FWC & spare tire

[Scoutman]

Do you use the rear hitch? If not make a swing down tire carrier with some decking on the back to double as a step into the camper portion.

If you do use the hitch then you may have to fab up swing down brackets on either side of the hitch.

Similar to....

 

[LuckyDan]

Getting the roof to lift with the tire mounted on top is one thing. Getting the tire ON or OFF the roof is another....

I'd go with some type of front or rear mount.

 

[Herbie]

Getting the roof to lift with the tire mounted on top is one thing. Getting the tire ON or OFF the roof is another....

I'd go with some type of front or rear mount.

That has always been my concern. Hoisting 80-100+lbs of tire and wheel would be not fun even with a proper ladder. Doing it out on trail with either an RV ladder or some other less-than-ideal climbing tool sounds like a recipe for a back injury at best...

I hate to sacrifice the space, but I'm leaving my spare in the underbody winch-drop system that the factory built...

 

[Lighthawk]

Actually, it can be done.

I had a last minute issue with mounting my spare 31" BFG below my Tundra/FWC. We used a ladder leaned against the FWC and parked next to a small retaining wall and my girlfriend & I rolled the spare up the ladder onto the roof.

Lifting and lowering the top wasn't terrible, but it took two of us. The reason we could do it is that I have mounted front & back gas assist lifts to my FWC Hawk :victory:. With same setup we can lift one kayak without much trouble.

 

[Herbie]

Actually, it can be done.

I had a last minute issue with mounting my spare 31" BFG below my Tundra/FWC. We used a ladder leaned against the FWC and parked next to a small retaining wall and my girlfriend & I rolled the spare up the ladder onto the roof.

That sort of makes my point. Did you bring the ladder with you on the trip? What if you gashed a side wall someplace where you couldn't get easily lean the ladder against the camper?

 

[pods8]

That sort of makes my point. Did you bring the ladder with you on the trip? What if you gashed a side wall someplace where you couldn't get easily lean the ladder against the camper?

Getting the tire off is easy (toss it down), its getting the damaged one back up for along trip that is harder (a shorter trip you can just stick it inside the camper and roll for civilization to get it fixed/replaced).

 

[brianjwilson]

Getting the tire off is easy (toss it down), its getting the damaged one back up for along trip that is harder (a shorter trip you can just stick it inside the camper and roll for civilization to get it fixed/replaced).

Exactly. I use to carry a 33" spare on the roof of my last rig as it wouldn't fit underneath. Sure it was a bear to get up there. But if I would have damaged a tire, I could easily get it down, and the damaged tire could go somewhere else until repaired.

 

[Desert Proven]

Aside from the question of whether or not you can actually lift the roof, or remove the tire, i'll point out one additional issue.

I've owned a fourwheel camper and the weight of a loaded thule box (narrow version) actually caused the roof truss frame to crack away from the frame. In other words, the aluminum weld inside the roof broke. Not an inexpensive repair.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Aside from the question of whether or not you can actually lift the roof, or remove the tire, i'll point out one additional issue.

I've owned a fourwheel camper and the weight of a loaded thule box (narrow version) actually caused the roof truss frame to crack away from the frame. In other words, the aluminum weld inside the roof broke. Not an inexpensive repair.

Interesting.

My older Thule box weights about 40 lbs, how much weight do you think you had in the box? What sort of load bars did you have it mounted on? Anything else on the roof? What year was the FWC?

Sorry for so many questions, just interested in some more facts.

 

[JCMatthews]

What about?

How about a Hitch gate? Kinda pricey but might just fit the bill. http://www.tiregate.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=1068

 

[specjoe]

CBI spare tire swing-down receiver mount

Do you use the rear hitch? If not make a swing down tire carrier with some decking on the back to double as a step into the camper portion.

If you do use the hitch then you may have to fab up swing down brackets on either side of the hitch.

Similar to....

You can check out my setup at: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52153

I had CBI fab it with a receiver extension that can be used for trailering, etc. AS WELL as the ability to swing all the way down (and provide a step up to my FWC Finch). I think the total price for this custom carrier was about $425 with Fastenal shipping.

My experience is that it is solid (and little to no sway apparent on rough roads) when the lugs in the receiver are tight and the upright tightener are tight. It's certainly a bear to lift back up, but better than getting my 33" spare to the roof! Might look at a new bumper with swingout in the future (I'm not really removing the carrier ever, since it's a pain to move the license plate as well), but will have to evaluate the weight premium.

-joe D.

 

[freedomofthehills]

The bumpers are great but costly...I looked into this a while ago and for my needs, A front bumper hitch mount with a tire mount made the most sense in terms of cost/benefit. I agree with an earlier poster, the issue with roof mounting is actually getting the tire itself up and down in the event you need to use the tire, not just in raising the roof...Of course iif ou can weld then you have many options for a flip down hitch mount or something more creative...

 

[Sgt.Kilroy]

I thought I'd post to this old thread, instead of starting a new one on the same topic.

I just finished installing my TireGate on the Tundra/FWC combo. I really like it and think it's a great option for having a full size (second) spare on the truck for those 'way-out' places...