PSA: Ram Trucks, check your emergency roadside jack bolt.

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Fordiesel69

Joined
Sep 10, 2005
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If you have say a 2010+ model year, under the passenger seat there is a "wing bolt" that secures the roadside jack in place. This bolt threads thru the cab floor, and protrudes out into the road elements where it is exposed to rust and corrosion. As you guessed it, I had a roadside emergency and was unable to get mine free. Let my failure be your advantage. Remove and apply an antiseize compound asap before you too have a reason to need your jack.

I will remove mine be heating it up with a oxy acetalene torch and then made a stud with an interior nut like all other companies do. Shame on Chyrsler for doing this. Huge engineering oversight. "Lets save an eighth of a cent and intentionally make a bolt seize up so the owners can't change their own tire on the side of the road in the pouring rain."
 
Can't get away from corrosion problems and spare tire equipment.

Majority of trucks from any manufacturer, you eventually can't get the spare tire winch to work, making it stuck under the truck. Then it's time to cut it down and leave the spare in the bed.

Of course, majority of people don't even know their spare tire is stuck. Out of sight, out of mind. If you're lucky, your spare tire will fall out of the truck because the entire carrier rusted out like the 2004+ F150 owners get the luxury of. Only downside for them is that they have to chase after it because it falls out while doing 70mph down the highway.
 
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I am not worried about the spare tire hoist. Its the bolt I am boiling over. How stupid. The engineering dept should be liquidated pver that.
 
Fordiesel69 said:
I am not worried about the spare tire hoist. Its the bolt I am boiling over. How stupid. The engineering dept should be liquidated pver that.
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Or it could be a lack of maintenance by the owner. If that bolt is that rusted, what does the rest of the truck undercarriage look like? An example of one, but my vehicles get Krowned annually, which should take care of this issue as a preventative measure.
 
Thanks for this thread topic.
Over a year ago, I checked out a 2017 RAM for my friend's son, which he bought. I just texted him to check on that hold down bolt.

He's a good 'car guy'. He found a leftover, 2109 Grand Caravan and added a factory winch/spare and spare cover to it.
It came with no provision for a spare.

Fordiesel69 said:
"Lets save an eighth of a cent and intentionally make a bolt seize up so the owners can't change their own tire on the side of the road in the pouring rain."
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In all seriousness, I'd love to see the proposals and hear any conversations regarding skimping on manufacturing methods.
Relocating the battery so the cables are 2" shorter, is one we'd say as kids.
 
Dad thought I was nuts to lower the spare tire from underneath his 2011 Town and Country when he bought it. For those who don't know, the spare resides underneath the van, in between the driver and passenger seats.

I was only checking to see if: (a) the spare was there, (b) if it had air in it (c) if the winch worked (d) to see how much effort it took to get the spare out from underneath it (e) to see if I wanted to even attempt to get the spare out from underneath it, but in the dark and in the rain (LOL...)
 
Fordiesel69 said:
I am not worried about the spare tire hoist. Its the bolt I am boiling over. How stupid. The engineering dept should be liquidated pver that.
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My point is that, industry wide, it seems the whole spare tire setup is an afterthought and done as low bid as it can be. Cheeseball mounting equipment, tools, handles, jacks, etc. It's all garbage that is barely capable of getting the job done.

Won't have to worry about it soon, as the whole idea of the spare tire is slowly disappearing.
 
emmett442 said:
If you're lucky, your spare tire will fall out of the truck because the entire carrier rusted out like the 2004+ F150 owners get the luxury of. Only downside for them is that they have to chase after it because it falls out while doing 70mph down the highway.
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Fortunately, they are usually easy to find afterward.... Just look for the guy on the side of the road with the tire and wheel embedded in his windshield.
 
Yes, good call on this one. I owned two Ram 1500s. A 2017 and a 2019 classic. That jack hold-down bolt under the passenger side seat will rust solid after 2-3 rust-belt winters if you don't take precautions. I had both trucks all greased up with fluid film and/or woolwax, which included removing and anti-seizing this bolt.

This bolt is a problem spot on Ram pickups as is the spare tire winch as mentioned like most light pickups. If you don't exercise and lube it, it will be locked up junk in a few years. The 3rd problem area on Ram classics is the parking brake. Another very rust prone setup that will lock up in short order if you don't take precautions with the cam/lever bits that run through the backing plates.
 
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Found this out early on with our 2011 1500. I check all the tire change equipment semi regularly and used grease on the threads often.

This reminds me to check my 3500 again as it's due for a tire rotation.

While the design leaves wanting, it's still superior to GM's spare tire safety catch or whatever ever it's called. Several of their SUV's used it maybe until 2010?? Took me an hour in my garage to drop my spare on the Trailblazer. Had to butcher the catch to bypass it. That was a good reminder to check your spare and equipment regularly. There is no way this could have ben done roadside.
 
Fordiesel69 said:
I woolwax my stuff. The state owned this truck. But smart engineering would have a thru stud with a removable nut on the interior.
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That's pretty much what my two 1st-gen RWD Mazda MPV vans (1990 and 1997) had - the spare sat in a cage, which had one arm that protruded upwards and had a threaded end. The threaded end went up through a hole into the scuff plate near the rear hatch's striker post. Because the threads and nut were inside, no problem with the system seizing up.

Bonus: The cage was large enough to hold a full- size spare.

Subsequent FWD vans (2009 Kia Sedona and 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan) have both had the intricate cable mechanism seize up, and I've had to replace both.
 
My gen1 tundra had a good, usable cable winch - it actually felt reasonably robust for its task. Best I’ve known. Others I don’t trust as much.

And to that effect - I helped an older fella change a tire on a GM 1 ton last month, probably a ‘21. GM included a safety cable affixed with a loop-through D-ring on the spare. “Huh.”
 
That’s been a problem for years. Ant seize and place a silicone cap over that stud will help. The cap will fall out when you unscrew it. Had this happen to me but fortunately I had pliers and got it loose.
 
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