Spare wheel carrier-convert to hoist like later Dodge +Chevy

[monoblock]

I just had the experience of changing a flat & fitting the spare wheel+tire. Trying to get a wheel back into the spare carrier with only road-side tools is just a little difficult. Hoisting it with one arm,engaging the washer+nut on the spare wheel retainer with the other hand is just needlessly hard. Is there a well tried fix for this? I notice the later Dodge trucks and Chevy have a crank device to lift the spare wheel with galvanized wire on a simple hoist. Anyone know if there is a post on how to transfer such a part to our trucks?I did a careful search and nothing came up -which usually means it is not a smart idea!
Thanks for any suggestions.

[skilletky]

i left mine out after having to use the spare. mainly because the tire size i use will not fit under the bed, and that thing is a pain to get back up in there. if i am not going far, i leave the spare in the garage. my insurance company pays for any tow bill up to $1000. if im going more than 2 hours away, ill throw the spare in the bed.

[monoblock]

An alternative to the wire hoist may be to fabricate a removable extension to the spare wheel carrier- kinda like a garden fork.It would give added leverage and project beyond the bodywork so you could really get some muscle to it.O.K. it would be a bit redneck but that's just fine with me!
You are right about the space limitations for an oversize wheel+tire. There is barely enough room for the stock wheel because I have air rear suspension piping,tow hitch all encroaching on the space back there.

[GO OVRIT]

I've cut the cable/winch setup out of several different vehicles. Go to a salvage yard and look around. A 2nd gen Dodge is pretty easy to remove and the crank is in two pieces with a cotter key so it's pretty easy to make the length work for you. The first time I did it, I cut the whole crossmember out of a Mitsubishi truck and mounted it under my trailer.

[ellis93]

Cable winches suck,nothing like having a flat and finding only frayed wires where your spare was. Older Toyota trucks had chain winches,find one off a 4wd and its length will work out,or add chain to a 2wd one

[cougar]

My 92 has one that a previous owner put on,,,,, wrong. It is off center. Still better than trying to wrestle with the old set up. Once it's there I can chain it in place. On the 91, it lives in the bed.

[PToombs]

Mine lives in the shed, unless I'm on a road trip. Then it's bolted to the flatbed.