Spare Wheel Carrier query?

[John_5065289]

I wonder if anyone here can advise me? I have a Daystar van and have just purchased an Al-Ko Kober spare wheel carrier. Having fitted it I find that I cannot extract the wheel without pulling the whole unit off the guide rails, clear from the van. Surely, if I am in a position where I need to change the wheel at the roadside the whole thing becomes impractical, or am I missing something here?? Any advice gratefully received.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

You need to move the bit that the wheel fixes to so that the tyre is against the chassis inner rail and then you should be able to clear the caravan side.

Sometimes it's necessary to lower the jockey wheel as much as possible to make extraction easier.

 

[John_5065289]

Thanks very much, I'll try that tomorrow.

 

[PC_5041701]

John, hope you solved your problem after taking JohnG's advice. If not, I've had similar problems with my set-up. My van came with a factory fitted Al-Ko spare wheel carrier and jack and I've been moaning for nearly 12 months on how impractical it is to use. However, after talking to Al-Ko things are a lot better and the answer to the problem in my case was to make sure that the jack is extended to it's full height. The spare wheel on mine finishes up under the chassis when pulled out but it's fairly easy to remove it from the carrier with the ground clearance provided by the jack. Also, as JohnG says, make sure the spare wheel sits on the carrier as close to the chassis as possible (or blown air ducting in my case) but not so close that it stops you pulling the carrier off it's retaining stud. I know JohnG says you may need to drop the jockey wheel to aid wheel removal but for safety reasons Al-Ko recommend leaving the van hitched to the car. After removing my spare a couple of days ago I must say that it's good advice from Al-Ko as when the van is lifted to the full height on the jack it looks rather precarious. Hope this helps if you haven't sorted it already. P.S. you say that you can pull the whole unit off the guide rails. On mine it's not possible to do this as there are stops which prevent the telescopic tubes pulling apart.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

PC thank you for stating that Alko recommend leaving the caravan attached to the car when jacking.I have stressed this point myself several times as I had the caravan fall off the jack when I omitted to leave it attached .Fortunately mine landed back on the substantial axle stands with no damage.

The question here was about removing the spare wheel and I have to lower the jockey wheel on my drive as it slopes upwards towards the rear of the caravan and it certainly does help.

The euphoria of removing the spare wheel would be short lived if your reminder to"LEAVE ATTACHED TO THE CAR WHEN JACKING " was not followed !!