Boxer Spare Wheel Carrier - Beware!

Thought my experiences with the Boxer spare wheel carrier might be of interest? In short it's much better to find its shortcomings on your drive rather than at the side of the road or on the hard shoulder!

The original Boxer van tool kit provides a small ratchet handle and an extension tube which are designed to be applied vertically from above onto the two bolts along the rear rail which hold the spare wheel carrier up hard against the van floor. However AS cut away two small pieces of bodywork and provide two slots in the moulding across the rear of the van's raised floor through which one is supposed to apply just the ratchet handle to the bolts and then lower/raise the carrier as required. Problems with this arrangement as delivered were as follows:

1 I have found it extremely fiddly to get onto the bolts through the two slots provided, so much so that I always carry a PZ2 screwdriver and, if I need the spare wheel, I remove the plastic rear floor cover and get onto the bolts from above as Peugeot intended.

2 The threads in each of the 'J'-form hooks connecting the bolts to the wire spare wheel carrier suffer corrosion making it difficult to varying degrees to lower one or both of the hooks. Accordingly I took the hooks and bolts apart, cleaned the threads and greased them.

3 Having greased the bolts the friction in the threads was reduced to such an extent that the force on the return direction of the ratchet, which is ridiculously high, caused the normal ratchet 'click' action not to operate. So I partially sprained the ratchet pawl to reduce it's force and since then it has operated significantly better. However it is occasionally still necessary to hold the bolt whilst ratcheting it to stop it returning on each stroke.

4 Once the carrier is lowered it is necessary to lift the carrier off the J-hooks to fully lower the carrier to the ground. This is not that easy particularly if, like me, you've fitted a tow bar! This significantly restricts the fore/aft space for movement of the carrier and engagement with the J-hooks. Indeed with tow bars fitted you may have to bend the carrier frame a little so the carrier and tyre are carried a little further forward on the van. Getting the carrier back onto the J-hooks is even more difficult. Both these operations must be executed whilst lying on the ground. If you have a dodgy back, my recommendation if you're on tour would be to call the AA and let them do it!

Hot tip: to raise or lower the carrier the direction the bolt is turned obviously has to be reversed which is achieved by turning the ratchet handle over and using the other side. So determine which side is uppermost for each direction and mark that face of the ratchet handle with RAISE or LOWER accordingly. Then in an emergency there's no doubt which way you need to be spannering: sounds daft I know, particularly if you are an experienced mechanic, but take it from me that it is really worthwhile.

Remember that you need to drop the spare wheel carrier regularly to check the pressure and condition of the spare tyre, so it is worth getting familiar with this technique. I've had to change wheels in anger three times in sixteen years so far, in all cases when the originally specified tyres were fitted: once for a nail, twice when they blistered in hot weather. However having shifted to uprated 8 ply van spec tyres I've had no further problems.

Hope that helps.


Bartfarst

One other point to add to Bartfarsts post and you could find out the hardway,,

Drop the spare and put some ply or thin hardboard between the carrier and the spare so the carrier doesnt grind indentations in the side wall of the tyre

That's a good tip roli!

There's another issue too which I've not seen with my AS Harmony but was present with my 2005 Ducato 'donor' van for my HDi conversion. OK so a six year old buider's van probably gets more use in bad weather than the average AS, but in that time the spare wheel had become significantly corroded, particularly around the chamfers where the wheel nut bear, to the point where I reckon it is unusable without restoration. The rust is so thick that it would also probably affect the fit of the wheel onto the hub, certainly affecting balance and wobble.

Another good reason to take it out from time to time.

Anyone found a fuel can that would fit into the well of the spare wheel? Always fancy carrying a spare gallon there in case of emergencies.

Bartfarst

I dont use the supplied ratchet wrench but one out of my own set this is far better and easier to use than the supplied one
Alf

Alf wrote:I dont use the supplied ratchet wrench but one out of my own set this is far better and easier to use than the supplied one
Alf

Thats wise I would say, but do you have to remove the floor cover to get your ratchet onto the bolts, or has the concept changed in more recent vehicles I wonder?

Bartfarst

When the spare is fitted under the van which way up should the wheel be? Wheel centre bulge uppermost or pointing to the road? I believe it will fit either way up but wondered if one way was better that the other.
My spare wheel had water trapped in it when once I removed it so now I wrap it in a thick plastic bag and seal it with duck tape. When I remove it to check it there is no longer any dampness in it.
A point to help with the difficult task of raising the carrier with the wheel in it is to raise the off side of the carrier and hook that up first and then use the wheel brace handle as a lever in the tube welded to the nearside arm of the carrier. It's still not easy but it is a help.

squip

Hi to all,
We were unlucky enough to get a rear wheel puncture in our van on the M56 going to Conway the other weekend..Pain in the ar%e to change the wheel over. The tyre popped just as we were approaching a sliproad so i slowly drove off the motorway till I found somewhere safe to change it. By that time the tyre sidewalls were wrecked but luckily the ally rim was ok. Our van is still on its original tyres so I decided to replace the tyre with an Avon same as the tyre that popped..£105 ...Ouch!
I've since put a plastic sheet in the van to lay on in case we get another puncture.. It took about an hour to change the wheel over.

Tim

Bartfarst wrote:

Alf wrote:I dont use the supplied ratchet wrench but one out of my own set this is far better and easier to use than the supplied one
Alf

Thats wise I would say, but do you have to remove the floor cover to get your ratchet onto the bolts, or has the concept changed in more recent vehicles I wonder?

Bartfarst

Hi Bartfast------ No the ratchet goes in the slot above the bolt heads I have considered drilling a hole over the bolt heads so as to use the socket set on them and fitting plastic bungs in the holes.
When replacing the spare wheel use the jack to lift the wheel to its full height and then screw up the J bolts.

I carry an 8-ton hydraulic lorry jack and a 3-ton air bag as well as the supplied jack these live in the cupboard in the photo this goes between the rear seat base and the rear of the passenger seat base the original idea was to provide foot rest when using the small table.

The 24” ½” square drive breaker bar on Velcro tabs is for other emergency’s a police inspector friends advice was “ yes officer it is kept there for assisting with wheel changing it was the first thing to hand “
Therefore it cannot be classed as an offensive weapon. Alf

We run with the spare wheel facing downward as I have a SpareLine connected to the valve to save crawling under the van to check the tyre pressure.
Before anyone asks, do a search on Spare Line or possibly Spair Line for further info but they are based in Haydock on Merseyside

Roger I would rather remove twice a year so as to keep the threads on the bolts clear whilst doing so check the tyre and clean the mud and rust off

Alf

I've removed my spare not to use after a puncture but to check the date stamp in case it was ever needed and found that the tyre, although not the original one, was 8 years old, well past its sell-by date even though it had never been used. I too struggled to raise the cradle back into place with the weight of the wheel and used a trolley jack to lift it sufficiently to get the holding lugs on. If ever I do get a puncture on the road, it will be an RAC call-out, no way would I be able to do it at the roadside.

Paul this is the reason I remove twice a year many years ago I had to cut the J bolts and replace this is a situation you dont want whilst on the road

Alf

Oh fiddlesticks or words to that effect......

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Anyone know the part number for this J hook bracket & bolt or have a couple lying around please.

Cheers Matt

New hook but not with bolt...


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maybe you could get a standard coach bolt from ironmonger once you know the thread size.

Thanks Paul    I did search but obviously not properly

Cheers Matt

 Ah I know why my search was UK only (item location Italy)

There are loads of Boxers on Ebay being broken, worth a phone call to any local breakers yards too.

Thanks again will try a few breakers and the local Peugeot dealer

Cheers Matt