Stock spare tire carrier with wire rope

[kusok]

I'm looking for a spot to mount my 285/70R17 tire and was hoping to mount it where the stock tire went. I am concerned about the strength of the stock system though. Has anyone had long term success running a heavy (MT) 33 tire there?

The cross-member and winch are also covered with surface rust and the winch is a cable design (not the chain one).

 

[TheForger]

It'd be best if you posted a pic of the rust. But if you're just talking about surface rust I don't see why it wouldn't be able to. It may be a little more difficult spooling the winch in but I don't see you running into any issues.

I would recommend making some extra room under there for the larger tire. You can find the DIY instructions for it here.

 

[kusok]

Well, I think it's surface rust. I added a picture.
The main reason I'm asking is that I read the cable winch design is not strong enough and there were occurrences the wheel was falling off. It was changed to chain design at some point?

 

[m3fan]

Sweet Jesus that is a lot of rust. Assuming you get the winch working/unfrozen you could always take the belt-and-suspenders approach and throw a bike lock cable through the wheel spokes and over the crossmember in case the cable hoist lets go.

 

[Sandroad]

Does that winch hoist even work? That looks like more than surface rust on the bracket and I wonder about the welded joints holding up.

 

[badlander]

Maybe there is generous 100 owner here on the forum that has gone to a swing-out type tire carrier full time and would be willing to offer their cross member with winch to this person so he can safely carry his spare tire. That one he has looks like a safety hazard for sure, to him and his passengers, and even more so, to the poor driver that happens to be behind him when that think lets go. How 'bout it guys.........anyone willing?

 

[kusok]

The winch does actually work, but yes, looking more at the photos it does seem to be pretty bad. When I looked under there in person yesterday it didn't look as scary as the photo and most cars here look like this after a few years - roads are covered with salt very liberally during the winter.

I think to be safe, I'll probably have a new custom cross-member made out of new metal and just get a replacement winch from ebay or toyota directly (probably it's not that expensive). From the photo I do agree that it's unsafe to use it in its current state.

 

[bozncsurf]

Fwiw there have been several members running 33's and 35's myself included) in the stock location with no issues.

Good luck with your project.

 

[Josh N]

Well if you were in the US I just pulled off my cross member with a fully functional winch on it. Don't suppose that bit of information helps you much in Estonia though

 

[kusok]

Thanks for confirming about 33 and 35. That's great to hear.

Yes, shipping to Estonia would be expensive. But from the looks of, the cross member is just a metal plate. I think any metal shop will be able to fabricate something like this easily.

 

[badlander]

kusok, I've had a 33 hanging from mine for a couple of years now without any issues. Lots of up and downs of the winch with scheduled tire rotations too. This thread got me to thinking though... Maybe I'll throw a cable and lock on it just for good measure - safety and security.

 

[kusok]

Exactly, I was thinking the same. Even without rust, it may need some help. The stock road tire I was taking out of there felt a lot lighter than the Cooper ST MAXX. I was thinking of putting an extra chain there wrapped in a plastic cover to help with rattles and a small barn lock.