rooftop tire mounting

[Erik N]

Anyone have any experience with storing their spare up on the roof?

I upgraded to 255's on my old Suburban, so the spare no longer fits in the interior cutout for it. So it's going on the roof. I bought a Smittybilt brand tire cover, I figured I would sew some webbing in an "X" to it so I can tie it off to the corners of the factory rack. The tire will rest directly on the rooftop "runners".

One problem I forsee is that the roof is crowned, and the tire won't sit flat. I am hoping that the webbing will keep it from teetering from side to side. Anyone else forsee an issue?

The truck is 2000 miles away, so I won't get to this until later this year...

 

[czarthirteen]

I have to suggest fabbing a hard mount for the wheel/tire combo for the sake of safety for the rest of us on the road. A lost spare from the roof in a violent collision is a weighty projectile.

I've built up 2 Sub's in the past and the roof really isn't the best place for anything unless you have a rack that ties integrally through the gometry of the pillars. My '85 K30 non-dually had some special points of interest due to the rear sliding glass and canvas roll-bak roof.....lots of fun work there.....

The roof and runners are perfectly capable of holding your Christmas tree or a canoe, but for that spare that's going to spend a lot of time up there, either hard mount and safety strap (remembering that no strap should be considered a finite answer) it to said rack or fab a sub-frame mount that spans the roof width with plate welded to the roof skin from the interior.

There's a reason spare tire carriers built from factory attached to the chassis seem so robust, shoot for the same and everyone will be safer for it.

No Joke, I wouldn't trust any "strap it down tight" idea for anything. I've witnessed some crazy loads come free in rigging accidents and watched a spare get sling-shotted from a poorly executed swing-out in a t-bone collision that ended up taking out a set of door pillars on a parked Lincoln......scary thing from my perspective as a bike-messenger on the road at that moment.

Everything that you plan to work accordingly will eventually suffer failure, look for redundancy when it comes to your and our respective safety's.

No ill meaning offered and I hope I'm not mis-read. I'm here for any tips or aid in concepts and design, and as always.....for the right price.....I'll build you anything you need. I still have an '86 K20 sitting out back.....I remember those pigs inside out and backwards.....maybe I'll build another again someday.

 

[arlon]

I'd at least vote for making a solid bottom from some thinner diamond plate that could then spread the load and hopefully be able to secure the tire with a bolt or two. Anything strapped is subject to bouncing around and the straps hum like crazy unless you put a twist in them..

 

[scrubber3]

A good Idea may be to make a swing-away for the back. That way it can be mounted safely, out of the way using nuts and bolts. On the roof will cause problems in many aspects already mentioned as well as sinking in the roof and causing the runners to become loose over time. Not to mention you can also put a gas can mount back there with it.

 

[HenryJ]

Do you have a receiver on the front? One of these would work up front: Universal Hitch Mounted Spare Tire Carrier
Do you pull a trailer much? How about one of these for the rear: Fold down tire carrier

I carry my spare up top on a Safari basket. It bolts to it and has a cover.

My basket was $75 and the hold down is recycled from OEM parts from the salvage yard.

Looks like cost is about the same for any of these solutions.

 

[Erik N]

Yeah, it had occurred to me about the sinking of the roof. I would love to find an old Blazer swing-away mount, assuming it would work with barn doors. Mounting to the door itself won't work because the tire would prohibit the door from opening fully.

Re: the safety of roof-mounting, I think it actually will be safer mounted outside. The factory method of interior attachment is lame at best. In a collision, I frankly would rather have it launch off the roof and land somewhere else, than have it launch into the back of my head or break free and bounce around inside. I am a paramedic, and have been on crash scenes involving the older Chevy square-bodies... they do extremely poorly in an accident to begin with.

Keep the ideas coming...

 

[scrubber3]

With the barn doors, I think that the hitch tire mount will probably work best. I would venture to say that if you can get a front hitch to mount it up there. That way if you want to tow something it won't be in the way. Plus it looks really cool up there IMHO.

