I am having a hitch installed on my 07 Caliber. This will not be used for towing simply to carry my bike because I do a great deal of cycling. There is a note in the owners manual that you need to buy a stap to keep the spare in place. I talked to the guys at U-haul( they are installing the strap) they have never heard of it, and I stopped at the dealrship and they would need to order it, but could give me no information on why I need this. In fact they guy at the counter has never heard of it being ordered? Anyone have a hitch and know about this?
Whiskey City
03-12-2008, 01:32 PM
I have an '08 and the spare is inside the cabin under the load floor, not under the car. Is it different on the '07? I can't imagine needing some sort of strap but if the manual says so, I'm sure there's a reason. I work in a vehicle assembly plant and I can tell you, 99% of those warnings are in the manual because something bad happened to some poor customer somewhere. Just like it says on shirts, "Do not iron while wearing". That note's there because some knucklehead tried it once.
Pakman9
03-12-2008, 03:02 PM
Thanks for the info. I have had the hitch installed and did not buy the strap.
My tire is placed in the same spot as yours. The hitch I had installed does not change the location or interfere with the tire in anyway. Maybe the factory hitches are somehow different, but I have no idea why they have that in their guide. My hitch works just fine without it.
bigtsr
03-14-2008, 07:41 AM
I have not seen the hitch installation on the Caliber,my 07
SXT does have strap on the spare tire under the cargo floor.
When I asked why the strap was there I was told by a Chrysler
rep who was in the dealership that day that if you have an
accident the spare could be ejected into the cabin causing
injury hence the strap.
I thought the tire bolt down would have kept it in place but
that was his explanation.
Whiskey City
03-14-2008, 11:02 AM
... snip...I was told by a Chrysler
rep who was in the dealership that day that if you have an
accident the spare could be ejected into the cabin causing
injury hence the strap.
I thought the tire bolt down would have kept it in place but
that was his explanation.
Like I said, that note was in there for a reason. Now, if I can just figure out why a rear-end collision with a trailer hitch is so much more violent than one without a trailer hitch so as to cause the spare to become a deadly missle, I'd be all set!
4X HEMI
09-01-2008, 01:05 PM
:D Guess McDonalds should have had a note on their coffee cups for that girl!
Please dont put a hot cup of coffee in your crotch in case of spillage!
Flealami
09-30-2008, 07:11 PM
Like I said, that note was in there for a reason. Now, if I can just figure out why a rear-end collision with a trailer hitch is so much more violent than one without a trailer hitch so as to cause the spare to become a deadly missle, I'd be all set!
:teacher:Think about it. The bumper has an energy absorbing mechanism. The hitch on the other hand is attached directly to the frame or some other stiff part of the car in unibody cars . In case of a rear collision without a hitch the bumper gets to do it energy absorption job, but if there is a hitch installed the energy will more directly get transmitted to the car before the bumper even feels the bump because the hitch extends outward of the bumper.
