Spare Tire Wisdom

[MetalsGeek]

Since the Maverick has a new-to-me approach to stowing the spare tire, I thought I would do a dry run on its use in my driveway on a nice, sunny afternoon. After all, why not play with my toys for an hour and also reduce future swearing, at night, in the rain, on the side of the interstate? I strongly recommend that you do the same, since you may discover some things sure to make your future life easier and safer. Here's my list of personal epiphanies:

1. IMPORTANT: The tailgate MUST be up for the jack handle extension tube to fit thru the hole above the bumper and lower the spare. If you have a jack extension drive tube in place and lower the tailgate, you may damage the tailgate. (Don't ask how I know this.) If you get a flat while carrying a full load that covers the tailgate, you're screwed. An attached trailer will also interfere with your ability to turn the handle and lower the spare. All these problems could have been solved by putting the access hole in the wheel well or on a corner instead of centered above the bumper. Great job, Ford!

2. Study how the jack is packed when you unwrap it so you can get it back the same way. The manual has sketches on p.357 & 360. The small plastic tip seems useful for removing XL hubcaps but n/a for alloy wheels.

3. The gender of the jack extension tubes may seem backwards to anyone used to square drive tools. e.g. The female end goes into the truck, and the male end engages a square hole in the handle.

4. You will probably have to lie down on the ground to be able to reach under the bumper well enough to disconnect the spare from the cable system. I suggest you keep a small (5x7) Harbor Freight tarp with the jack. Some heavy nitrile gloves wouldn't hurt either, to keep your steering wheel clean on the rest of your trip.

5. There's a heavy redundant cable (in addition to the winch) on the spare. I assume this is to prevent injury to the person tailgating you, should your winch cable fail.

6. There's a blue plastic cone that must be removed from the cable to get the spare off. This item is at VERY high risk of loss on the roadside, so try to put it back on the cable as soon as you disconnect the spare, and of course, winch the cable back up so it won't drag on the ground.

7. If you have aftermarket lug nut locks like McGard, consider putting the key where you're sure to find it even if you forgot where you put it several years from now. You DID already order a spare, right?

8. I don't carry wheel chocks, but I do carry ratchet straps that tie up tightly for storage and could be used for that in a pinch.

I'm sure other members will chime in and share the wisdom. Please do!

Edit: Thanks everyone so much for all the really good suggestions on lighting (flashlights, magnetic 12V LED work lights), better tooling (compressor, plug kit, socket & ratchet), and hygiene (disposable attire, large trash bags to cover failed tire, etc).

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[LC48]

Good call out @MetalsGeek , also good to pull it down and check the pressure, and clean / lube the cable.

Side of road changes suck bad enough without also finding either your spare is too low on pressure, or you can't get the cable to lower or raise due to corrosion etc.

ALSO, if you haven't tried to break your lugs loose with the stamped steel garbage wrench that fomoco provided with the truck you are in for a treat - highly recommend you carry something more substantial in your kit..that jack handle wrench is piss poor.

 

[White Thunder]

Since the Maverick has a new-to-me approach to stowing the spare tire, I thought I would do a dry run on its use in my driveway on a nice, sunny afternoon. After all, why not play with my toys for an hour and also reduce future swearing, at night, in the rain, on the side of the interstate? I strongly recommend that you do the same, since you may discover some things sure to make your future life easier and safer. Here's my list of personal epiphanies:

1. IMPORTANT: The tailgate MUST be up for the jack handle extension tube to fit thru the hole above the bumper and lower the spare. If you have a jack extension drive tube in place and lower the tailgate, you may damage the tailgate. (Don't ask how I know this.) If you get a flat while carrying a full load that covers the tailgate, you're screwed. An attached trailer will also interfere with your ability to turn the handle and lower the spare. All these problems could have been solved by putting the access hole in the wheel well or on a corner instead of centered above the bumper. Great job, Ford!

2. Study how the jack is packed when you unwrap it so you can get it back the same way. The manual has sketches on p.357 & 360. The small plastic tip seems useful for removing XL hubcaps but n/a for alloy wheels.

