I aired up my spare tire today and flipped it so the valve steam is pointing down for the purpose of easy maintenance in the future. It appeared to go back in place and tighten up without any problems. Is there something I’m overlooking that’s going to cause a problem or is this an accepted alternative.

I’d appreciate your input, thanks.

 

When you tighten it up, did the handle click and slip...
I'm sure it will go up fine but a friend of mine at ford said it will not lock in and can shake loose....
I wanted to do the same thing and he advised strongly not to do it....

 

I've had mine flipped since right after I bought the truck. It will work fine as long as you crank it up tight enough to fully compress the spring on the bottom of the carrier cable and then turn the crank until you feel it click. I went ahead and added one more click for good measure. It sure is nice to have that valve stem down by the back bumper where you can reach it.

 

The spring is compressed tight but I can keep turning the handle and it doesn’t get any tighter. Not sure if it clicks

 

jp,

It doesn't really click, it slips and then grabs as you keep turning. I went 2 slips past full spring compression on mine. I like German torque "gut und tight"!

 

A bad point of having the valve pointed down is that rocks can beat the valve out of there. Then when you have a flat, you go to get your spare tire out and its flat too, but you can't put any air in it because the valve stem is gone. I've seen this happen. However, if you only drive your truck on clean pavement then it shouldn't matter.

 

Good point, tater. I don't go off-road but I could see the valve stem getting beat up if I bottomed out the rear end. The factory stem is pretty short, so I think it will be OK. If you have an extended length valve stem that could also make it more susceptible to damage.

 

That reminds me. I've never had the spare out of my truck in 9 years. Guess I should check the air in it huh?