BAL28217 Hide-A-Spare Tire Storage - I-Beam Recessed Mount

Product arrives without a box and the ends are wrapped in plastic to secure the small parts. Most of the complaints I saw on the reviews are due to missing hardware because the plastic gets ripped which also happened to me so I'll list bolt sizes below. The 4 small bolts that allow everything to pivot are 5/16" x 2 1/2" and have 2 bushings per bolt. I couldn't find a good substitute for my missing bushing so I just used extra washers. The holes in the mounting brackets are 5/16" and the instructions suggested self tapping screws but I bought twelve 5/16" x 1" bolts, 24 washers and 12 nylon lock nuts instead. I opted to use all the mounting holes but you could probably get by with less. On my camp trailer, the only opening I had under the trailer was where the steps are so I had to mount it to pull out on the street side (drivers side) instead of pulling out to the curb side. Installation was fairly easy, I used a big "C" clamp to hold the pivot side bracket to the frame under the stairs making sure to center it in the opening between the trailer cross beams and marked the holes. Lowered the bracket, drilled the holes, raised the bracket and bolted it on. Then I went to the other side and slid the storage bracket (that's what the instructions call it) against the frame from front to back to figure out where it fit against the frame the best. If it is too far forward or back on the frame, the bracket doesn't sit flat against the frame so you just need to find that sweet spot. I used a marker to mark the side of the bracket, removed the locking screw to separate the storage bracket from the slide assembly, held the bracket up to the line, marked and drilled those holes and bolted it up too. Afterwards, I found out that bolts and washers stuck out too far on the storage bracket for the slide assembly to fit properly and allow the locking screw to fit in its hole. Even without the washers, it still doesn't line up easily. I may go back later and oval the hole to fit with the washers. Next pull the slide assembly out and install the two 1/2" x 6" bolts to mount the tire. I bought six 1/2" washers and 4 nylon lock nuts for this because I had the bolts but no washers or nuts. 4 washers and 2 nuts to hold the bolts to the slide assembly and 2 washers and 2 nuts to hold the tires tight to the slide assembly. I installed the tire with the valve stem pointed down to easily check the pressure but the rim offset made it so the bolts were a little long for me to use a deep socket to secure the nuts holding the tire on so I'll be trimming the bolt a bit so I don't have to use a wrench where the socket won't reach. While the slide was extended out, I crawled underneath and sprayed some garage door silicone lubricant on the bars so it's easy to slide in and out. There might be a better lubricant than that so you may want to research a little but that's all I had at the house at the time. Eventually I'll be drilling a hole in the storage bracket and slide assembly to fit a master lock to prevent an easy theft. Yes they could just unbolt the brackets but that's far more work for a simple thief than just undoing the lock screw, sliding it out and walking off. Also I should mention the crazy loopy cotter pin is a big deterrent. If I expected to use the spare tire pretty regularly, I'd definitely be installing a regular cotter pin. That thing is a PITA to remove and install. Overall, it looks to be a good product even with the $6 in hardware I had to buy. I will likely be buying more of these in the future for my other trailers. It does hang down below the frame but not much lower than my stairs or stabilizer jacks do.

Very functional. One of the tubes was stuck inside the other and it took a while to separate the pieces. Installation was straightforward but make sure you have very sharp dril bits. I bought hardware from my local store; unfortunately, the instructions don’t offer much advice about the size, type, or number of bolts to use.

I installed this without any extra helping hands. Easy to install and it fits perfect. I have 16 inch light truck tires on my toy hauler and it handles it easily. The bolts they included for the tire fit perfectly for my 16 inch tire and rim. The frame bolts are not included but for around 5 bucks you can get what you need including lock nuts. No more crawling under the trailer getting dirty and scalded in the Arizona summer heat getting to the spare. Just unscrew the knob lift up and step back to expose the spare.

I purchased the BAL Hide-A-Spare so that I could mount the 4SQUARE SafetyStruts on the 2 inch travel trailer bumper to carry other stuff. The BAL Hide-A-Spare was easy to install on a Jayco trailer. We mounted the spare tire on the BAL Hide-A-Spare and then positioned it under the trailer to find the best place to mount it. I drilled holes in the trailer frame and used grade 8 bolts to hold it in place. It works just fine. If you don't know which model to purchase go to the BAL Hide-A-Spare website and look for the different mounting options available to you. It will save you a lot of time and aggravation and your installation should go very smoothly.

Their pictures clearly shows a flat plate to be mounted to the trailer frame which is of sufficient height. What I received did not look anything like this and was only providing a 6" clearance for the tire which are typically 9" thick. Shipped the product back as soon as I looked at the mounting plates, was not supposed to get charged for shipping the part back and now have been fighting the seller for a $60 refund (shipping charges). Have wrote very nice and clear emails regarding the problem with the equipment and they basically accused me of lying and said that the part number on the box matched what is being sold. So shipping a Kia is OK when you are advertising a Porsche as long as the part number is OK. The product is great and would have saved me a lot of headache but to make what they send me work required welding a piece of metal to it to make it taller, did not want to take the chance of loosing the spare on the freeway causing a major accident behind me.This picture shows a nice and tall plate which would create necessary space for the tire, what I got was much shorter with two 90 degree bends, totally different mount. Sick of them and conversation has been going on for a week now. Amazon is supposed to take care of this, otherwise next step is get the credit card company involved. I would not deal with this company again. Again product is great just have to make sure you are getting the right version which would work for you, buy it some where else and double check what you are getting, there are different versions.

Worked really well. I knew I had to make a few adjustments as my I beams were a little closer than spec but that mod was easy. Great unit. Now I have the rear bumper available for a box...

I didn't realize I ordered for an open bottom so I had to install some angle Iron Brackets to the bottom of the frame rails. The install went very well with that. Works great for the spare tire.

Easy install , great product !! Wish I had bought this years ago instead of keeping the spare in the back of the truck.

My lightweight trailer isn't exactly the target installation for this carrier, however I was able to get it to fit with some additional pieces. It took a lot more effort than I would have liked, but I can't really blame the manufacturer.The construction is solid, it works as advertised. Better suited for a full sized trailer than a compact one.

Spare is now out of sight. Easy to assemble, BUT assembly hardware is included, the installation hardware is NOT.