Spare Tire Storage

[Ripley Bryant]

Right now, my spare sits in the bed of my truck.

I assume at one time there was some kind of hanger under the bed to store the spare, but there's nothing there now.

1. Can someone tell me if my truck originally had a hanger under the bed for the spare. My truck is a longbed fleetside with a wood floor.

2. If there was originally a hanger, can someone post a pic of it so I can see how/where it mounted? There are a couple of new ones on eBay but I'm not sure if they'll work on my truck.

3. Also, assuming there is supposed to be a hanger... How does it raise/lower? I assume there's some kind of rod used like on other trucks to wind the hanger up/down.

I'd like to get the spare out of the bed to free up space. I am getting tired of getting crap all over it whenever I haul a load of something & don't really want to leave the spare behind.

Thanks!

[Prerunner1982]

there should be a cradle type hanger, one end is supported by a long bolt, the other by a long bolt that has a sleeve that threads onto it and has loop for a lock. it sits at a angle under the rear of the truck, i believe the sleeve is at the passenger side rear corner while the permenant bolt is on the driver side closer to the axle. i ditched mine when i went to larger tires.

[bigblock73]

I think there were two different kinds of under bed tire carriers, a normal swing out one, and a telescoping swing out one.

I believe all GM trucks of this era had a under bed carrier from the factory.

Try looking in LMC, GoldenState, Cheyenne, Year One, etc for a diagram.

[bigd65]

I got one off of a FORD, so it really dont matter as long as you get the bolt to fit also. Its an easy task

[arveetek]

Not much to one of those carriers. I got mine from a salvage yard. Basically a large metal piece that goes across the tire, a large bolt on one end, and another large bolt on the other.

No lifting mechanism. One end of the cradle stays bolted in place. You just have to set the tire in the cradle, push it up to the frame, and bolt up the other end. It's not easy! A floor jack helps a bunch. Definitely not something you want to remove/replace a lot. I haven't dropped mine in nearly 4 years. I just check the tire pressure now and then.

[rolson1039]

the factory tire carriers are like the ones the others said but you can get an aftermarket that sits the tire up in the bed, or another that can bolt on the front in front of the grille, but that one may impede air flow for the cooling system... ive only seen them on the on site coffee trucks that come to construction sites...
Somewhere i have a used one from a 2000 truck that im going to see if i can mount it under my 86 but i havent even looked at it that far yet

[Ripley Bryant]

Thanks for the responses guys!