Spare hanger broke, spare is gone!

[T0MCHANDLER]

When I bought my 03 used a few years ago the spare was gone and the cable was hangingthere. someone had gone to the trouble of cranking it down to steal the tire, left the "socket" they used to lower it behind and not cranked it up. the dealership used the truck to haul cars to and from auction and one ofthe drivers felt the tireholder come off the end of the cable. I got a new hanger and spare at the salvage yard for cheap. put my own secret "key" on the end and was back in business. (hanger came off a burned unit and key was unavailable) you can order the keys off the internet for $35 plus shipping. wouldn't even need to prove you own the truck. my point is if your tire droped off while driving you would notice. this was stollen, they didn't have to work very hard to do it, and they didn't care what happened once they were gone with your tire.

 

[02SilverStroke]

Back in the early 80's I had a 1979 Ford Courier that had it's spare stolen. Of course, back then, there were plenty of Ford Couriers/Mazda B1600's on the road, with the "crank up" spare tire carrier. I just happened to look at the back one day and there was no spare. Everything was in place as if someone took their "cranker" and lowered the tire, snatched it, and rolled up the cable so no one would notice. I found a used tire & wheel for a few bucks, then put a chain and lock around the tire and frame, and didn't have to worry then. Of course someone could have taken a bolt cutter to the chain if they wanted to, but I drove the truck for several years after that without losing my tire. As others have said, the thieves are smarter than us honest folks, and they know all "the tricks".