Notes on spare tire delete

[allanmac]

OK, don't hate me for deleting my spare tire but I got my new wagon ceramiced and wanted to give the detailer full access to the back doors.

I'm going to leave the bracket and spare off for now because she's currently a clean garage queen but will probably put them back on when I visit some OHV trails in Florida.

Removing the tire and bracket was trivial -- no notes.

But there was some effort made to find proper plugs for the 29mm holes.

I bought two different types of inexpensive hole plugs and have only tried the lower-profile set:

• Uxcell 4Pcs Silicone Rubber Round Snap-in Locking Plugs for 28-30mm Holes [1] (pictured below)
• 6 Pcs 31.3 mm Silicone Rubber Plug for 30.3-31.3 mm/ 1-3/16-1/15/64 in Round Holes, Waterproof T Type Rubber Stoppers [2] (much thicker cap and is a tight-fitting "stopper")

The locking plugs are very low profile and haven't been unlodged by a high pressure car wash wand.

They do flex a little bit when poked (see video).

I believe they're reasonably waterproof but suspect the "stoppers" would be even more robust to environmental impacts (or pressure washers).

For that reason, I also acquired a more robust solution but haven't tried it out. The cap on the "stopper" is 2.2mm so would have a higher profile than the snap-in plugs.

Let me know if you have any questions and if you've found better hole plugs then let me know.

 

[Tenac]

Believe it or not, our local dealer actually offers this service and ladder removal. I've seen a couple in town setup this way.

 

[AFdude412]

Curious if these are the same size for the ladder.