Are these trucks ticking financial bombs?

[EZStreet]

Every vehicle fails sooner or later.

If you take care of your truck it'll take care of you. I passed probably 10 older tahoes on the way home from work....that's a good sign to me that they last. I wouldn't write the truck off just b/c your spare tire cable snapped. My uncle just bought a brand new Benz and the windows stopped rolling down at 8k miles. After spending $50k, go figure.

S**t happens, its not an indication of catastrophe.

 

[Yuke2K]

My Lexus SUV has the spare in a steel pan below the floor at the same location where GM hangs theirs with a thread. My BMW doesn't have a spare, no room for it but they give you lifetime roadside assistance when you buy it.

Then go drive your Lexus or Bimmer, or leave the spare in the garage, or erect some kind of elaborate securing device like you were talking about. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable. I'm not trying to be an out and out dick about it, but if you seriously believe that your spare tire falling off of your truck is going to be the end of life as you know it, then maybe you should contact the doc and get your dosage re-evaluated. Life is too short to live with that kind of thinking, IMO. Is the situation you described possible? Sure. The same as a radom meteor landing in my driveway and flattening my truck along with my wife's Fusion. Possible, but not at all likely. Especially now that you've found the problem and corrected it with new parts. Do you really think that it will happen again any time soon? Doubtful.

Sh*t happens. Deal. There are many, many more dangerous vehicle problems out there than a spare tire cable failing. And if it worries you that much, then like I said, drive a vehicle that you feel more comfortable in.

Just my two pennies.

 

[tybardy]

how much does a replacement cable cost? if you so concerned, why not add "replace spare cable" to your yearly regular maintanace schedule?

 

[sasquatch094]

Amen..

 

[carl B]

I'd be willing to bet most owners don't have a clue that there spare could fall off at any time. I'll drive w/o a spare until I find a solution that is safe. I was just wondering if there was a known existing solution so I wouldn't go reinvent the wheel. I did find lots of similar complaints from others filed with NHTSA, mostly for Ford pickups. Lots of you seem to feel it is not a risk, I still disagree.

 

[sasquatch094]

not a risk to myself.. haha maybe the person behind me... oppss

 

[DarkTahoe00]

One way you could do it to feel safer bout it is make a metal hinged cross brace that runs across the tire with a bolt on the other side so all you have to do is unbolt it and let the brace fall to one side and then release the tire down.

 

[Nnaboy]

Oh oh people are getting heated! :shhh:

 

[Gambler]

...I was just wondering if there was a known existing solution so I wouldn't go reinvent the wheel...

If you are still concerned, and don't mind doing some work, this is a good idea:

One way you could do it to feel safer bout it is make a metal hinged cross brace that runs across the tire with a bolt on the other side so all you have to do is unbolt it and let the brace fall to one side and then release the tire down.

 

[Sinjin]

I agree with gonzo.


The silent duck is on the prowl. :cool2:

 

[MadMedwyn]

My Lexus SUV has the spare in a steel pan below the floor at the same location where GM hangs theirs with a thread. My BMW doesn't have a spare, no room for it but they give you lifetime roadside assistance when you buy it.

Problems our BMW with 70k miles has had: Two new radiators, new clutch, flywheel, AC compressor, water pump, alternator.

Problems my Yukon with 70k has had: Broken speedo...

Wait until your Bimmer starts giving you problems, because it will. Then you'll wish your biggest problem was just a spare tire falling out of the bottom of the Denali imo

 

[carl B]

I didn't come here to compare vehicles but since we are:

My BMW is a low mileage toy but with some track time. It's biggest cost has been 4 sets of tires and 2 batteries in 35k miles with no mechanical failures. I know some 2.5/2.8 had a plastic water pump impeller that caused downstream cooling problems. Once you overheat one, it will become a PITA forever. I have the 3.2l S-52 Motorsport engine which is rock solid.

Our Denali (80k) has had the transfer case replaced at 28k under warranty and some fuel tank component also replaced under warranty. It made made my garage smell of fuel and took the dealer a week to diagnose and repair. Since expiration of the warranty I've invested $1200 in load leveling gear replacing the compressor assembly and both rear shocks. This was because I couldn't tow my boat w/o my RR tire rubbing the plastic fender liner on left turns. The rear A/C left a nice puddle on my garage floor. I picked that one up since it was out of warranty. I've thrown both money and time into the under-designed parking brake assembly to no avail. My parking brake is worthless and it's something I think about when I'm standing behind it on a wet ramp winching up the boat. Other trivial problems worth mentioning are rear seat release mechanism no longer works, requires tugging cables under seat to release. I've had the passenger door window come off the track twice and now the plastic door lock trim won't stay on anymore. Too many disassembly/reassembly cycles. The idler pulley is not lined up perfectly so my belt makes a ton of noise. The engine when cold sounds like it has a rod-knock but it's done this since new and I'm told it is harmless. All in all, nothing deals with the snow, tows or hauls as well as this so I'll keep it. It has been by far my most expensive vehicle in terms of initial price, maintenance costs and fuel consumption.

