What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

stock tow hooks and tire mount..

E

EXJAY

1/2 ton status
Joined
Sep 9, 2013
Posts
127
Reaction score
1
Location
Myrtle Beach, SC
Still fairly new to the K5 world and found two things on my '88 that would be great to have back. Appears my K5 never had the factory tow hooks on the front going by the solid air deflector under the bumper. I was looking to hopefully add some OE or aftermarket hooks in the stock location and cut the deflector to access. The ones LMC sells looks to be the universal ones and not sure on the mounting. Also my K5 had the inside spare tire mount removed and was looking to either put again an OE one back in place or make one. Either was doe anyone have some pics of the correct tow hooks used and a good shot of the tire mount they can post up for me? I have a 33" tire laying in the back eating up real estate and want to go back to a stock 31" spare in the side location. Thanks!
 
I cant help you but honestly, id hit up a local U-pull it junk yard for those parts, most of us that yanked them out tossed them.

The ones from LMC are probably made in China and not something I would want on my truck, i like LMC for alot of things but tow hooks wouldnt be one of them.

33" is the max you will fit inside and that also depends on what kind of tire (not all brands are equal in size). If you are running 33" on the truck, I would want my spare being the same size. Thats just me.
 
At least my BFG 33x10.5R15 fits in the stock interior carrier. It's close, and I had to modify it a bit (just a bit of welding to move the two floor bolt holes forward) but it does fit, and there are no issues.

I agree, wrong size spare will suck when it comes time to need it. Better than nothing, but even with an open (non-G80 RPO) in the rear so you didn't have to worry about swapping tires front and rear, the drive would be...interesting.
 
If I put the 33x12.50x15 in position the gate wont close also it eats up almost 1/2 my rear cargo space. The spare is a new (never driven on) Bridgestone Dueler A/T circa mid 90's mounted on a orig ralley. Were there factory exterior swing away carriers avail for the later models? We have a few pick/pulls around here but I do some traveling and may hit some up if they look decent in my travels. Just didnt want to go chasing something that dosent exist. Started to look at some of the aftermarket ones bit a bit pricey for me right now.
 
Thats why most of us have moved our spare to the outside, I like the extra cargo space I get.

Also, that "new" tire from the 90s is not something id drive on, the rubber hardens and breaks down, too each their own.

Most people would recommend against a body mounted tire rack, the sheet metal is pretty thin, some have done it. I went with a bumper mounted swing out tire/gas can carrier. works great.

It really depends on how far you want to go with it, money and resources.
 
I put the factory hooks on my K5 and like them. They seem pretty stout. My father in law found them at a pick and pull and I cleaned them up like new. Another option is to get some CUCV clevis mounts and with the matching bumper. That's a very stout setup.

Bumper carriers can be a big investment and they do make it harder to access your cargo area. Stashing a 33" tire inside seems like a totally respectable option in my book. I have a 35" spare laying flat in the back and just throw stuff on top of it. I think with some creativity you could easily mount a 33" tire on end.

Oh, and ditch the air dam thingy!
 
EXJAY said:
If I put the 33x12.50x15 in position the gate wont close also it eats up almost 1/2 my rear cargo space. The spare is a new (never driven on) Bridgestone Dueler A/T circa mid 90's mounted on a orig ralley. Were there factory exterior swing away carriers avail for the later models? We have a few pick/pulls around here but I do some traveling and may hit some up if they look decent in my travels. Just didnt want to go chasing something that dosent exist. Started to look at some of the aftermarket ones bit a bit pricey for me right now.
Click to expand...

My 33's seem to calculate out right at 33", and I don't think there can be much variance in the bed/fenderwell mount locations in various trucks.

Mine hit the tailgate too, which is why I had to move the mount itself forward about two mounting bolt diameters, which moved the tire forward. It also touches the seat back, but the seat back is not "locked" in position no matter what, the seat back hinges have too much slop in them, so the tire touching it doesn't affect using the seat.

It does take up cargo space, but as mentioned, the alternative exterior mounts are either expensive, annoying, or flimsy. Or a combination of those. I had intention of using a body mounted exterior tire carrier on mine, however the amount of work needed to reinforce the body to prevent the mount from tearing it up puts it as about the last item on my "to do" truck list. AFAIK there were no stock exterior tire mounts, just a fair number of aftermarket ones. I don't recall seeing any of the parts in my '85-88 factory parts manual.

What are you trying to move in the truck? Maybe I'm spoiled, I have a small utility trailer for hauling heavier/dirty junk. I already bent the hell out of the bed floor transporting a motor in it, I won't be trying to carry stuff like that in there again.
 
We plan on using it on future camping trips (towing small camper) and although we try to load most of the gear/supplies in the camper as we can we always end up putting the coolers and stuff we need access to in the back of the tow vech. As a bonus I'd also be nice to see out the back window. As far as the spare tires go, I know they can be questionable but just having it as a spare right now is OK for me and will eventually be swapped out for either a new smaller size and put in stock location or when I get new tires around I will move one of my existing ones to the spare rim. Just really need to figure out what Im going to do first before spending some $ on more tires. Wontl loosing the air deflector have negative effects on engine cooling?
 
I doubt youll find a modified K5 with that air deflector. And no, it wont effect heating, have you looked inside the engine compartment lately? :haha:, there is plenty of air circulating in there, lol.

As far as visibility goes , I havent had any issues, I never thought the rear view was that effective on these trucks anyways.

Here is my set up. I can put whatever tire I want and the license plate mounts to the rim along with the license plate light.

 
badmix said:
Here is my set up. I can put whatever tire I want and the license plate mounts to the rim along with the license plate light.

Click to expand...

Nice truck. Are those 33" or 35"? Are the rocker rails custom? Paint scheme is similar to mine before I changed to yellow.
 
Just an idea, if you are camping with a trailer, throw the tire in the trailer. Roll it out when you get to where you are going. If you aren't camping, leave it on the interior mount. Realistically I think even without a tire the interior mount is going to be in the way.

It IS pretty significant when you start talking 12" wide and 33" tall. Probably a 1/4 of the area behind the seat? I plan to at some point make some sort of "basket" that mounts behind the spare tire, so that things like spare oil, coolant, tow strap, etc., can sit back there, stay upright, and be up off the floor a tiny bit. Might help in your case to come up with something similar if that is an issue for you too.

I understand the issue with all the gear in there, even for two people and couple of days you can fill it up to the height of the back seat, and easily even more than that.

As to the air dam, apparently none of the 3/4-1 ton trucks came with them, so it's not likely to be an issue. One of these days I should put a bunch of streamers around the front end and mount the Go-Pro, see what the aerodynamics look like at 60MPH with and without the air dam, in front of the vehicle and in the engine bay.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom