I have had a BAL spare tire carrier for several years and on several campers since 2018. It came standard on my 2018 Cougar 32RLI. I like the fact that it takes it off of the bumper and out of sight. It also makes it easy to slide the spare tire in an out. My next camper was a Cougar 34TSB, which did not have the BAL carrier - they mounted the spare tire on the backside of the rear travel rack. This limited the amount of weight I could put on the travel rack, so I bought and installed another BAL carrier. It works for me, but if you are going to install one, they recommend installing it closer to the rear axle (rather than near the rear bumper), to minimize ground clearance issues if you are going up or backing up into a sharp incline.
In any event, the BAL spare tire carrier works for me. I do periodically lubricate the retaining bolt that locks the assembly in place - this can rust up from the road moisture and makes it difficult to pull the tire out .
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DocP (Michael)
Former: Keystone Cougar 32RLI and 34TBS
Current: 2019 Georgetown GT5 31L5 motorhome
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