3. The gender of the jack extension tubes may seem backwards to anyone used to square drive tools. e.g. The female end goes into the truck, and the male end engages a square hole in the handle.

4. You will probably have to lie down on the ground to be able to reach under the bumper well enough to disconnect the spare from the cable system. I suggest you keep a small (5x7) Harbor Freight tarp with the jack. Some heavy nitrile gloves wouldn't hurt either, to keep your steering wheel clean on the rest of your trip.

5. There's a heavy redundant cable (in addition to the winch) on the spare. I assume this is to prevent injury to the person tailgating you, should your winch cable fail.

6. There's a blue plastic cone that must be removed from the cable to get the spare off. This item is at VERY high risk of loss on the roadside, so try to put it back on the cable as soon as you disconnect the spare, and of course, winch the cable back up so it won't drag on the ground.

7. If you have aftermarket lug nut locks like McGard, consider putting the key where you're sure to find it even if you forgot where you put it several years from now. You DID already order a spare, right?

8. I don't carry wheel chocks, but I do carry ratchet straps that tie up tightly for storage and could be used for that in a pinch.

I'm sure other members will chime in and share the wisdom. Please do!

I was watching one of those cartech things once and they showed an electrical motorized way to lower the tire, but I didn’t catch the name. I haven’t seen it since.

 

[White Thunder]

Good call out @MetalsGeek , also good to pull it down and check the pressure, and clean / lube the cable.

Side of road changes suck bad enough without also finding either your spare is too low on pressure, or you can't get the cable to lower or raise due to corrosion etc.

ALSO, if you haven't tried to break your lugs loose with the stamped steel garbage wrench that fomoco provided with the truck you are in for a treat - highly recommend you carry something more substantial in your kit..that jack handle wrench is piss poor.

sounds like a great time to buy a star wrench. ( you know one of those 4 sided things). Throw it back there if it will fit.

 

[LC48]

Get one like this, stores easy and plenty of leverage.

Lug wrench

 

[Toddman45]

Also the spare doesn't come balanced. I had to use the full size spare on my 2012 F-150 when I ran over a unseen cut off fence post that sliced my tire.

When using the spare on the front driver side I found it was unbalanced. Looking at the Mavericks full size spare underneath the bed it's unbalanced as well.

 

[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

It's good that you got to do a trial run with the spare. When my F-150 was new, like less ta 2000 miles, I ran over some sort of metal debris and had my tire punctured. Fortunately, it was NOT in the sidewall.

Anyway, I sat eating my fast food with the manual in hand, reading all about lowering the spare and was able to swap it out right after I ate. And a small local tire shop patched the tire and it was good as new for some 45,000 miles.

 

[Zotman]

Like you, MetalsGeek, I too did the Tire Change 101 when the truck Was new and highly recommend. Additionally, since most of my flats in years past involved slow leaks and not catastrophic failure, I now stow a rechargeable compressor in the Mav. The plan is to reflate the tire and head off to a tire repair location rather than submit to the agony of a roadside repair.

 

[Carlitos_92]

Good stuff, OP. The spare tire components are so Rube Goldberg-ish that the replacement process is definitely not something you want to have to figure out on the fly. And +1 on having a compressor handy…

The additional tip I’d offer is that you may want to keep some large garbage bags (the “contractor” size) in the truck. One of them could serve as your “tarp” for laying down on the roadside - but another use is for wrapping the flat tire. There is conceivably a situation where the flat tire will not fit back up under the bed, or even in it, so you might have to put the tire in the back seat or something. If you have a clean, dry bag you don’t have to worry about messing up the interior of the truck.

I am currently in the midst of replacing the mini-donut with a true full-size wheel/tire and may do a thread on that if I don’t see a good precedent. It has not been as plug-and-play as I thought it would be, but the end result will be a spare with zero compromises to traction, handling, or speed.

Edit: Nothing about replacing a spare (or working on a car in general) gets easier in the dark. I keep a battery-powered light in my vehicles, always. There are some really cool rechargeable ones out there with strobes, magnets, hooks, stands, or all of the above.

