How can I release my spare tire, with the back doors sealed?

[CosmickGold]

I drove my van-home to Discount Tires and complained in their office that their workmen in the garage absolutely refused to put air in my spare tire, just because it's 23 years old and full of cracks. (That resulted in big friendly smiles, but no offer to fill the tire with air.)

So we discussed replacing it with a new Pathfinder tire to match the four I'm currently driving on. The manager (still smiling) walked out with me, where I handed him the spare tire key, and he asked me to open the back doors (as they have no handle on the outside). OOPS! Those doors do not open, they are permanently bolted and sealed shut. Plus, an inside wall screwed to them is part of my van build. (His smile began fading away.)

He explained that the only way to reach the slot for the spare tire key is through those permanently closed doors! (So reaching it ain't gonna happen.)

I have not personally crawled under the van to look, nor otherwise searched for answers, hoping someone here has an easy answer for releasing the tire and securing a new one, all from underneath.

My van is a Chevy Express 3500 (pictured on the left). I ask here in the forum because I've noticed that mechanics tend to miss the most obvious answers and instead, discover the most complicated and expensive ways to solve simple problems. (It's what they were shown to do in mechanic school, I guess.) But I'm hoping someone here is familiar with what isn't visible underneath my van, and knows a simple answer I can crawl under and do.

 

[abnorm]

This video shows possible removal of the lift mechanism while the tire is still in place.........one 15mm bolt



Perhaps replace it with a door mounted spare tire......................................

 

[Happy Camper]

If you can't get to your spare tire without major work, it's just a weight that gives you less gas mileage and takes up space.

Maybe you can make a workaround like a pickup truck and have the lowering/raising function go through a hole in the rear bumper. I wouldn't imagine it would be that hard to retrofit by someone that's handy. You could probably get the entire thing from a junkyard for cheap and have it welded in. My thought is that you might just want to drill a hole in your passenger side rear door that will allow access to the lowering mechanism, and find a suitable plug to cap it off when you don't need it. That's the simplest way.

This is a Chevy pickup:



This is how your van spare lowers:



Here is another way to bring that tire down. Not fun, but it'll work with patience:

 

[CosmickGold]

This video shows possible removal of the lift mechanism while the tire is still in place.........one 15mm bolt



Perhaps replace it with a door mounted spare tire......................................

You're a jewel, abnorm! That video showed me exactly what I needed to see and understand!

Door-mounted spare tires look kinda ugly to me, so I just now ordered this spare tire mount I will bolt through the floor right where the old mount and tire were. Thanks to you, I'm on my way to the full solution!

 

[WanderingRose]

So, CG, I am worried that with your rear doors sealed shut you have only one exit for your vehicle.

In case of accident or fire, this seems unsafe to me.

 

[CosmickGold]

So, CG, I am worried that with your rear doors sealed shut you have only one exit for your vehicle.

In case of accident or fire, this seems unsafe to me.

I appreciate your concern, Wandering Rose, and want you to know I'm ok.

I have this 4 lb fire extinguisher mounted on the wall right next to the pair of side doors, plus a small extinguisher I can reach from the driver's seat.

I also have a door in the center of the front wall -- held shut by only magnets to allow easy push-open. It opens between the two front seats, and is the passage between the rear living quarters and the front driving cab. There, of course, I have a door on the left, and a door on the right, giving me a total of three escape routes.

FYI: I have done a lot to make my little home nice. But I was able to buy it at a very low price because the inside was so trashed out, from only bare springs to sit on at the drivers seat, to broken out windows on the sides, to the back end having been cut out from floor to the top of the bubble top! He removed the back in order to use the van as a trash hauler, and having no back wall at all made it easy to stuff in very large items that would never fit through doors.

I was looking for a van in that condition to bring the price way down, and chose this one because of it being in excellent mechanical condition (another must) with new Pathfinder tires, a rebuilt transmission, an engine from AutoZone, etc.

I did not fix back doors that would work, because doing so would have required metal-crafting and welding skills I don't have, nor wanted to pay someone for. It was much easier (and cheaper) to just seal the back shut with doors that fit, add a can of paint to make it all look right, and be happy, which I truly was! (...and am.)

 

[Happy Camper]

Heck, see if you can make the back doors one piece, hinge it, and use a cable system to lower it for a raised patio. Might be fun and a new way to enjoy boondocking. Mosquito netting that extends to cover it all when parked in certain areas. Just thoughts.

 

[WanderingRose]

Ahh, I see.

I envisioned something different, and can’t really envision what you describe.

My living/sleeping area is in the rear, and a fire in the front would trap me if I didn’t have rear doors.

Stay safe.

