LIVEABOARD
Adventurer
Is it possible to mount spare wheel/tire on hood of jeep JK like old Land Rovers or will u lose to much visibilty, has it been done ? pix etc .
Hood Mounted Tire
- Thread starter LIVEABOARD
- Start date
Zeero
Adventurer
It would work.....but you need "skinnies".....the thinner width tires the old LR's used to use.....thats the only way it works for those old trucks.
If you try throwing your stock tire or 35'er up there, you might as well forget it.....but the concept is cool, and I like the idea!
If you try throwing your stock tire or 35'er up there, you might as well forget it.....but the concept is cool, and I like the idea!
Ranger Steve
Adventurer
i agree with others...way to big of a tire going to be up there prolly :lurk:
Root Moose
Expedition Leader
The old LRs got away with it because the windshield root was relatively high above the hood. That and the aforementioned skinny tires.
lurker on the jeep side, i own a 91 and a 92 range rover. i thought about this also and came to the conclusion (with some advice from others) that besides blocking your vision, a tire up there (of any size) adds ?lbs to the hood. do you really wanna lift that and secure it every time you check oil,water,belts. forget about quickly holding the hood while you look around before hitting the trail now that its a 100lb hood.
The logistics of a Hi-Lift and a tire are not the same. The tire occupies a lot of space and can't be mounted so far back on the hood that it will interfere with the cowl and windshield when the hood is lifted. that places it way farther out on the hood than a jack. Or the tire needs to be dismounted every time you want to check under the hood. I don't think it will work on the Jeep.
XXXpedition
Explorer
but also think of opening the hood with the extra weight!
That's why I suggested it would have to be dismounted every time. I wouldn't be able to see over or around a spare on the hood of my CJ, and wouldn't want to deal with the weight or flex attempting to open the hood with a tire mounted. If the prop rod failed a headache would ensue; if you tip it back against the windshield and a gust of wind blew it forward, someone would get hurt or the hood would be damaged. I guess you could always try it, but long ago I decided to mount nothing on my hood but decals.
bigredpigdriver
Adventurer
Just get a nice swing away holder for the rear and you think yourself every time you have to open that hood....LIVEABOARD said:
SeaRubi
Explorer
the old rover tires were only 7.5" wide. even a modest bump up to 235/85 was enough to discourage the practice for most folks. 215/85 might do the trick. all in all you don't see em up there 'cause it just ain't that practical of a solution. funny, most of the rover crowd are always fantasizing about swing-away rear tire carriers :hehe:
(prior '94 LWB and '91 SWB RRC owner / abuser / addict)
(prior '94 LWB and '91 SWB RRC owner / abuser / addict)
TeriAnn
Explorer
SeaRubi said:
Golly! Some guys pay a lot of $$$ for a gym membership but Jeep folks seem to shun a little lifting.
This is what a 255/85/16 BFG Mud Terrain looks like on a Series bonnet. This is about as large of a tyre as one wants to put up there.
As someone previously pointed out the Series & Defender windscreen sits high above the bonnet and the scuttle area is vertical. Series bonnets have reinforcing ribbing on the underside that strengthens the bonnet to carry the weight of the spare PLUS the weight of a person standing on the bonnet accessing the front of a roof rack. There are two bonnet styles, standard and deluxe. The deluxe version can come with a centre depression that recesses the tyre & mount dropping the height of the tyre an inch or two.
Off hand I really don't know any other type of vehicle that has the combination of high windscreen and low mounted structurally reinforced bonnet that makes bonnet mounting a practical option. Maybe the early flat fender Jeeps?
SeaRubi said:
Rear tyre mounting is a standard method for the station wagon models of Series & Defender Land Rovers. The are mounted directly to the rear door. After market swing aways that fit Land Rovers with rear doors are common from multiple manufacturers. It is common to see Land Rovers on a long trip in the outback to be supporting both a rear mount spare and a bonnet mounted spare.
Series Land Rovers with tail gates don't have a spare tyre mount option. Defenders with side hinged tail gate do, but the factory tailgate swing away is VERY expensive. But like so many other Defender parts, they do fit a Series. The negative is that a rear mounted swing away blocks rear vision when reversing.
Generally, the Series Land Rover owners who are "fantasizing about swing-away rear tire carriers" are those who do technical off road work and have Land Rovers with tail gates. The combination of high windscreen and low mounted bonnet provides excellent close in front visibility that a bonnet mounted spare blocks.
Personally if I had the money, I'd opt for a tail gate compatible rear swing-away and a spotter when reversing in tricky spots. I consider a bonnet mounted spare as OK for everything other than technical off road driving. I would avoid a roof rack mounted spare just as I avoid anything that raises the vehicle centre of gravity.