 

[Erik N]

I have a brush guard up front, the area I drive into to fish is a very narrow, tree-lined trail (see pic). Otherwise the front mount would be an option.

The swing-down hitch mount might work, but I think lifting the spare up and down every time I want to open the back would be a huge PITA. It looks like it might break after a while also. Does anyone have experience with one of those?

 

[scrubber3]

You may be able to mount it to the brush guard if you think it can hold the weight. I don't really see a reason that it couldn't to be honest. Probably the best option due to the PITA of being in the way on back. Just my .02

 

[HenryJ]

...The swing-down hitch mount might work, but I think lifting the spare up and down every time I want to open the back would be a huge PITA. It looks like it might break after a while also. Does anyone have experience with one of those?

I worried about cooling and the effect a large tire in front of the radiator might have. Added length to the front is not really an issue. I have a cradle mounted winch and do fine. I would wonder about approach angle though. Mounted high enough it might be a visual impairment, or hurt air flow to the radiator.

The rear hitch mounted spare was not an option for me. I had a swing away tire rack on my last truck. It did indeed become tiresome having to open it before I could access the back.
As for durability, I believe James Downing is a member here and can attest to the durability:

CBI just came out with a new model of carrier. Mine came in yesterday!

This new one has a pass-through receiver to allow you to hook up shackle brackets or even a mobile winch.

I just got mine in yesterday, but it is rock solid:
Link image
Note the pass thru receiver. Steve reinforced the central tube of the carrier to withstand recovery forces.

Instead of a hitch pin, the male end of the carrier is threaded. The bolts on either side are grade 8, and they take out all wiggle from that joint. Further back, you see the receiver tube. This is even cut at a angle to preserve the rear approach angle and act as a skid if necessary. Further up, you can see the tilt mechanism. This has a hand knob that allows you to tighten the carrier, and again get rid of rattles.

link photo
Use with the tire leaned back and the gate up. It's a bit of a tight squeeze around the hi-lift to get into the trunk, but it's certainly workable. (You can drop it even more if you don't have the recovery shackle attached.)

Overall I'm very pleased. If anyone is interested, Steve takes orders by e-mail (found on his website http://cbioffroadfab.com/) and then he makes them custom to your specifications. Plus, its a great value. I paid $320 with shipping included. He also offers a version with a license plate mount + light. Steve's produced a great product and delivered with great customer service!

Mounting a roof basket spare has the downside of getting the tire up there and down. The wind resistance, UV exposure, weight, etc. I did not really have other options. It works for me.

 

[Erik N]

Mounting a roof basket spare has the downside of getting the tire up there and down. The wind resistance, UV exposure, weight, etc. I did not really have other options. It works for me.

I agree. Once it's up there, though, you can basically forget about it, and with a cover, UV shouldn't be an issue. Plus my truck sits under a tarp for 51 weeks a year.

I am considering that CBI hitch mount though, the basic model is under $200. Plus you can always remove it. There is a thread I found in a VW Tourag forum about it, the guy seemed to like it. The biggest concern over on the VW forum was a loss in MPG! With the Suburban, I can't imagine the mileage getting any worse anyway!

 

[HenryJ]

Once it's up there, though, you can basically forget about it, and with a cover, the UV shouldn't be an issue... I can't imagine the mileage getting any worse!

Exactly my thoughts!
Mine is a daily driver, however I offset the mileage by riding a motorcycle as much as possible.

 

[Erik N]

Although that CBI solution looks to be pretty much "plug and play" which is nice... I want to spend my time with the truck fishing, not farting around.

Henry, where in OR do you live? I lived in Lebanon for a few years back in the 90's

 

[HenryJ]

...where in OR do you live? I lived in Lebanon for a few years back in the 90's

I'm in Ontario. Right on the border of Idaho. Lots of wide open spaces here

 

[Erik N]

I'm in Ontario. Right on the border of Idaho. Lots of wide open spaces here

Big fish too... I miss OR!