Installing A Spare Tire

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

On my truck I have after market tires and wheels.......19.5" rims. These are heavy duty (14) ply commercial tires. In addition, I have an after market heavy duty trailer hitch. The stock spare tire / wheel is 16", so I've bought a new 19.5" spare. Since I have an oversize / heavy duty trailer hitch, the new spare won't fit in the same spot that the 16" spare was located (it would have fit with the stock hitch). I was thinking about mounting the new spare on the front of the truck, but I've read today that this is a bad idea on a diesel, and that it will actually cause harm to the diesel engine. I'm perplexed ?? Any ideas to solve the problem ? Here's a picture of my truck and camper.

Currently the spare is in the back of the Jeep, but I won't be taking the Jeep on the next leg of my journey. There's no room available on the top of the camper due to a sky light, a/c unit, vents, and solar panel.

 

[thebrassnuckles]

On my truck I have after market tires and wheels.......19.5" rims. These are heavy duty (14) ply commercial tires. In addition, I have an after market heavy duty trailer hitch. The stock spare tire / wheel is 16", so I've bought a new 19.5" spare. Since I have an oversize / heavy duty trailer hitch, the new spare won't fit in the same spot that the 16" spare was located (it would have fit with the stock hitch). I was thinking about mounting the new spare on the front of the truck, but I've read today that this is a bad idea on a diesel, and that it will actually cause harm to the diesel engine. I'm perplexed ?? Any ideas to solve the problem ? Here's a picture of my truck and camper.

Currently the spare is in the back of the Jeep, but I won't be taking the Jeep on the next leg of my journey. There's no room available on the top of the camper due to a sky light, a/c unit, vents, and solar panel.

inside the camper?

 

[UglyScout]

Do you have an EGT gauge on the diesel?

If you do -- drive around and monitor your temps - then put a piece of cardboard the size of the spare infront of the grill and drive around and see if the temps have gone up a lot. Air flow to your turbo intercooler is a big factor on keeping your diesel happy not enough air flow and your EGT's will go up - too much EGT's and you start melting engine parts :Wow1:

 

[Albin]

Front hitch receiver with a spare tire carrier coming straight up. Keep it about 4-6" in front of the grill and as low as possible. Do you have a way to accurately read engine oil and coolant temps (i.e. NOT the OEM temp gauges but aftermarket or Scangauge II etc)?


Good luck.

Al

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Although I initially thought a front mount would be best, now I'm hesitant to go that route. It's just not worth the risk. I don't have any after market gauges.

There's no room inside the camper for it.

My son was over today and we came up with the idea of removing one of the rear seats (it's a crew cab with split rear seats). I could then haul it there. I washed the spare today (it was plenty dirty from our recent trip to Labrador). I plan to mess with it tomorrow. Hope it will work / fit.

I've come up with a second question..........what would you do ? Since the original spare is a 16", would you remove it and save the weight or leave it there (under the truck bed) and if the slim chance of (2) flats occurred, I could limp into a town using the 16" and have both repaired.

 

[AxeAngel]

What's the circumference of the 16" with tire and same for the 19.5" with tire.

So the problem of no 19.5" occurs when the jeep is not being towed. Why not install a spare tire on the rear hitch then? Would be a pretty simple fabrication too. Cannibalize a bike rack or start from scratch

-Sam

 

[frgtwn]

AND, the new spare/hitch rack could be a drop down design, and with a disk of plywood inside (on top), become a step for the camper.

 

[boblynch]

Will you need to tow anything? If not, a swing down carrier off of the rear hitch could work. What type of hitch are you using? I use a TorkLift SuperHitch and a reversible drop shank to provide a mounting point for a spare tire carrier. We use a rear mounted winch to raise and lower the spare. However, I think a manual setup would work fine for your 19.5. Another option would be to expand the use of your existing rear deck with some type of removable holder for the spare.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The hitch is a Reese Tow Beast. The platform that you are seeing is simply held onto the back of the back of the camper by (2) small bolts, the (3) bottom supports lie on top of the wimpy rear bumper.........not a heavy duty setup. If I were to use the rear hitch to hold the spare (as many have suggested), each time I open the rear door I'd have to lower and raise the spare. That seems like lots of effort. Plus I go off road so it'll get nasty. Also, to get an idea of the height, there's (6) steps on the scissor steps, so I'm not even sure that once the spare flipped down, that it'd be high enough to step into the rear of the camper. This situation really sucks.............I feel like I'm asking for help and then pissing on everyone's ideas.........sorry about that.

Boblynch.........where is your door ? Do you have anymore pictures ?

 

[boblynch]

Our camper has a side door. http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23173&highlight=F550&page=8

Two ideas that may work for your situation. First, how about a camper patio with spare tire mounted underneath? You could deploy the patio as quickly as your current setup. Maybe add a few drop down legs in the deployed position to keep the weight off.


Another idea would be to modify your hitch assembly to add a storage bar. Something like this, but with the spare offset so as to not block the door.

 

[AxeAngel]

Jerry, can you give us a close up picture of the rear so we know what we are dealing with.

-Sam

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I enlarged these photos hopefully to help you see what I've got.

Anyhow, these are some photos I found on the computer. The rear door is off center - more to the right side. Now that I look at Bob Lynch's hitch, maybe I could have a tee built that attaches to the hitch. On one side I could mount the spare tire, and on the other side (under the ladder), mount spare fuel tanks. That's a secondary problem. The fuel tanks I have on my Jeep leak at the gasket, so I'll need to make a new purchase. I was thinking that I'd attach them to the luggage rack on the top of the camper, but maybe not now. The goal here is Argentina leaving in (30) to (60) days. Thoughts ? And thanks for everyone's input.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

It's time to kill this thread. The spare fits perfectly, lying down on the back seat (the back seats on a Chevy lie down flat-not like a Ford)........ no removal of the seats required. I can store my heavy duty jack inside the wheel, as well as some tools. I'll cut a sheet of plywood to lay over the top of the tire, and it'll make a nice shelf.

Now, I need to find the best non leaking fuel cans to put on top of the the camper. Another thread required.

Thanks.