Piston Slap: The Little Hole, The Truck Spare Tire

TTAC commentator Macca writes:

Sajeev,

This is random, but I was wondering if you could look into an automotive curiosity that has bugged me for some time. Internet searches on the subject have not produced any answers so far, unfortunately.

I do not own a Ram truck, nor do I envision ever purchasing one, but I do often find myself sitting in traffic behind one. I’ve noticed that on recent models, the rear bumper has a slight indentation above and to the right of the license plate area. This indentation appears to coincide with what appears to be a drain hole of some sort for the bed, but the two aren’t ever fully aligned.

It’s probably no shock that I’m a bit OCD about automotive things, and this is the first thing I see as I stare at the rear of any Ram truck in traffic — kinda how I always look for the cracked plastic liftgate panel on third-gen Explorers. I know, it’s a sickness. (You need some Vellum for your Venom, son! – SM)

Sajeev answers:

There was a time when I didn’t know what that hole was for either. Oh, get your mind out of the gutter!

It was before I changed a flat on a buddy’s truck, which was then my truck. I had to rotate my tires — except not. As if a 24 Hours of LeMons Judge ever rotates his own tires with so many terrible racers just begging for the task.

Or at least they used to. Sigh, it couldn’t last forever.

Mopar’s own YouTube channel has the best explanation of why that hole exists; it’s so you can lower the full-size spare tire. I appreciate the truck spare tire’s space efficient design, even if it’s fiddly to extract and frustrating to re-install in the best of weather.

Plus, it’s far too easy for thieves to steal your (valuable, full-size) spare.

Between this and tailgate theft, truckers of all sizes got problems. This is somewhat addressed in newer designs: many trucks have (optional) lockable tailgates. For years, both Ford and Chevy use a lock cylinder shared with your ignition key to ensure nobody gets your spare — including you if you forget to re-key the bumper when addressing your ignition.

Suffice to say, truckers got lots of problems with their holes!

[Images: OP, © 2014 Sajeev Mehta/The Truth About Cars]

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.