<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w
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The tire loosens a 1/64” then it’s 1/8”, then ¼” then ½”, 1” – 2” etc.
By 2” there is a lot of energy bouncing around under there.
By the time it is 4+ inches I have no doubt that 40+ pounds of free weight swinging around is going to involve some apple thinkers way of motion – and is going to break the cable which is not designed for that kind of stress.
There are tens of millions of spare tires being held up by spare tire winches. And maybe the winches installed on trailers are not built to the same levels as automotive winches.
But I can’t see them being manufactured so as not to do the job and fail with the potential for injury and the resulting lawsuits.
Just my opion but I think we need to have “check the spare” on our trip checklist.
And in my case, since I doubled the weight of the spare when I went to 17.5” wheels and tires I put a ratchet strap around the tire and frame.
FWIW, I trailered home 700 miles and did two camp trips before I added the strap and my tire was still secure.