Ford Has A Clever New Idea For Storing Spare Tires

A new folding rack in Ford's spare-tire patent could drop the wheel to the ground and help line it up on the hub.

By: Brian Potter

Oct 29, at 2:00pm ET

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Ford has filed a patent for a spare tire that lowers to the ground instead of making a driver crawl under a truck to reach it. The movable spare-tire mount describes a folding rack that could change how people deal with a flat.

The US filing, serial number 12773055, dates back to March 18, 2024. Ford Authority spotted it first, and the design tackles one of the most frustrating parts of any roadside tire change.

Anyone who has dragged a full-size spare out from under a pickup bed knows the routine. You lie on the ground, find the awkward hand crank, and spin it forever just to drop the wheel a few inches.

How Ford's Movable Spare-Tire Mount Works

Ford Spare-Wheel Moveable Rack Assembly Patent Illustrations

Photo by: USPTO

The patent describes a mount that pivots and extends, carrying the spare away from its stowed position under the frame or bed and setting it down near the ground. Instead of relying only on a vertical winch cable, the design adds a folding arm that moves the wheel outward as it comes down.

On trucks with underbody carriers, the spare often ends up wedged in a tight spot that is hard to reach, especially in mud, snow, or on a sloped shoulder. A rack that swings the wheel clear of the vehicle's underside could keep drivers off their knees in traffic lanes or roadside gravel.

The drawings in the application show a frame-mounted mechanism that suits body-on-frame pickup trucks and SUVs. Those are the vehicles that are most likely to carry a full-size spare instead of relying on inflation kits and sealant bottles.

Gallery: Ford Spare-Wheel Moveable Rack Assembly Patent Illustrations

Source: Ford

The Folding Rack Includes An Integrated Lug Wrench

One detail sets this filing apart from a typical spare-tire winch. The patent describes a lug wrench built into the rack assembly itself. Instead of digging through a jack kit buried in a trunk or truck bed compartment, the tool would already be mounted to the mechanism that lowers the wheel.

The patent also lays out a positioning function. The folding arm would not just drop the spare, it could hold the wheel in place against the hub while the driver threads the lug nuts. That is the moment where a heavy wheel usually has to be braced by hand or a knee, a job that gets tougher with a full-size truck tire.

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Ford has been granted plenty of patents over the years that never show up on vehicles, and the company has been clear about that. It says patent applications are a routine way to protect ideas and build an intellectual-property portfolio, and that the concepts in a filing are not a promise of future products.

Many automakers patent mechanical ideas that stay on paper. Spare tires have already been disappearing from new vehicles in favor of inflation kits and run-flat tires, which could narrow the number of models where a setup like this even makes sense.