Spare Wheel - Where to stick it? (1 Viewer)

[Escape]

Hornd, you are absolutely correct. We do push the limits and to be honest, roll overs are fairly common (even with nothing on the roof). I would not keep a spare on the roof for that reason, nor would I have the tent up there when "dune bashing", only when going on expeditions.

Good to know that the tire is pretty secure where it is. I still might look into some sort of protective cover though.

 

[Mogwai]

Def leave it underneath. If anything it's a cheap "bumper" for your rear bumper. If the tire is not there, there's going to be a fairly "sharp" edge to the underneath of your rear bumper which could get caught on something as you drag the belly around. Personally I'd rather the spare tire bounce from a hit than bounce from the underneath of bumper. Plus... for the most part sand is soft.

 

[TexAZ]

You can run a tall skinny tire (34 10.50) and raise up the stock mounting location similar to this thread:

Fitting a Big Fat Spare

 

[Willy beamin]

Get your local fab shop to bend up a sheet of thin aluminum to bridge the underside spare tire spot. Maybe fasten with wing nuts so removable is easy and no tools will be needed. @Desert Nomad has probably thought this issue out and could share. Good luck and good luck not rolling over - you guys are friggin nuts over there with your dunes

 

[Desert Nomad]

If your spare tire is lifted all the way up on the chain there's no way it'll get knocked loose, for pure desert driving you'll lose your rear bumper way before you damage the spare tire. I relocated mine at the back as it's easier to access if you have a popout or need to replace the tire in the desert.

Also I don't recommend putting the spare tire in the cargo bay, you need to properly strap it down to the anchor points or else it can go flying in the back if you hit a bump.

Having a skid plate for the spare makes sense if you'll be exploring the mountains and rocky terrain in the desert that's very unlikely to get damaged.

 

[Willy beamin]

And there you have it

 

[TonyP]

There's also a locking mechanism in the spare hoist so it won't just come loose. It's in there until you spin the input shaft.

 

[Swampmonger]

There's also a locking mechanism in the spare hoist so it won't just come loose. It's in there until you spin the input shaft.

Would you mind explaining that a little more? After lowering my spare and seeing how easy it is I was curious what keeps it from unwinding on its own.

 

[TonyP]

It's a spring loaded locking latch, think of a tie-down strap mechanism sorta kinda. It's behind the sheet metal protectors. I just recently had to deal with it as the chain got jammed up.

 

[Escape]

Thanks all for the advise. It looks like it can happily stay put and with a skid plate it will be even better.

Really appreciate all the productive suggestions. Cheers, Al

 

[Markuson]

Glad Desert Nomad chimed in...because we all know there are no LC dune-runners
who can compete with the Dubai crowd! It ain't even close!

 

[M1911]

I suppose my question really is: can I leave it underneath without it getting damaged or ripped off while driving along sand dunes.

I don't see how the force of soft sand on the spare tire could rip the wheel off the car.

 

[Willy beamin]

I don't see how the force of soft sand on the spare tire could rip the wheel off the car.

From the youtube videos ive seen the UAE guys hoon hard. Im surprised his only concern is for the spare tire

 

[Markuson]

For Desert Sand Q: Check this out...

 

[Escape]

Hi M1911, trust me, the desert out here has a habit of removing every single unnecessary item on your car (and occasionally a few necessary ones) ripping off a spare wheel is almost expected.

The very last scene on the video above shows how the car can be totally beached on the underside, without enough pressure on the wheels to get any traction.

My concern is that in this scenario, in the moments before you get stuck, you could really be dragging that wheel heavily though sand.

 

[Drew Hall]

Hey Escape,

I live in Saudi and have an LC200. In my experience having the spare underneath is fine. It does work like a bumper on those steep exit angles coming off a slip face at the bottom. I have seen a several people lose the OEM bumpers on Prados and other non-LC vehicles and I think the spare does help keep the rear bumper from catching sand and coming off.

I definitely would avoid the spare on the roof rack. My neighbor has the front runner roof rack and after seeing someone nearly roll their LR4 with 80lbs of fuel and water on top he quit putting anything heavy up top including the spare.

So far in two years of dune bashing the spare is holding up fine. I will be moving my spare to the back to fit a 180l long range tank in the area where the spare goes. If I didn't need the huge tank I would leave it as is.

Additionally most of the Bedouin here running LC200 leave it underneath and those dudes really know what's up in the desert so I figure if you follow their lead you can't go wrong.

 

[Drew Hall]

One last note. I've buried my LC200 up to the doors in soft sand and been pulled out with no issues for the spare. Though getting pulled out is usually the last resort if you can't self recover with sand boards. It has also taken some really hard hits on steep short slip faces and is no worse for the wear.