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Does it look stupid with your spare on the roof?

crashandburn

crashandburn

1/2 ton status
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I was thinking about putting a safari rack on my rig and putting my spare in it. Anybody do this? Pics? Any problem with having extra weight that high, i.e., cracking fiberglass top, etc?
Or, is there an inexpensive swing out carrier strong enough to hold a 35" spare?
 
crashandburn said:
I was thinking about putting a safari rack on my rig and putting my spare in it. Anybody do this? Pics? Any problem with having extra weight that high, i.e., cracking fiberglass top, etc?
Or, is there an inexpensive swing out carrier strong enough to hold a 35" spare?
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I had mine on for a while, the top is strong enough to take it but if you do a off camber wheeling, it is raising your COG.
I am working on a new expedition vehicle based on a crew cab and I will have 2 spares on the roof, if I ever need to be off camber too much I would be carefull and slow but it will free up space inside and not add to my overall length if put front or aft of a longbed crew cab.
 
my experience with a full sized spare on the roof comes from my Grand Cherokee ZJ. I mounted my 35" spare there for a month! It killed my gas mileage and the one and only time I ever needed to use one, it was up there......PITA trying to get it up and down to change!
 
Yeah. Everyone thought it was cool...until they realized how much drag it was creating and/or they had to get it down.

My favorite was the super tall lifted Excursion I once saw with a 44" Bogger up there.
 
Yeah, added drag and a pain to get up or down... If it's your only option, go for it...

Unless it's a Thornturd...:D
 
I have two "truck" fix-a-flat cans in my center console. The times I have needed them they have worked fine. For example, a tire went out and I drove on it for a mile or so, which shredded the inside. The shop said they could not fix it. I told them to put it back on and put in two cans. It lasted for two years. :D
 
No, there isn't really an inexpensive swing out carrier for tires. The body-mounted ones were OK for the 29-30" tires that came on those trucks, but bend the body up with big tires. Somebody used to make a tire carrier that mounted behind the stock bumper, but it required so much bracing and such that it cost almost as much as a custom rear bumper.

The only cheap solution I've seen is a mount tied into the receiver hitch. It's possible you could build it so it can swing down so the tailgate can open.

Another Idea I've wondered about is cutting a couple of holes in the stock bumper and installing mounts similar to the CUCV front shackle mounts. Then build a stinger-style swing-down carrier from that. Maybe that same carrier could be integrated with a custom bumper later on?
 
Jessie James said:
I have two "truck" fix-a-flat cans in my center console. The times I have needed them they have worked fine. For example, a tire went out and I drove on it for a mile or so, which shredded the inside. The shop said they could not fix it. I told them to put it back on and put in two cans. It lasted for two years. :D
Click to expand...
Wont work with bead balancing FWIW.
 
Hmmm, I do have home made square tube bumpers. I was thinking about a swing down carrier, but figured it would clatter around and be noisy as hell. Plus if I am putting it on the back, I want to integrate a gas can carrier. Diesels are NO FUN when you run them dry, especially with a mechanical fuel pump.
 
I think it was all built in shop. Probably involved a forklift getting a several hundred pound tire and wheel up on top like that.

POSERIFIC!
 
A swing down carrier mounted either on the hitch, or across the back with a mount and hinge on each end of a square bumper, would be simple.
Just build it really strong.
I'm thinking something like some of the Jeep style across the back carriers. Spare in the middle, fuel cans on each side.

Either swing-away, or hinge down.
If you do a swing-away, the hinge side needs to be massive to support the weight when it is not supported on the other end.

A hinge down would be easier, since both ends would stay attached.

BUT, if you did that, remember after you hinge it down, somebody has to lift it back up......
I'm thinking small boat trailer winch.
 
Fordum said:
BUT, if you did that, remember after you hinge it down, somebody has to lift it back up......
I'm thinking small boat trailer winch.
Click to expand...

Or spool your winch cable over the roof. Oh, did you care about your paint job? :haha:

I'm thinking a come-along to the rollcage... but I do have one of those hand trailer winches somewhere :thinking:

-- A
 
Think backwards.
Traditionally you mount the winch and pull something towards it.

In this case, mount the winch to the carrier, hook the cable to something solid on the truck, and let the winch pick its self and the frame up.
 
I'll be running a 38 TSL on a swingdown, and i have absolutely no intention of a winch for it at this point..

my decrepid body may opt for a later winch mod I suppose, if I prove to be too dinosauric..
 
If he's just talking about a 35, it should be no problem to swing the carrier back up. The closer the tire mounts to the pivot point and the longer the stinger, the more leverage you have. It's basically cutting the weight in half and fixing the position to make it stable.

The real work is on the swing-out carriers when you have to dead lift the tire into position. It's not hard with a 35 on alloy rim, but H1 wheels, tires and beadlocks test the lower back. I'm thinking that a 44 would require 2 people or some kind of mechanical assistance. If you have one of these swing-aways it's another reason to limit how high you build the truck.

As discussed in the past, the side-swing design is convenient for every day access to the tailgate, but harder to load/unload the tire. The swing-down design makes loading a tire easier, but forces you to raise and lower it every time you want to open the tailgate.
 
Im going to build a roof rack and carry the spare up top. If drag was an issue I wouldnt be driving a brick. :D I started thinking about how often I really get flats and figured it made more since than swinging that tire around every time I opened the rear door. Yeah I might pop a tire off the bead or shove a branch through a side wall once every couple years? Im throwing it up top and hope the sun rots it off the rim before I use it! :whistle:
 
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