Where to mount the spare

[ladywolf]

scampbell, not all of us have the money, or the need for beadlocks. why bother spending all that money on just beadlock wheels, when you can invest in a bumper that will prolly save your butt come a rear-ender (or pullin your buddy outta the nearest hole). yea, we could fab our own stuff, but some of us dont have the access to a welder, or the knowhow (speaks of self in this instance) to fab something strong enough w/ decent enuf looks to be able to hold up to the strain put upon it by flexing, the inevitable bounce off a rock/tree/ground.

 

[Kejtar]

For the price of Tire Carriers you can buy some do it yourself bead lock rings and paysome one to weld them on. Then forget the spare and you are way better of all the way around.
I run bead locks, carry plugs and patches, and leave the spare at the camp.

and if you rip it or cut it?

 

[forgiven]

Mine is secured behind the rear seat flat on the floor. It bolts down to the cage so I know it's not going any where. I'm gonna fab a wingout ice-chest carrier to make a bit more room inside. I figure I'm gonna have a spare with me always, but not an ice-chest. I can remove the i-c carrier when not in use. An ice-chest will not block my rear view as much as a 33 hanging out the back.

 

[shotstopper]

I have a roof rack on my Jeep and just bungied and cable locked the spare to that. I've had it there for about a year and a half now and never had a problem.

 

[scampbell53]

I just see people spending $400-$600 bucks on a tire carrier rear bumber setups and for $200 you can have some steely beadlocks, and that is paying someone to weld them for you. The local machine shop welded them on for my bud at $10 a wheel. I have no budget so I look at wheel ability and cost effectiveness. With bead locks even if the tire is almost shreaded I can still get off the mountain. And there is always the spare at camp, never wheel alone. Another thing to look at is spare tires are heavy, more weight = more breakage. If you are a pavement pounder I would put spare on the top, why block you vision or mess with storage. This is of course is just my .02 cents and everyones needs are different.

 

[BlueGerbil]

Kaymar rear bumper with tire carrier:

 

[Blackash132]

I love my rack ... Yakima, I have high lift brackets shovel brackets and a spare tire bracket with a pad lock spot. www.yakima.com

 

[XJ_ranger]

put it on the back, if its on the roof, ur making ur center of gravity too high, as well as getting terrible on road gassmileage as well as tempting me to steal it!

on the back with the right stuff u'll be fine

good luck

 

[casm]

on the back with the right stuff u'll be fine

On a related note, since moving the spare onto the back bumper is a mod I've got planned: does anyone know of (or is able to recommend) a hard-shell cover similar to those on the Isuzu Trooper? I have to work in some unpleasant places occasionally, and would prefer if the local wildlife weren't able to slash my spare (though I'm sure they'll take care of the other four just fine).

 

[MistWolf]

Don't mount the spare on the roof. If you want to know why, go park you Jeep on the side of a hill while your best buddy sprays you with a garden hose and wrassle that thang down from there. Or park on the side of a highway with them big 18 wheelers zooming by.

Don't mount the tire on the back. Tire assemblies can weigh a few pounds and the further from the rear axle they're mounted, the more they weigh- or more accurately- the more arm they have. If you mount the centerline of the tire 30 inches from the rear axle and the tire assembly weighs 50 lbs, it'll have 1500 inch/pounds (125 foot/pounds) of arm. It places a bunch of stress on your rig on rough terrain. I know what I'm talking about from experience

So what's a guy to do? Get a roof rack for your light gear- such as tents and sleeping bags, lay the tire flat in the back and pack the rest of your gear around it

 

[Yucca-Man]

So what's a guy to do? Get a roof rack for your light gear- such as tents and sleeping bags, lay the tire flat in the back and pack the rest of your gear around it

...unless you've got kids or other need for that back seat. Your plan is sound if only the front seats are in use.

 

[casm]

...unless you've got kids or other need for that back seat. Your plan is sound if only the front seats are in use.

Yep. What I'm trying to avoid here is losing use of the cargo area. I agree with not roof-mounting it; that idea's not even on the cards. Quite honestly, I'd prefer a hood mount - but having owned vehicles in the past that did that, the XJ's hood just doesn't have the bracing to handle it, and once I start cutting it to add vents it'll be even less torsionally rigid.

Granted, rear-mount spare carriers just transfer the weight further back of the axle (not to mention adding the weight of the carrier as well), but it seems there's no other solution that isn't too much of a compromise in other areas.

So, my original question stands - anyone know of a hard-shell cover for the XJ?

 

[scoobyxj]

here is my 2-cents roof, bad road manners,:nono: in side, PU assgas: and if you made your own bumper/tire carrier, you could add mounts to the factory hich mounting points for the extra strength, and desine the tire carrier to swing from the right [so it wouldn't be heading for traffic if stopped along the road to get in the back] but be possioned toward the left side so it isn't in the view as bad i usally turn around to my right when looking out the back while reversing].:lecture: change plea$e!

 

[Yucca-Man]

So, my original question stands - anyone know of a hard-shell cover for the XJ?

You mean like the ones on most conversion vans and RVs? You don't want one 'for an XJ' then - you want one large enough to fit whatever tire you're running. That said, I don't know where you would find one other than a van converter or RV shop. Underneath those hard shells they all mount up to the rack/carrier pretty much the same.

 

[MistWolf]

...unless you've got kids or other need for that back seat. Your plan is sound if only the front seats are in use.

I've got kids. I've managed to squeeze a fully inflated 33 inch BFG MT between the back seat & the hatch. I've also managed to squeeze a 35 inch BFG MT back there, but I had to make sure I had a compressor as it had to be deflated. Keep in mind, my idea of packing for a trip includes my family arty:

PS- The way the tire fit, the back seat kept it locked down

 

[OT]

I choose other.
Not what your looking for, but an idea.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthre...3740#post153740

If this thread would just die I wouldn't need to post a picture of what that "now invalid" link showed.

hasta

 

[PhatXJ]

Better late than never.

I mount my fully inflated 35" spare inside. The bottom of my rear seat is gone, and the back rest is folded down. I keep all my spare axles and steering components under there. The tire and everything else fits great inside.

Now I have an empty rack and a happy COG

 

[XJ_ranger]

If this thread would just die I wouldn't need to post a picture of what that "now invalid" link showed.

hasta

nice grocery net there



j/k lol

 

[dellstopjeep]

hey okie, do u have a write-up on how to make that?

want to do that now that my roof is mangled from the rollover. cant put the spare on top anymore

 

[Redcbr007]

This thread just wont die LOL