Secondary latch for a tire carrier

A latch assembly adapted for use with a vehicle tire carrier having a lock bracket and a flexible member, the latch assembly comprising, in combination:

• a housing adjacent to the flexible member;
• a lock arm adjacent to the housing, the lock arm having one end another end, a cam surface and a lower cam portion, one end is pivotally connected to the housing, the lock arm being moveable from an unlocked position to a locked position, wherein when the another end is moved toward the lock bracket, the cam surface engages the lock bracket to pivot the lock arm from an unlocked position to a locked position so that if the flexible member breaks, the lock arm engages the lock bracket;
• and
• a stop member fastened to the flexible member, the stop member engaging the lower cam surface when the housing is moved by the flexible member toward the lock bracket and biasing the another end to an unlocked position.

A latch assembly for use with a tire carrier having a lock bracket, the latch assembly comprising, in combination:

• a lock housing having a pivotally mounted lock arm;
• actuating means adjacent the lock arm, the actuating means being associated with and adapted for releasable, securing engagement of the lock arm with the lock bracket from an unlocked position to a locked position;
• and
• a stop member adjacent the lock arm the stop member engaging the lock housing and the weight of the housing on the stop member urges the lock arm toward an unlocked position.