Forester has the usual provision for mounting a spare tire underneath but did not come with one. I now have the tire and wheel and decided to give mounting it a try. My thought was that there is a good chance that it’ll never be needed so having “easy” access was not terribly important. But it did have to at least be possible for this 70 year old fellow. So I got it done using “Wandering’s” method of leveling blocks and a jack. But it was a bear to do. Met my criteria of “possible but not easy”. But the thought of doing that on the side of the road somewhere - even if it’s not terribly likely - was off putting. Turns out that adding a winch will only cost about $100 and likely will take less effort to install than the R&R of the spare using the OE method. Winch ordered!

Please share pictures after the install. I ordered a winch too but couldn’t figure out how to mount it and still have access to turn the knob to raise & lower the tire. Thanks!

 

[billwww3]

i recently had the opportunity to change a blowout on my FR 3011DS. I violated all safety precautions and used the leveler lifts as the jack i did not have; since remedied. I removed the spare tire by taking off the retaining nut and bar, just letting it fall on one side, holding the other side by hand. On reinstall i needed my wife's help to reinstall the spare... now much lighter since there was no tread on the tire, only half the sidewalls. I reinstalled the retaining bar just enough to keep it attached, we propped one side on my leveling pads and lifted it enough to get the bar through the wheel opening, once then suspended i retightened the bolt. As i get older or in less hospitable conditions i expect to fail getting the spare reinstalled, possibly even removed.
contemplating the winch idea.

 

[phalexander]

Thought I’d close the loop on this…..my 2023 Forester has the usual provision for mounting a spare tire underneath but did not come with one. I now have the tire and wheel and decided to give mounting it a try. My thought was that there is a good chance that it’ll never be needed so having “easy” access was not terribly important. But it did have to at least be possible for this 70 year old fellow. So I got it done using “Wandering’s” method of leveling blocks and a jack. But it was a bear to do. Met my criteria of “possible but not easy”. But the thought of doing that on the side of the road somewhere - even if it’s not terribly likely - was off putting. Turns out that adding a winch will only cost about $100 and likely will take less effort to install than the R&R of the spare using the OE method. Winch ordered!

Got my winch from etrailer for under $80 and followed their video for my installation. Pretty straightforward. I bought their crank extension for $45 but I wouldn’t do it again. I’d just make my own with electrical conduit or something. Spent about $30 on miscellaneous supplies. Project took only a couple of hours. It’s still not a super easy task to R&R the spare but it’s a whole bunch easier than it was. Since I already had the OE attachment hardware and safety chain I’m using them so the winch isn’t really involved in holding the tire in place. Just raising and lowering. All in all a fun and worthwhile project. Highly recommended.

 

[Rittersrv]

Got my winch from etrailer for under $80 and followed their video for my installation. Pretty straightforward. I bought their crank extension for $45 but I wouldn’t do it again. I’d just make my own with electrical conduit or something. Spent about $30 on miscellaneous supplies. Project took only a couple of hours. It’s still not a super easy task to R&R the spare but it’s a whole bunch easier than it was. Since I already had the OE attachment hardware and safety chain I’m using them so the winch isn’t really involved in holding the tire in place. Just raising and lowering. All in all a fun and worthwhile project. Highly recommended.

Don, I have a 2023 Forester and would like to get a winch for my spare tire as well, can you please provide the part number for the one you purchased and maybe a picture.
Thank you

 

[Rittersrv]

Don, I have a 2023 Forester and would like to get a winch for my spare tire as well, can you please provide the part number for the one you purchased and maybe a picture.
Thank you

Sorry not sure where I got Don from

 

[phalexander]

Don, I have a 2023 Forester and would like to get a winch for my spare tire as well, can you please provide the part number for the one you purchased and maybe a picture.
Thank you

Ok. Here’s the link to the lift I used. https://www.etrailer.com/Spare-Tire-Carrier/Lippert/LC159056.html
The etrailer page has a video and photos that are probably better than mine. I used 1.25 inch square perforated tube from Lowe’s to provide clearance for the crank extension. I didn’t want to drill any more holes in the structure than necessary so as not to weaken it or provide avenues for rust so I used JB Weld and stainless zip ties to hold these spacers I place. Drilled a 2 inch hole in the fiberglass rear “bumper” so I can use the lug wrench to operate the winch. It is behind the license plate so it doesn’t show. The only real change I made from the etrailer video was to use several washers on the OE threaded rod to tilt the winch a bit so that the crank extension would go straight to the hole in the bumper.

 

[Rittersrv]

Ok. Here’s the link to the lift I used. https://www.etrailer.com/Spare-Tire-Carrier/Lippert/LC159056.html

The etrailer page has a video and photos that are probably better than mine. I used 1.25 inch square perforated tube from Lowe’s to provide clearance for the crank extension. I didn’t want to drill any more holes in the structure than necessary so as not to weaken it or provide avenues for rust so I used JB Weld and stainless zip ties to hold these spacers I place. Drilled a 2 inch hole in the fiberglass rear “bumper” so I can use the lug wrench to operate the winch. It is behind the license plate so it doesn’t show. The only real change I made from the etrailer video was to use several washers on the OE threaded rod to tilt the winch a bit so that the crank extension would go straight to the hole in the bumper.

Thats perfect, thank you sir!

 

[JECPILOT]

spare tire removal Forrester, 2401 R MBS

I have removed mine several times, and I found what works well if I’m at home is the place of fort floor, jack under the rear center of the tire carrier, supporting the weight of the tire remove loosen the tire carrier supporting hooks until they are clear of the carrier racket and then lower the floor jack.
The Mercedes jack can also be used as well to lower the tire out of the carrier to reinstall the tire put the jack under the rear center of the carrier, set the tire on top of the carrier and jack the tire up until it hits the top of the frame stop with the jack, holding the tire in place reattach the carrier hooks and tighten them down. Remove the jack..