XPost: sci.electronics.repair, sci.electronics.design   
   From: adrian@qq.vv.net   
      
   On 27/3/2013 2:12 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:   
   > On Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:08:28 -0700 (PDT), "lektric.dan@gmail.com"   
   >  wrote:   
   >   
   >> *MY* favorite (actually, most hated...) "how not to" is the spare tire   
   >> carrier on domestic (Ford, GMC, etc.) full-size trucks.  My folks had   
   >> a car repair and tire place.  I've cursed out loud in front of my   
   >> mother while trying to remove/replace a tire under a truck.  A   
   >> (slightly) better design is the chain hoist system used on some   
   >> smaller imports.  I hope there's a special place in hell for the   
   >> Mercedes-driving engineer that designed this thing (you know HE never   
   >> changed a flat in his life!).   
   >   
   > My former 1983 Dodge D50 pickup had a chain hoist spare tire under the   
   > bed.  Great idea until I blew a rear tire and high centered the rear   
   > axle while driving on a dirt road on the way to a mountain top radio   
   > site.  In order to lower the tire, a long hand crank was provided. The   
   > problem was that I was backed up against a hillside, and could not get   
   > the long crank into the hole.  I had to dig out part of the hillside   
   > for it to fit.  In order to remove the spare tire, I had to jack up   
   > the pickup bed about 3 ft off the ground, and crawl under the raised   
   > bed to release the toggle link holding the tire to the chain. Of   
   > course, with the tire lowered, the toggle link is UNDER the tire on   
   > the ground.  I raised it with a bottle jack and a rather unstable pile   
   > of rocks.  While replacing the blown tire, the pile of rocks and jack   
   > did partially collapse.  Perhaps in your parents tire store, it might   
   > work, but on a dirt road, it's not easy.   
   >   
   Yes, my Toyota has the chain lift spare system too.  But its marginally   
   better than having to unload the whole back of the tray to get to the   
   spare, like some other pickups.   
      
   --   
   Regards,   
      
   Adrian Jansen           adrianjansen at internode dot on dot net   
   Note reply address is invalid, convert address above to machine form.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)