How often should I lower and raise my spare to ensure the cable continues to function?

[peterpilot379]

Somewhat related with regards to protecting that area….

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/spare-tire-protector.51427/#post-888921

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[Joe Gladiator]

i drop mine when i do my undercoating in the fall and give it a shot of Fluid Film

 

[DBravo]

I just installed an OEM spare tire carrier on a Ram Promaster 3500. The cable doesn’t fill me with confidence.

How often should I lower and raise my spare on my Gladiator to ensure the cable continues to function?

I lower mine and clean then wipe it down with a light coating of machine oil at leat 2x per year. Usually Spring and Fall. I also crawl under the truck and spray any exposed bolts with fluid film.

 

[wchevron]

Dropped mine when I put on a hitch, about 32,000 miles. Was as good shape. Put some grease on the cable to be safe.
Had a Ford Expedition years ago, going down a 2 lane highway, heard a loud bang and bump, looked in rear view mirror, about 5 seconds goes by and I see the spare tire dropping from the sky. Bounced across the highway and stopped along the jersey barrier. Luckily there was a lull in traffic and no one was nearby. Got home and looked under the truck, the cable had rotted and snapped.

 

[WILDHOBO]

I do 5 way rotations every 5k miles. I did it today actually. I haven’t had a problem with the cable with that frequency.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Dropped mine when I put on a hitch, about 32,000 miles. Was as good shape. Put some grease on the cable to be safe.
Had a Ford Expedition years ago, going down a 2 lane highway, heard a loud bang and bump, looked in rear view mirror, about 5 seconds goes by and I see the spare tire dropping from the sky. Bounced across the highway and stopped along the jersey barrier. Luckily there was a lull in traffic and no one was nearby. Got home and looked under the truck, the cable had rotted and snapped.

Did you see the vid of the tire coming off the pickup - sending a car flipping into the air?
It's totally crazy how things go wrong (sometimes because people do shitty work, or just don't take care of things, sometimes pure accident of chance) - and others pay for it.



And the way that happened, it could have involved MORE vehicles - if another had hit it as it rolled and bounced, it could have been a multi-car pile-up or accident.

Assume the worst, I guess.

 

[wchevron]

I did see that post. Looked like something you'd see out of a movie.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I did see that post. Looked like something you'd see out of a movie.

Yeah, it was unreal, like those fake hollyweed shots where a speeding car always hits the back end of another and then goes air-born, rolling, flipping and exploding in an impressive ball of flame.
Heavy tire (mass) rolling with inertia, hit by another vehicle which is pulled upward by the rolling tire like a conveyor belt aided by the momentum of the car's mass trying to continue moving forward.

You just have no idea what's out there - likely half of what you pass has been worked on by an idiot - perhaps the owner himself, or hasn't been worked on but should have been.
What I saw when I worked in the shop that did 24/7/365 towing for the state and city along I80 was just plain scary - and often a result of someone doing something stupid or not doing something they should have. One was a case of a trailer coming loose and quickly stopping on the interstate at night and a couple not far behind hitting the trailer, both decapitated as their small car went under the end of the trailer which was sticking up higher than normal because the tongue was on the pavement. Some idiot either was towing something they shouldn't have, how they shouldn't have, or didn't bother to pay attention and connect correctly, etc. and he killed two people. That's one reason I cringe when I see some of the stuff talked about in towing. You can't get that sight out of your head. It's forever.

 

[Toro34]

I know I'll be cleaning and lubing the power steps just put on pretty regular. A neighbor says he's seen the steps on other trucks seize up in our winters. He was concerned about my putting them on our Jeeps.

I'm sure you're already well versed, but I'd also check the wires and connectors and door magnets as well, throw on some dielectric grease or no-ox, etc

I saw a guy in traffic with his driver side step down, and when I pulled along side to notify him, I received a very annoyed "YEAH, I KNOW!..."

I doubt it was rust/lubrication, the Jeep looked pretty new

 

[BaliMawr]

Don’t worry about it; it’s a non-issue. This system has been in use for decades, and I’ve never had one not work.

I just installed an OEM spare tire carrier on a Ram Promaster 3500. The cable doesn’t fill me with confidence.

How often should I lower and raise my spare on my Gladiator to ensure the cable continues to function?

 

[Chunky White]

I have never lowered the spare on any vehicle unless I was changing the tire and thats only happened once

 

[Hootbro]

i drop mine when i do my undercoating in the fall and give it a shot of Fluid Film

Same here.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'm sure you're already well versed, but I'd also check the wires and connectors and door magnets as well, throw on some dielectric grease or no-ox, etc

I saw a guy in traffic with his driver side step down, and when I pulled along side to notify him, I received a very annoyed "YEAH, I KNOW!..."

I doubt it was rust/lubrication, the Jeep looked pretty new

I used silicon dielectric on every connector in that harness. Even those inside the cab area (sometimes I wash things out ...........)
A clunk when they retract at first annoyed me - but now I actually listen for it. It's reassuring to hear that they came up.
I carry a spare 20 amp fuse in each Jeep as well as a spare magnet in each one (along with some 3M tape to attach it if necessary) Paranoid............ but it's so simple to carry those things in the little plastic jar that the magnets come in anyway. Drop it in the console or glove box. If nothing else a magnet could be held by a switch to raise the step then turn the switch off to keep it up.
Around here, the salt, sand, brine, ice, snow, mud, whatever, will necessitate keeping things cleaned and lubed.
But hey, same thing applies to the spare tire area.
What was the question again?

I enjoy the "never had one fail" bits - that's what, a handful out of tens of thousands of them in all climates and conditions. I heard a dealer complain about having trouble getting one down to swap tires around.
They are reliable as heck - but isn't it a moving part of the truck and what happened to maintenance? What else do some people fail to maintain, keep cleaned and lubed?
Brag about a 3,000 mile oil change but claim another moving part never needs to be touched (wait until the flat happens when it's 20 below on a February evening)
Minutes of preventative maintenance.
I wonder, if anyone actually checks the air pressure in their spare. Really nice being 40 miles from anything, having a flat and finding the spare is down to 5 pounds. I guess people just don't care?

 

[hickman785]

Don’t worry about it; it’s a non-issue. This system has been in use for decades, and I’ve never had one not work.

Mine just quit working...the spare has been lowered and raised back into place maybe 5 times in 3 years...now it's hanging down about 12 inches and won't budge...

 

[hickman785]

I would do it around tire rotation. Mine seized

How did you fix it? Mine just seized up, hanging down about 12 inches...

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