 

[CosmickGold]

I ... can’t really envision what you describe. My living/sleeping area is in the rear, and a fire in the front would trap me if I didn’t have rear doors.

Well, this is my basic layout showing the larger items that sit on the floor...

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

My 2¢:
Move/add a fire extinguisher next to the bed where you can grab it immediately.
Add a smoke alarm to the driver's compartment. Most car fires start in the engine compartment.

 

[CosmickGold]

Once ...I went to discount tire to get a flat fixed, they refused as according to the computer the tire wight rating is wrong, the tires had a rating of 1200 lb each and the car weighs 2200 lb ...still it was like talking to a brick, they will use any excuse to try to sell you tires.

Really good to know, thanks Tzagi.

I've also recently discovered that mechanics will charge like $150.00 just to discover your engine's problems; but instead of going down a path of discovery, they simply follow a checklist of items to sat you need . . . without ever testing the condition of the parts they want to replace! I discovered this when a small garage told me I needed the pulleys replaced, so I agreed for them to be replace. But the next day the same problem was back, so this time I took it to a large chain garage, who charged me $150.00 for a full examination. The next day I went back and their report said I needed those same two pulleys replaced!

So I bought a serpentine-belt remover and matching installer. Then took the belt off and carefully examined those "bad" pulleys with my fingers and eyes, and found they were indeed both perfectly good!

So now I know I cannot trust ANY auto garage. From now on, I'll determine what the problem is myself; and if I can't fix it, at least I can tell them to do specifically THAT job and nothing else. (It's a tough world we live in.)

 

[CosmickGold]

My 2¢:
Move/add a fire extinguisher next to the bed where you can grab it immediately.
Add a smoke alarm to the driver's compartment. Most car fires start in the engine compartment.

My mother lost her motorhome (her only home at the time) to a fire that started in the engine compartment, just like you said. She had a fire extinguisher but with most of the engine under a shell between the front seats and her standing outside in front of the open hood, she couldn't get the spray to go back far enough, and was afraid to go back inside. My guess is that the gas line came loose at the engine.

 

[tzagi]

Once ...I went to discount tire to get a flat fixed, they refused as according to the computer the tire wight rating is wrong, the tires had a rating of 1200 lb each and the car weighs 2200 lb ...still it was like talking to a brick, they will use any excuse to try to sell you tires.

 

[user 16179]

You're a jewel, abnorm! That video showed me exactly what I needed to see and understand!

Door-mounted spare tires look kinda ugly to me, so I just now ordered this spare tire mount I will bolt through the floor right where the old mount and tire were. Thanks to you, I'm on my way to the full solution!

View attachment 32063

It's a van. Vans are ugly. Do what you have to do to have access to a spare tire.

 

[bagabum]

Heck, see if you can make the back doors one piece, hinge it, and use a cable system to lower it for a raised patio. Might be fun and a new way to enjoy boondocking. Mosquito netting that extends to cover it all when parked in certain areas. Just thoughts.

Bingo, you think like me. To be honest, if I was living in a van, I would make it practical as possible, would not care about looks. I wouldn't think twice about cutting a hole in the back and mounting a window unit, diesel heater, chimney, solar panels on top or whatever, etc. Like the patio idea, kind of like a toy hauler.

 

[user 16179]

Really good to know, thanks Tzagi.

I've also recently discovered that mechanics will charge like $150.00 just to discover your engine's problems; but instead of going down a path of discovery, they simply follow a checklist of items to sat you need . . . without ever testing the condition of the parts they want to replace! I discovered this when a small garage told me I needed the pulleys replaced, so I agreed for them to be replace. But the next day the same problem was back, so this time I took it to a large chain garage, who charged me $150.00 for a full examination. The next day I went back and their report said I needed those same two pulleys replaced!

So I bought a serpentine-belt remover and matching installer. Then took the belt off and carefully examined those "bad" pulleys with my fingers and eyes, and found they were indeed both perfectly good!

So now I know I cannot trust ANY auto garage. From now on, I'll determine what the problem is myself; and if I can't fix it, at least I can tell them to do specifically THAT job and nothing else. (It's a tough world we live in.)

That's the way of modern parts slingers. They don't fix anything. They just throw chunks at it until the codes are gone or they replace anything you have to touch to get to the actual problem.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Once ...I went to discount tire to get a flat fixed, they refused as according to the computer the tire wight rating is wrong, the tires had a rating of 1200 lb each and the car weighs 2200 lb ...still it was like talking to a brick, they will use any excuse to try to sell you tires.

It's a liability thing. Big chains will not touch a tire that is not recommended for your vehicle or is out of date.
Sometimes they will let you use their air to fill your tires but none of their employees are supposed to do anything.