Carrying an oversized spare tire - need ideas

[yellowK20]

Well this was me a few weeks ago. You could blame the foot of bead torn away from the sidewall on the double beadlocks. Otherwise, the tire would have just flopped off the rim (which could also have cut it up.) But no amount of plugs would have fixed the sidewall blown open. Granted, this is the only time such a thing has ever happened to me. I had one that leaked enough I had to fill it every 20 minutes, but at least I could get home.

That's one of the reasons I carry stainless steel safety wire , and awl , a section of rubber matting and a inner tube. You can sew the rip back up with safety wire, and put the the section of rubber in there to pretext the tube when you air it back up . Crude yes but it can get you off the trail and back to the tow rig

 

[Blue85]

That's way more work than swapping a wheel, but could work fine for the typical sidewall gash when you trailer your rig I suppose. For the example I posted, there's no way you could sew through the bead area (look closely at the picture - the whole bead is still clamped in place on the wheel. That's the sidewall torn away from the bead). When you road-trip the vehicle you can't just rely on a tube or old cracked up tire as a spare, either - it needs to be a full-up road worthy tire. If you run standard size LT tires you can get one in the next town. When you run something unusual it might not be available at all. In that case I called a few local shops on recommendations and nobody had my size (37/12.5/16.5), not to mention all swampers are special order. Only option I was given was a $700 Goodyear in a week.

Just more things to consider when you're planning...

 

[burber1989]

I'm thinking i'd just make the original spare tire slot larger in both directions, it only being sheet metal... I don't remember if there's any major obstructions though. I mean, who needs inner wheel well space anyway with all the lift? Plus i love square body lines, and someone already mentioned the problem of not being able to see past the huge piece of rubber blocking most part of the rear window. Can't think of it being a problem in the original place, even if a little larger than originally intended.

But if you already have the water tank bought and it's shaped like a spare tire...
I would think them usually being shaped more like a brick and it would be a simple install anywhere. Not saying anyone should mount water tank on the hood though. I just think an outside mount for a spare is a bit too Camel Trophy for my taste, plus all the hassle. Extra weight, money spent and i'm not a fan of anything getting in the way of a beautiful body. I seem to be biased. Sorry.