Roof top tire carrier with winch?

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LCDiesel60

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Threads
57
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353
Location
Was Oregon—Now Idaho
I've been considering all the rear bumper custom options and always have a problem with how much the spare tire carrier is in the way of daily access to the back area of the LC--when, in reality I only have a flat about once every 3 to 5 years. Thinking of a mini-hoist on the roof rack to carry the spare tire and lower the tire down to the ground--something that can collapse when not in use.

??-anyone seen anything like this before or have thoughts?
Thanks!
LC Diesel60
Oregon
 
I don't see it being worth the effort, money & time for something that might get used in 3-5 year increments. I would just climb up and toss the spare onto the ground. Pitch the flat back up on top when done, secure it and take off.
Neat idea though: maybe a hand crank like boat trailers use could simplify it to some degree. Would need to be mounted fairly high though if you really don't want to lift it up by hand at all.
 
A 35" spare tire fits under my cruiser...
 
I can see the sides to this as I am dealing with this right now, my spare used to be under the truck but It ruins my already bad departure angle in addition to constantly getting pulled off the bead from contact, most notably this weekend at Pismo. I then moved it to my roof rack which is awesome but at the same time adds 70+lbs of weight to the roof making it unstable and had I not put it under my truck last weekend for the drive it would have made me roll on the dunes.

I just picked up a rear swing out bumper and honestly I think that its the best of both worlds, lower center of gravity, keeps the bead clean and is easily accessible with few tools.

heres a pro con list

OEM spare position
pros: out of the way, lowest center of gravity, clears 35s
cons: ruins departure angle, can get pulled off the bead with contact with ground, not quickly accessible chain can bind and sieze

roof rack
pros: out of the way, no chance of damage to spare from rocks
cons: raises Center of gravity considerably, pain in the butt to get a 70+lb tire up that high on a lift kit, drag from wind at highway speeds

swingout
pros: keeps center of gravity lower than roof, easily removable
cons: blocks some rear visibility, gets in the way of tailgate/hatch


just my 2 cents, and OP PM me if you want a spare tire mount for a roof rack, im not going to be using mine anymore but if you want it ill sell it cheap to ya.
 
Walker describes very accurate points. Weight and bulk on the roof kills performance. Large tires hanging underneath tend to drag and get damaged.

FYI - Wagon Gear makes flip-up side windows which solves the quick gear access problem caused by a rear bumper mounted tire carrier. Kevin Rowland makes an excellent product and is great to work with.
 
It's definitely a personal choice. My SOA lift sits too high and because of that I've never had my tire catch on the underside. I've had it under for rock crawling dusy ershim, death valley washboard roads, and Pismo dune driving and it works well for "me".

Pick the best choice for you and run with it. I plan on putting it on a swing out bumper but I haven't had time to make one.
 
Yeah I put my spare on my roof rack for a few weeks and took it off this weekend. It was defiantly a challenge for me to get it up there myself (and it's only a 31) and I can only foresee disaster trying to get it off of the roof on the side of the highway.
 
cruisermatt said:
Yeah I put my spare on my roof rack for a few weeks and took it off this weekend. It was defiantly a challenge for me to get it up there myself (and it's only a 31) and I can only foresee disaster trying to get it off of the roof on the side of the highway.
Click to expand...

In the event of getting up there, you can walk along the front fenders and edge of the hood no problem and step up onto the roof rack from the a pillar corner without denting anything. It works pretty well
 
Wow lots of great feedback. Thanks. I should have clarified some details: a) I'm planning ahead for getting older/weaker :(. Running heavy MT Toyo 35's and have custom fuel tank (55 to 60 gal) in place of stock fuel and under spare area. Rig will be company daily driver when done for work but able to do expedition if I have free time. Back of rig will have drawers and need rest of space for job gear. Kevin's gear is great!! Have the 3-panel kit and want to keep the window sliders we have: work gear is too large for window access but good idea. Roof rack is custom with air dam so not much air flow issue. Large fuel tank will be about 500# when full so will help offset top heavy. Rig has shackles with over sized springs so taller

Any other thoughts---great feedback
 
some military vehicles have a winch type setup for the spare tire, you might get some ideas by looking around there, but nothing comes to what would make sense in mounting the winch to the roof. Seem like you would be force into some type of "external-skeleton / roll cage to mount on).

I've seen some nice mounts like some of the baja off road race trucks use.. ITs like a cradle that holds teh spare tire and it pivots off the bumper.

Seems like a bumper mounted mount is about the only real world option. I like my swing out mount but it does make getting in the back of the truck about a 5 min job...not a big deal really. When we camp..I just swing the tire mount out to the side and leave it that way until be we pack up the next morning.
 
90FJ--environmental/safety work--mostly consulting so as a driver to meetings and inspections but when we do environmental cleanup then need drums and such that won't fit through a window. The F350 has a lot of miles so want to drive the LC for work most of the time except on large projects; cheaper to fix the LC up nice as a driver than to buy another rig...though it sure gets some stares since it's set-up for expedition style off-road.

Elbert; thanks for the input on military examples--haven't seen that as no base around here but will check online. The roof rack is custom and covers the whole roof, with expanded metal floor and air dam in the front for less drag. Kind of thinking of using a hand crank trailer hitch jack, mounted on a pivot that has a lock pin--with a bracket over the top of the tire connected to it--like a 'lazy T'. The vertical part of the T laying down when the tire is secured on the roof and the top part of the T actually holding the tire via locks onto the roof rack--when needed, tilt up the vertical jack portion, insert lock pin--release the locks on the top and crank it up 10" or so to clear, pivot, then lower via a simple cable hand winch at the top of the T where the horizontal/vertical meet. Needs refining--so asking the 'collective MUD mind' for input'--might not even work; I'm daily into the back of the rig for work stuff so worth taking the time to find a solution. It it was just on occasion like camping (glad to hear your rig gets fresh air once in awhile :) ....then I would prefer bumper style--I actually like the looks of the bumper mount better. the heavy Toyo MT tires rarely get flats--in fact, I've never had one on either rig running them..so, searching for options before the $ is spent and fabrication begins.

Any photos of a military option would be great!
LCDiesel60
 
Cool, I'm in PDX. Few other wagon guys in the area, seems like the club meetings are always tough to make we should all hook up for a beer sometime.
 
I don't particularly care for swing-out tire carriers because they are always in the way. They are, unfortunately, one of the better solutions. I built one for our CTD/Camper. I don't like lifting big tires & I knew that my wife never would be able to. The binding ratchet strap rolls the tire up off the ground into the mount and the strap winch lifts the assembly up to horizontal. The latch is oriented to draw the stop up tight against the main tube and provide some additional support for the swinger assembly.

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This set-up now has several thousand miles, on and off highway, on it. A friend suggested a small mod to better stabilize the spare so that it can't rock. Other than that it just needs paint.

A spare tire hoist is pretty common on the big Overland trucks. Don't see why one couldn't be built into a roof rack, though the weight of the spare and the hoist up high would be a concern for me.
 
NTSQD--Wow-that is very creative and well thought out--thanks for posting those pics--should get a few guys thinking of options; smart to consider your wife having to change the tire if she's driving the rig too. I may have to go to a bumper/rear mount style but not yet--sorting through the variables and ideas to try and get the roof mount to work--so far it has been on the roof for a couple of years..so a whole lot less need for access as compared to getting into the back of the rig multiple times a week. Again--thanks for posting--excellent ideas!
LCDiesel60
 
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