The lexus RX300 in 70k has had no mechanical issues at all. No surprise there.

Back on topic, I've heard some good suggestions and some not so good. No, can't get rid of the SUV; I tow my boat with it and no hitch on the Lexus. My wife (primary driver) also isn't cool with no spare so I've got to fix this.

The ideas I'm down to:
1) criss-cross cable through (4) 1/2" eyebolts w/lock (still my favorite)
2) T-bolt that extends through lug hole (will become PITA once rusted)
3) Crossbar between 2 bolt studs each welded to the frame rails. Loosen one end and swing bar out from under tire. (same rusting problem as T-bolt idea but very secure)
4) The hinged bracket idea is how this is done on tailgate spares and on some commercial vehicles. It is probably the way it should have been done from the factory but it isn't something I'm handy enough to construct.

Any other ideas? Appreciate the constructive feedback so far. I'd really like to discover an aftermarket kit that solves this.

 

[tybardy]

remove your spare, and stick it in your vagina!! hahahaha Im just kidding man

sounds like you are worried about everything rusting, i have a friend that is just like you. rather then solving the problem, he will pick apart every solution untill ultimatly he ends up right back where he started. I found a replacment cable online for $20... buy 5 of these things and replace it once a year, looks like it will take you an hour MAX. they do also make a spare tire cover and boot that puts your spare tire inside the cargo area (not sure if you have the third row of seats or not)

At the end of the day, this is really a simple problem, i honestly think you are making more of it then it is. I do want thank you as i will check my cable this weekend and if all looks well i probably wont look at it again for a long time. but if it does have a problem, a replacment cable will be the solution... if i was AS worried as you are, i would get road side assistance and rid my truck of the spare all together. Whats it worth to you?

 

[MadMedwyn]

I didn't come here to compare vehicles but since we are:

My BMW is a low mileage toy but with some track time. It's biggest cost has been 4 sets of tires and 2 batteries in 35k miles with no mechanical failures. I know some 2.5/2.8 had a plastic water pump impeller that caused downstream cooling problems. Once you overheat one, it will become a PITA forever. I have the 3.2l S-52 Motorsport engine which is rock solid.

We've got a 540i 4.4l. Its not the engine that fails, its everything else. People have all kinds of issues with the V8 cars especially the M5s. The alternator in ours let go while on the track which was pretty scary since the car shut off at high speed. Luckily there was alot of runoff. Next thing you know, I'm towing it back home with my Yukon haha.

 

[sasquatch094]

We've got a 540i 4.4l. Its not the engine that fails, its everything else. People have all kinds of issues with the V8 cars especially the M5s. The alternator in ours let go while on the track which was pretty scary since the car shut off at high speed. Luckily there was alot of runoff. Next thing you know, I'm towing it back home with my Yukon haha.

damn, that would be an intense feeling :eek2:

 

[MadMedwyn]

damn, that would be an intense feeling :eek2:

Indeed, my dad was driving the car at the time but I would be driving the very next run. The track we were at was very safe however, lots of room for error.

 

[fco_gonzo]

Here's a solution I like....

 

[carl B]

remove your spare, and stick it in your vagina!! hahahaha Im just kidding man

sounds like you are worried about everything rusting, i have a friend that is just like you. rather then solving the problem, he will pick apart every solution untill ultimatly he ends up right back where he started. I found a replacment cable online for $20...

Engineers pick apart solutions to identify the best one. If I lived in AZ, I wouldn't be concerned with rust but I live in WI where our roads are salted for 4 months of the year.

Can you post a link to the replacement cable you found for $20?

 

[tybardy]

yes i will do that, im at work right now, when i get home i will look around for it again and post the link

just for the record, im just giving you a hard time... to each their own man! When something is important to me i stop at nothing to get it done right as well.... this one is just funny to me

 

[RenegadeTahoe]

Wow... doomsday approach... At any time any part on your vehicle can fail... especially in locations where rust is an issue. A spare tire falling off on the highway isn't going to end life as you know it. I understand your concern, but... it's not that big of a deal. Dude, I've lost a 16' x 7' steel one-piece garage door off the top of my work truck several years ago. It hit no one... didn't get in trouble... everything was fine... does that mean I didn't carry garage doors on the top of my truck? Nope... that means I didn't secure them to the same location that allowed it to fly off at 65MPH.... replaced my straps and went on my merry way. I think ty had a good solution... yearly maintenance including changing out the spare tire carrier. If you're worried about it being a "ticking time bomb"... then you should worry about EVERY vehicle you own when you live in a place where rust is a big deal. What happens when your lugnuts get eaten by rust? What about your brakes? brake lines? etc.