spare tire mounting options

[wesfab1]

I'm building a new hardtop for my Jeepster that will be greatly influenced by early Rovers and FJ troop carriers. With a barn door in the rear, I would prefer not to mount my spare off the back like most Jeeps do. It would hinder being able to open the door from the inside.

I run 35" tires, so carrying the spare inside will not work. I'm not really a fan of lugging that thing onto the roof. I thought about mounting it directly to the rear door, but am worried about the stress it would put on the hinges and so forth. Did I mention the hardtop will be made out of aluminum?

Any ideas?

 

[TACTICALJEEP]

you could do a rear tire carrier/bumper, but add a link/turnbuckle to the rear door so when you open the door, as it swings out...the tire carrier goes with it. This will give you the desired effect/appearance without putting so much stress on the factory hinges

 

[Martinjmpr]

I would think that if you made the hinges stout enough, the door could support the weight and be much less complex than some kind of swing-out carrier. Remember the hinges are only supporting the weight by themselves when the door is open, when the door is closed the hinges are sharing the weight with the door latch.

What does a 35" tire/wheel weigh? 100lbs or so?

 

[Stumpalump]

What does a 35" tire/wheel weigh? 100lbs or so?

A 35" spare is a monster to lug around. My problem was the same as yours in my Jeep XJ with BFG 35" Krawlers. I did not want it outside because I'd add another hundred pounds fabbing up a carrier, it would block my view and making access on a hill a real pain. I wanted it flat on the floor to keep CG's low but the rear seat would hit it and not let the tail gate shut with the back seat up. My solution was to buy a tall skinny tire as a spare. I needed the height because of the lockers. Super Swamper TSL 34x9.50 is as tall or taller than most 35's. The Krawlers run tall but as you can see it's basically as tall. On a cheap steel rim it weighs 75 lbs. I lay it flat on the floor with jumper cables under it and the tow strap and winch extension in the rim.

 

[Stumpalump]

View attachment 207921
This is in the rig. You can see how little space it takes up and what it does I still use for the jumpers and straps. A cooler or stove can go on top for a nice no slip surface. I cringed when I priced and bought the tire but over the years it's proven to have been a good investment.

 

[wesfab1]

I would love to be able to mount it like they are in a stock XJ, inside at the rear driverside standing up. Its just to dang tall. I could lay mine flat between the wheelwells but thats ALOT of prime real estate when it comes time to pack it all up for an adventure.

I'm thinking that mounting it to the door is the only realistic way. Just worried about the stress from all that weight, and vibration.