SPARE TIRE DELETE FUNCTIONALITY & CAPABILITIES

It’s hard to imagine a time when our Spare Tire Delete Bracket (STDK) didn’t exist. As the go-to bracket for installing our popular Conductor’s Special Train Horn Kits in newer trucks, it has been such an integral part of many of our customers' builds that some people ask how you would even install your kit without one. While our Spare Tire Delete Bracket certainly isn’t necessary to install your kit, it definitely makes life easier, allowing you to spend less time on install and more time honking your horns!

We are confident that ANYONE can install our train horn kits on their own. All you need is some basic hand tools and some 12-volt knowledge. That being said, for a full train horn kit, the installation process can be time-consuming when doing it on your own. If you are mounting everything directly to the vehicle, you have to figure out where everything is going to be mounted, drill holes for everything, mount your horns, tank, and compressor, and wire and plumb everything. Nothing that you would need any special tools or certifications for, but it really is no surprise that customers were asking for a simpler solution.

On top of that, it can be challenging to ensure that the components, like your compressor, are installed correctly. While many of the pros could install everything properly and have a clean professional look, your average Joe may only get everything on where he can find room, and unfortunately, a lot of installs could end up just looking thrown together. This entire process was done under the truck, so unless you have an air-conditioned garage, you were doing your install out in the elements.

It wasn’t long before people started looking into ways to make installation a little easier by either taking their vehicle to a shop to have it professionally installed and having them make custom brackets for their kits or putting something together themselves. While these two options definitely freed up time for the customer or made their kit look more professional, not everyone had the budget to pay for an 8+ hour install if they were making brackets as well, and not everyone has welding skills.

The problem with custom brackets is that they are custom-made for that specific vehicle. If you wanted to upgrade your ride, you had to get all new brackets made, having to go through the installation process all over again. As a company that takes pride in the fact that the majority of our kits are universal and fit most vehicles, we were determined to find a universal solution for customers installing our kits.

Long before anyone was building brackets for our kits, customers had been using the room underneath their truck where their spare tire would be for years. That area tends to have to most room out of anywhere on most newer trucks, so naturally, when brackets were starting to be made, that was the most common spot to install your kit. It makes all the sense in the world because most truck guys ( like us) would quickly upgrade their tires to something bigger, rendering their spare tire useless. We knew that this would be the best spot for our bracket, but developing a universal bracket that bolts directly to the frame is impossible due to the different style frame rails on different trucks.

Then we had the idea: What if you could crank up your entire kit, just like you did with the spare tire? We started researching how to make this work, and we finally came up with the bracket you see before you today. Of course, there were challenges along the way. Some of our horns were way too large or heavy to be able to fit on a bracket that would crank up in place. Luckily, our flagship horns, the Shocker XL Train Horns, are incredibly light and mounted individually. It was almost as if our Shocker XL horns were made to go on our bracket. After testing a few different methods of fitting the compressor and tank with enough room for the bracket to lock in tightly against the Spare Tire rack rails, our Spare Tire Delete Bracket was ready to meet the world.

Of course, when you have a good thing, people will naturally want more of it. While our Spare Tire Delete Bracket was an instant hit with our customers, almost immediately, people were wanting to get more air onto the bracket. Our most popular kits have a 2-gallon or 5-gallon variation, and while all of our premier 2-gallon kits would easily fit, getting a 5-gallon tank on there just wasn't going to happen.

So we went back to the drawing board, determined to get more air on our Stealth Spare Tire Delete bracket. After extensive research and redesign, we solved the problem with our new 5-Gallon Stealth Spare Tire Delete Kit. This completely redesigned bracket allows you to run a full 5-gallon tank in the spare tire location, giving you maximum air capacity without sacrificing the ease of installation that made the original STDK so popular.

Of course, in true HornBlasters fashion, we couldn't just give you the bracket and leave you to figure out how to make it work. We made a point to include absolutely everything you would need for the complete setup. There is nothing more frustrating than getting a new toy and having to run to the parts store to complete your installation. We have been there, and that's why we make sure all of our kits are complete, and the Spare Tire Delete Bracket and the 5-Gallon Stealth Spare Tire Delete Kit are no different. With the 5-Gallon Stealth STDK, you get the mounting hardware, the tank, and all the fittings needed for a complete installation right out of the box.

As you already know, when the Spare Tire Delete Bracket first came out, it changed the way people approached mounting brackets for horn kits and raised the bar of what our customers should expect. Naturally, this has inspired us to look for new and innovative ways to mount various kits and inspire fabricators to step up their game. Competition and innovation will always inspire new and exciting ideas. In fact, we have developed and released three new mounting brackets in just the past year! It’s that time again to change the game. Make sure to check out our other mounting solutions to learn more about our brand new Goliath Mount and Wrango Kit!