Spare Tire Location.....

[WarWagon]

Under, on top, or rear carrier.......

Having a difficult time deciding. Right now it's underneath but I'm thinking about moving it up top with a carrier I found from Rocky Road Outfitters.

Thoughts on each? Anyone carrying up top?

 

[Hayes]

I think it depends on goals and budgets.
Wheeling?
Get it out from under there.
Easy access and no interference with low parking garages?
Not on top.

 

[DirtDawg]

It's also not appealing to most to keep it up top due to the fact that it weighs 70lbs. It raises your center of gravity and you will immediately regret it when you have to swap a flat. Lifting a 70lb tire covered in 10lbs of mud onto the roof is NOT fun.

 

[Spanktron9]

I use the roof, only because I carry my dog in the back and he needs easy in and out, swing outs add a layer of complexity.

 

[a_traut_man]

I have mine on a Slee rear bumper with swing outs and while there are times that it is annoying doing everything to get into the back I personally am a fan of the added rear end protection, especially considering how the traffic is in the Bay area. I agree with the others about up top though, just doesn't sound like a good idea. Ever thought of rigging up a holder in the trunk jeep cherokee style and keeping it inside?

 

[jLB]

After living with having a tire on a swing out of a Kaymar bumper, on an 80 series that was a daily driver, for about 9 years, I've been real hesitant about putting a tire carrier on the back of either of our current 100 series. It is much better than the factory location when you're offroad or if you have a flat tire, but it can really become a pain in the ass getting stuff in and out of the rear hatch on a DD. As far as additional "protection", maybe, but i've also seen it act as a damage multiplier in an accident.

I like some of the interior tire carriers that I have seen for the 80 series, but I don't think I'd be willing to give up the cargo space.

A LR Defender style, hood mounted spare probably isn't going to work too well.

With the size and weight, I don't think I'd want to have a spare on the roof on a DD. Maybe if I had to have a 2nd spare on a long trip, this might be an option. The extra weight up high affecting handling, additional height clearance issues, and just being a pain lifting and dropping the tire would steer me away from this option.

So at the present time, the spare tire on both of our 100 series are still in the factory location. It's vulnerable off road, can be a pain in the ass if you have a flat, but it has the least impact on a daily driver. My second choice would be on a rear bumper swing out, and we will probably be doing that on my son's TLC at some point in the future.

 

[n55luvr]

I've been pondering this too. Are any of the aftermarket rear bumpers having swing out tire mounts that are easily removed? I've thought about keeping spare in OEM location for daily use then putting the rear mount on for road trips. Is that even feasible or too much hassle? Other thing I worry about is looks of a bottom mounted spare with a new bumper, would it stick out like a sore thumb?

 

[DirtDawg]

Most rear bumper builders now make the swing outs to where they require almost no effort to open. The Dissent rear bumper for example uses struts to assist opening/closing as well as to hold the swing out in place when open. So IMO, your still talking about minimal effort... If you had the Dissent bumper: tap the left paddle latch, barely push on the swing out to open it, repeat for the right side. Then open your hatch. I'd rather do that all day long than switch the carrier on/off every time I go to the trails. Two extra moves just doesn't seem like that big of a hassle to me, but this is just my opinion.

 

[Dzrtcrzr]

There are a few companies out that make a hitch tire carrier: wilco off-road is one and there is another one that I can't think of the name of. Good to use off-road then can put tire back under for dd use

 

[n55luvr]

Most rear bumper builders now make the swing outs to where they require almost no effort to open. The Dissent rear bumper for example uses struts to assist opening/closing as well as to hold the swing out in place when open. So IMO, your still talking about minimal effort... If you had the Dissent bumper: tap the left paddle latch, barely push on the swing out to open it, repeat for the right side. Then open your hatch. I'd rather do that all day long than switch the carrier on/off every time I go to the trails. Two extra moves just doesn't seem like that big of a hassle to me, but this is just my opinion.

My problem is we sit on the tail gate almost daily, when truck is sitting on all kinds of flat and not flat ground. We wheel often but not in places where I need the spare removed (factory hitch is another story, that sucker gets dragged across rocks frequently). I do a Moab / CO trip yearly and that's really the only time I'd ever need a rear mounted spare vs OEM mounted spare.

The ease of which the rear tire latches operate isn't really the concern.

