I installed my 15” wheels and tires last year, but I was still using the 14” spare. But with the opportunity to sell all three of the old 14” wheels and Marathons, I finally had to get a new 15” tire mounted on a previously bought new wheel. After carrying that puppy in the back of the truck on a recent trip to OBX, I decided to break down and use 1 of the excellent ideas in this thread. Figuring that Eric’s modification might save me a trip to the machine shop, I decided to try that 1……with a twist. I bought a 3’ section of 3 x 1/8” steel flatbar (they didn’t have a 2 ½” width similar to the TM spare tire mount) at Lowe’s, with the intention of bending it at home to fit around the current spare tire hanger. After several attempts of bending that puppy with a sledge hammer in a vice, I realized that I needed to have a machine shop to bend that for me so that it would be straight across. I then sized things up, drilled the holes, and installed the new piece over the old hanger, allowing for about a ¾ to 5/8” drop. That allows for the far side of the spare to fit snug up against the bottom of the TM, but the closer side still has a little gap……a compromise of sorts. I didn’t want to do it any tighter, and maybe spring the whole thing. And instead of using pins and cotter keys, I decided to use 3/8” bolts double nutted through the existing hanger, just in case there was a failure in the modified piece, the bolts would hopefully hold things together. Cost for everything, including the machine shop bends and cut was about $35.
After an 850 mile round trip to TM factory in Lake City Tn. this week, everything seems to ride OK.
Chap
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