I have a '99 Nissan Frontier that I use for hunting, and as a second vehicle. Today I was rearranging the gear bags and started to wonder how prepared I was if I had a flat tire. I do carry a decent lug wrench, wheel blocks, and a orange safety vest. I decided to remove the spare. It is held under the truck by a chain, that is on a crank. It is a major PIA to lower, because of having to line up a steel rod into the crank. After about 30 minutes, I finally got the tire off. I had the unpleasant thought of doing this at night, in the rain, on the side of the road. Not safe. I decided to just leave the tire in the truck bed. It takes up quite a bit of room, but I have a topper, and it is doable. I also made sure my factory jack works, and aired up the tire. I thought I would pass this on.

Familiarizing yourself with how the tire goes up and down will help. It shouldn't take that long.

I forgot to add that I located the crank slot with the aid of a flashlight. If I had done this at first, it would not have taken so long.

Bought a new truck in I think 93. Had it for a few years before I had a flat. Dropped the spare and discovered it had a different number of holes! Took it back to the dealership and after some yelling back and forth they give me the proper wheel.

I bought a 1987 F150 and it was suppose to have a lock on the spare. I made the mistake of walking in the front door of the dealership instead of service. Sales dude asked me if he could help. I explained to him that my truck was missing the spare tire lock. He started to question why it took me a year to notice. I explained to him that I had not needed the spare. It got a little heated. The service manager walked by and asked what the problem was. I explained to him and he took me back to parts to get a lock.

We always took the locks off the spare tire and tossed em in the passenger door pocket. All they are good for is getting stuck and not letting you get your spare off.