Changing a flat tire is no fun no matter where the flat occurs. Changing the tire is even less fun if you do not know how to remove the spare tire to replace the flat. The 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 has the spare tire under the truck bed. You will need the tire tool and the jack ratchet to remove the tire. The spare tire secures to the truck bed with a retaining cable. You will need to unwind the cable to lower the spare tire to the ground.
Look behind the seat and pull out the jack tire tool and the ratchet handle. The tire tool will look like a crowbar with a socket and the ratchet is a flat tool with a hole at the top inside the round area of the tool. The tire tool has six sides rather than being round. The ratchet fits over the tire tool and rotates the tool. Holding the ratchet one way will turn the tool counterclockwise and reversing the ratchet will turn the tool clockwise.
Go to the back of the truck and locate the hole in the bumper on the right side of the license plate. Insert the tire tool into the center of the ratchet end. Make sure that the ratchet is facing the correct way to turn the tire tool counterclockwise. If necessary, take the tire tool out and flip the ratchet around.
Insert the flat end of the tire tool into the hole in the bumper and into a silver sleeve behind the bumper. Turn the tire tool counterclockwise with the ratchet. This will lower the retaining cable that secures the spare tire under the truck bed.
Continue lowering the tire until the tire is on the ground and you have some slack in the cable. Lift one side of the tire up and maneuver the metal retainer on the end of the cable through the center of the spare tire rim. Pull the tire from under the truck.