I'm curious to know if any rear bumper setups have the option to add/remove the rear tire carrier. Might be a 4 hour process and that's fine since it would only be used once a year at most. If the tire carriers are permanently mounted then I am not interested.

 

[n55luvr]

There are a few companies out that make a hitch tire carrier: wilco off-road is one and there is another one that I can't think of the name of. Good to use off-road then can put tire back under for dd use

That's a nice alternative too but then it may be difficult to get into rear tailgate. I'll check into those. Good idea!

 

[DirtDawg]

My problem is we sit on the tail gate almost daily, when truck is sitting on all kinds of flat and not flat ground. We wheel often but not in places where I need the spare removed (factory hitch is another story, that sucker gets dragged across rocks frequently). I do a Moab / CO trip yearly and that's really the only time I'd ever need a rear mounted spare vs OEM mounted spare.

The ease of which the rear tire latches operate isn't really the concern.

I'm curious to know if any rear bumper setups have the option to add/remove the rear tire carrier. Might be a 4 hour process and that's fine since it would only be used once a year at most. If the tire carriers are permanently mounted then I am not interested.

If your concern is the swing arms staying open when parked on a non-level surface, they are held open by the struts. Benc has made sure to include the proper strength struts.

And every swing out option has the ability to be removed on any bumper. They almost all use a spindle and bearing design, so your gonna have to remove the swing arm, deal with the bearing and the grease mess, then find a way to properly cover the spindle so it won't rust while your not using the swing arm.

 

[crimsonaudio]

If your concern is the swing arms staying open when parked on a non-level surface, they are held open by the struts. Benc has made sure to include the proper strength struts.

And the Slee tire carrier has some stout pins that hold the carrier open. I suspect they'd easily hold the carrier open even if the truck were laying on the driver's side...

 

[Manhattan]

Under or on a swing-away.
Roof... nope. CoG is an issue. Putting the 80 lbs wheel/tire up there is tough. But, getting it down can be a bigger issue - since you're up there with it. I did this on a Jeep years ago - climb up, unbolt/strap, push most of way off roof rack, climb down, drag rest of way - getting ready for the awkward weight - and making sure it clears the quarter panel (paint). Pain in the ass, but better than how "Steve" did it: Climbed up, unbolted/strapped, flipped the wheel off the rack, stood up and yelled "HEY! Someone stop that!!!" Damn funny. And, damn impressive how far a 35" tire will go down a mountain when launched from the roof of a truck.

 

[cruzerDave]

I'm curious to know if any rear bumper setups have the option to add/remove the rear tire carrier. Might be a 4 hour process and that's fine since it would only be used once a year at most. If the tire carriers are permanently mounted then I am not interested.

Pretty sure the Dissent was being designed to be easily removable and even purchased/added later if desired (the route I was looking at) - I would check his thread to see how things ended up

 

[Patineto]

I intrige with this because of the challenge, even if I know is totally silly in a million different ways..

The baja truck also have some very interesting "High speed" tire changing mounts, very biomechanically advanced (They usually leave the blow up tire on the side of the road anyway) but then again they don't need deal-handle a door that require access..

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I went a pizza spare from Australia. Hard to see in the stock location without any mods.

 

[SmoothLC]

There are a few companies out that make a hitch tire carrier: wilco off-road is one and there is another one that I can't think of the name of. Good to use off-road then can put tire back under for dd use

 

[Patineto]

I don't have a need for a tire carrier, but a Swing out hitch bike carrier I do..

This is a ten year old Yakima swing out I got for nothing the other day, obiusly the bicycle mounts are obsolete, but for a $30 swing out is not so bad place to start.....

The idea is to mount a two inch receiver (at first just welded, but right now I'm talking more about making a sleeve and bolt it) at the end of the swing out for the bike carrier.

The choices of things to mount are endless, you can even get a spitter for the main hitch and run two of them.

Something like this and then you attach whatever "Module" you need that day..

 

[SHREDwagon]

I have a pizza cutter underneath like LCP at the moment and really dig not having the spare in the way. But plan on welding a Labs Bumper with different spindles that allow the swing arms to be removable. No need for a spare on the 100 for most of our travels. But need a proper replacement when required. So, removable swing arms make more sense for us as well. Then I can get one of Lukes dual bike carriers - which is more important than a spare tire anyways

Edit: The pizza cutter will never match actual tire diameter and so is just temporary solution and not a true spare