Side Mount Spare Bracket - Orientation

[dahrens1]

Searching through this section of the forums there are many posts over the last several years discussing how difficult it can be to remove or install a spare tire in a side fender mount situation so I won't rehash that subject here but one entry by Pat in Santa Cruz in a 01-01-2015 post mentioned the following:

see service bulletins page 508 for proper spare wheel carrier adjustment. Its not uncommon to have the flange plate installed upside down, with the two bolts down instead of up. That makes removing the wheel difficult.

I don't have access to the Service Bulletins publication yet but I suspect I may have the bracket that attaches to the side mount spare wheel installed upside down because mine has the two bolts down and one bolt on top. The plates are marked L & R so I got that right, but I would be interested in how it is supposed to be installed.

Thanks
Dave

 

[daveymc29]

I'll bet on Pat being correct.

 

[Charles Reese]

Hope this helps!

 

[dahrens1]

Actually that helps a lot! Thanks Charles for posting this. And, yup, mine were installed upside down. I will still probably have to deflate the tire to get it in and out but it will be nice to know that the wheel carrier flange is installed correctly now.

Thanks

Dave

 

[duke36]

I took advice from other threads, deflated tires and removed studs from plates ( easy job ) and filed studs to just slightly loose fit square holes. That way studs can be removed before tire install / removal to avoid scratching (19") wheels. Some suggest to weld nuts on back of plates and use modified studs. . It also made it easier to have hub caps removed to access center large nut, then install caps with dabs of GE or other silicon sealant. Let wheels drop down in wells to get proper equal seating, then snug up per instructions..