Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
I just spent 3 hours wrestling the with stupid, idiotic, dumb, dumb, dumb spare tire hoist on my Suburban. 
For those not aware, the GMs (at least like mine) have a mechanism to hold the spare tire under the rear of the vehicle with a cable hoist - a setup that lots of trucks and SUVs have (and my last 4 trucks/SUVs had this very setup.) However, GM decided to add a useless, stupid, trouble-prone thing called a "secondary latch" to prevent the spare tire from dropping even if the cable breaks (which, BTW, I've NEVER had happen on any of my other vehicles with cable-drop spares.)
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The problem with the "secondary latch" (and it is notorious among GM folks) is that the "secondary latch" often fails to UN-latch and that means you can't lower the spare, no matter what you do. It's such a common problem that there is a procedure in the owner's manual to get it to unlatch, and multiple YouTube videos. The problem is, on older vehicles like mine, especially those that have spent time in the rust belt (mine was in WI for 8 years) that latch will often rust and fail to release no matter what you try.
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As I said, I spent 3 hours trying to get mine to release using every trick in the book: WD-40, jiggling it, squeezing the release with a pair of channel locks, with no luck.
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Then I said "SCREW IT!" and got the angle grinder out. Ground off one of the "lobes" of the part that goes in the center of the wheel to hold it in place and - VOILA! Tire dropped free (I sure am glad I didn't learn this lesson by the side of the road in the middle of the night in the pouring rain, BTW.) Currently the tire is sitting in the back of the Suburban (I folded the 3rd row forward to make room for it.)
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Now the 'Burb has a lot of space, that's true, but eventually I'd like to come up with a more permanent solution, so I'm thinking of the Tiregate/Hitchgate.
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My only concern is that the primary use of my Suburban is as a tow vehicle for our T@B Clamshell. I see the Tiregate has a 2" receiver, just curious if anyone else pulls a trailer with theirs? Any issues or problems? Do you have adequate clearance for making tight turns?
.
Any other options out there? I could always buy a replacement tire holder and go back to the stock setup but I'm very skeptical of that.
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EDITED TO ADD: I actually wouldn't mind keeping it inside the back of the Suburban if I could find a way to mount it vertically so it doesn't take up so much room. Any ideas there?
For those not aware, the GMs (at least like mine) have a mechanism to hold the spare tire under the rear of the vehicle with a cable hoist - a setup that lots of trucks and SUVs have (and my last 4 trucks/SUVs had this very setup.) However, GM decided to add a useless, stupid, trouble-prone thing called a "secondary latch" to prevent the spare tire from dropping even if the cable breaks (which, BTW, I've NEVER had happen on any of my other vehicles with cable-drop spares.) .
The problem with the "secondary latch" (and it is notorious among GM folks) is that the "secondary latch" often fails to UN-latch and that means you can't lower the spare, no matter what you do. It's such a common problem that there is a procedure in the owner's manual to get it to unlatch, and multiple YouTube videos. The problem is, on older vehicles like mine, especially those that have spent time in the rust belt (mine was in WI for 8 years) that latch will often rust and fail to release no matter what you try.
.
As I said, I spent 3 hours trying to get mine to release using every trick in the book: WD-40, jiggling it, squeezing the release with a pair of channel locks, with no luck.
.
Then I said "SCREW IT!" and got the angle grinder out. Ground off one of the "lobes" of the part that goes in the center of the wheel to hold it in place and - VOILA! Tire dropped free (I sure am glad I didn't learn this lesson by the side of the road in the middle of the night in the pouring rain, BTW.) Currently the tire is sitting in the back of the Suburban (I folded the 3rd row forward to make room for it.)
.
Now the 'Burb has a lot of space, that's true, but eventually I'd like to come up with a more permanent solution, so I'm thinking of the Tiregate/Hitchgate.
.
My only concern is that the primary use of my Suburban is as a tow vehicle for our T@B Clamshell. I see the Tiregate has a 2" receiver, just curious if anyone else pulls a trailer with theirs? Any issues or problems? Do you have adequate clearance for making tight turns?
.
Any other options out there? I could always buy a replacement tire holder and go back to the stock setup but I'm very skeptical of that.
.
EDITED TO ADD: I actually wouldn't mind keeping it inside the back of the Suburban if I could find a way to mount it vertically so it doesn't take up so much room. Any ideas there?
