Compact Spare for Two Eco

are they threaded, or just rings? if threaded, they should unscrew. if rings, like a lot of the push in fasteners, they often are one use only.

 

i think the guy in the dealership tried to unscrew them? maybe not.

 

Yes, in one of the posts here I described how we tried to unscrew those white fasteners. We would spend some time rotating them counter clock wise, but they never gave in. Then we thought maybe one needs to position them somehow. This did not help either. Then the salesman gave up and I left. After several hours, when I came back, he said they opened it and told me there was no space for the spare (that was all done on Four Touring). But he did not tell me how they opened it. It certainly did not look like it was possible to unscrew.

 

One use only probably makes sense because it is not supposed to be opened often or even once for that matter.

I wonder if they already have them in parts. Usually they are not expensive. Once I had to buy 5 or 6 of them to fix a cover under the hood. It was several dollars for the whole set if I remember. Is it easy to replace them? I noticed they are kind of hidden

 

Maybe they're the "Christmas tree" style fasteners? I know Toyo uses a few of those on third gen hybrid battery fan ductwork. It's got feathered ribs, not really threaded.

 

I noticed that in cleanmpg forum the first 5 pics are hi-res, and the rest are low-res. Which makes me think you might have not taken high-res after you carved the phone and stuff. If this is the case, and you will be taking new pics, could you be so kind to make one at a lower angle, almost horizontally to see the how high objects are relative to each other. After all the considerations and going back and forward, I think my choice will be Four Touring with the same problem of a spare tire.

On a side note, I watched a couple or presentations on u-tube of Four Touring and noticed that when the back seats are folded, there is a bump. This is due to the fact they lowered the floor of the trunk I think. It could make it inconvenient to carry some large objects. In my Gen II after you fold the seats, it is just one large flat surface.

 

Thanks a lot! Interestingly, from pic. #3 (from above) it looks like the spare sticks out a little. But from the last two - they are even. Did you figure how to handle those white fasteners? If they are one-time thing, I guess one could have some extra, and in case you need to use the spare tire , just fasten with the new ones each time. In 9 years on my Gen II I never had to use my spare, but I've been to so many places where having a flat would have been a disaster, that I would never go without.

 

the problem is, you have to check the pressure regularly. can you install it valve side up?

 

Could you just inflate it before the use? Or is it necessary to keep in inflated? In all likelihood you would still need to pump it a little unless you check it real often.

 

a good question. i keep mine inflated, but if your comfortable that you can pump 60 psi in there, i don't see why not.

 

A-a-a, so you don't even need to remove the foam! Then it is no different from my current situation. In this case you can check the pressure as often as needed.

 

Or you could use one of these: Chek A Spare Valve Extender

"Works as an extension to your spare's valve stem making it more accessible. One end screws on to the valve stem on the tire. The other end is placed in a convenient location."

 

I am still curious to hear from 4 or 4T owners who did the same. Or at least looked under the foam to check if the cargo area looks the same as 2 (post #1).