I have heard stories of people not gettin there spare down when they needed it because it had gotten rusted but I never thought my cable would break on me.
My son and I were driving to a game last night when he said Dad I think you just hit a tire in the road, well I know I hadnt hit a tire and I just kind of let what he said go, . When we got to the game , just out of curiosity I checked and my spare was gone, just a frayed cable hanging there. Odd right?

 

Were you able to recover the spare?

You aren't the first, and won't be the last either.

 

I'd better drop and check my spare, before it drops itself.
It hasn't been dropped (ever)... It has happily hung there since factory install.
I check the pressure once a year (maybe), but it has never been used.
Any nails I pickup get plugged in the field, and the spare hasn't been needed.

 

Nope it was at night and my boy had to play in a game,(they won) , I have drove up and down the road but haven't seen it. Most likely it got picked up by someone who needed it. I am chalked it up to an act of nature. Spillage mine also was OEM. But I had it down a few times for some repairs to the the truck, it still had hair on it, haha

 

Makes me want to check mine!

 

lowered mine and sprayed white grease on the cable and in to the mechanism
about 10 days go

 

We used to "slush" wire rope, when I was assigned to Deck Department during my time in the Navy. "Slushing" consisted of cleaning and then regreasing wire rope (aka stranded cable). It sucked because we had to grab blobs of grease with our bare hands and work it into the strands of the wire rope to ensure it was thoroughly coated. After all, salt air and salt spray are very corrosive. Oh, and it also sucked because metal slivers hurt like hell.

Just an idea for you guys in the rust belt. Lithium grease would be perfect.

 

Wonder how hard it would be to replace it with stainless cable?

 

I tossed my spare when I went to 8 lugs. Never bothered getting a another one.

 

I bought some cheap ratchet straps and used them as reinforcements after I got five matching new wheels and tires. They form an "X" under the spare. You can't see it unless you crawl under the truck. If the ratchet strap mechanisms won't come loose I'll cut them - I'd rather sacrifice a couple ratchet straps than loose a $350 tire/wheel combo.