 

[Decayed]

Like you, MetalsGeek, I too did the Tire Change 101 when the truck Was new and highly recommend. Additionally, since most of my flats in years past involved slow leaks and not catastrophic failure, I now stow a rechargeable compressor in the Mav. The plan is to reflate the tire and head off to a tire repair location rather than submit to the agony of a roadside repair.

They make those little Li-ion jump boxes with compressors now. Often they have a built in flashlight. These are absolutely indispensable. Temporarily reinflating a tire with a slow leak is a million times better than trying to change a tire in the cold, dark and rain.

I had to help my BIL a few years back when his tire completely blew out on a major highway, stranding him. He didn't even know where his jack was - turned out the one in the car was broken. 5 minutes going through the car when he got it could have saved him several nerve wracking hours stuck on the side of a highway at night. But at least it wasn't raining.

 

[fossil]

Disposable hazmat coverall w/hood $8 to $12, not just for tire changes. Handy for vehicle recovery as well, keeps you clean and dry.

I carry 2, takes little storage space

 

[1929]

5. There's a heavy redundant cable (in addition to the winch) on the spare. I assume this is to prevent injury to the person tailgating you, should your winch cable fail.

Do you have a picture? What year is your Maverick?
My understanding is there are two different cable systems used for Maverick spare tire dependent on year. 2022 is different than 2023-2024.

2022 Maverick spare tire use

My 2023 is not the same.

 

[JimKivi]

Good stuff, OP. The spare tire components are so Rube Goldberg-ish that the replacement process is definitely not something you want to have to figure out on the fly. And +1 on having a compressor handy…

The additional tip I’d offer is that you may want to keep some large garbage bags (the “contractor” size) in the truck. One of them could serve as your “tarp” for laying down on the roadside - but another use is for wrapping the flat tire. There is conceivably a situation where the flat tire will not fit back up under the bed, or even in it, so you might have to put the tire in the back seat or something. If you have a clean, dry bag you don’t have to worry about messing up the interior of the truck.

I am currently in the midst of replacing the mini-donut with a true full-size wheel/tire and may do a thread on that if I don’t see a good precedent. It has not been as plug-and-play as I thought it would be, but the end result will be a spare with zero compromises to traction, handling, or speed.

Edit: Nothing about replacing a spare (or working on a car in general) gets easier in the dark. I keep a battery-powered light in my vehicles, always. There are some really cool rechargeable ones out there with strobes, magnets, hooks, stands, or all of the above.

Since many of us "early buyers" paid extra for a "full sized spare" only to find out that it is not, I am interested in how this plays out for you. I wonder if it will fit in the space provided under the bed if you put an OEM size tore there. Has anyone tried to put their "flat" tire back under the truck?

 

[rclee]

I agree with @MetalsGeek, I didn't even think about changing a tire on my then new Maverick. I came out from work on a hot summer day and noticed my truck looked uneven. The rear was flat and I had no clue where the jack and associated tools were located. I guess you could say I had a crash course with how Ford and the Maverick does flat tire repair. I remember seeing the tool bag behind the rear seat. I opened it up and figured out how to make it all work. That blue cone is a PIA to get off.

I have a couple of take-aways from doing the job. I now have a 1/2" drive wratchet and the appropriate socket stowed with the other tools. The wratchet will make jacking up the truck much easier and faster. Make sure you at least take the tools out and see how they all work together. Especially the tube and the hole for lowering the spare.

Fortunately it was a dry day and I was on a level parking lot. I would reccomend something to lay on as stated earlier and some gloves and a flashlight.

Good Luck!

 

[AlsMaverick]

Since many of us "early buyers" paid extra for a "full sized spare" only to find out that it is not, I am interested in how this plays out for you. I wonder if it will fit in the space provided under the bed if you put an OEM size tore there. Has anyone tried to put their "flat" tire back under the truck?

It is "full Size" just not matching.
There are posts on here where folks have installed full size MATCHING spares in the spare tire location. Just search.

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