How to carry second spare tire?

[MarkBC]

Anybody besides me carry 2 spare tires, and if so how do you carry the second one (on a pick-up with a camper mounted)?
(I searched for this topic, but didn't find any...please point me to it if it's been well covered already.)

I usually bring a second spare tire when I'll be traveling in remote areas on gravel roads -- roads with sharp rocks that can pierce tires a long way from flat-fixing facilities (I've actually had double-flats 3 times in the past 20 years).

Ever since I got the camper I've been hefting the second spare in and out of the back of my camper...and I've gotten tired of that inconvenience.
I'm looking for a way to mount/carry the spare that will not be in the way at all for getting in and out of the camper, etc -- something that will be able to stay in place when I'm camped as well as when traveling.
I know I've seen spare tires mounted on the front of trucks in front of the grill, more or less, and that seems like a way to go. Anybody do that, and if so how? Are there ready-made after-market mounts that work for Ford F250 (2000 vintage)?
Or???

Thanks for suggestions...or pointing to me to an existing thread if already answered.

 

[DirtyDog]

I think the best way would be to get a custom bumper that has a swing-out spare tire mount. I think aluminess makes one. You could get an XPCamper - has a built in compartment big enough for a second spare

 

[DirtyDog]

 

[MarkBC]

I think the best way would be to get a custom bumper that has a swing-out spare tire mount. I think aluminess makes one. You could get an XPCamper - has a built in compartment big enough for a second spare


Yeah...I'd considered before that there should be some kind of swing-out tire carrier that mounts into the receiver hitch...something like the swing-out/away spare mount on old Blazers (or was it Broncos?), except connected into the receiver hitch so I don't have to buy a new bumper.

OK, I see the photo...yes that does look like it would be an ultimate solution, with a place to carry a gas can, too.

Any other ideas from others?

 

[Barko1]

On the front using a front 2" receiver. I've seen tire holders that plug right in.

 

[kcowyo]

I've seen some receiver hitch options but none that look stout enough to handle long miles on washboards, etc. A fixed (non-swing away) hitch mount would drive me nuts due to it having to be removed any time you need to hop in the camper real quick to make a sandwich. And what do you do with it when commando camping?

I'm not opposed to carrying a second spare, but I'm very stingy with the weight I'm willing to carry... So far a tire patch kit (got mine from AR and a small air compressor has done the trick. Not the perfect solution if a sidewall is cut, but I've been lucky so far that hasn't happened.

If I had roof-rack and the lift-assist struts and I was going to be in the backcountry of Utah or Death Valley for several days, I would toss a second spare up top.
.

 

[MarkBC]

On the front using a front 2" receiver. I've seen tire holders that plug right in.


Yeah, thanks Barko, a receiver hitch on the front -- with a compatible tire mount -- sounds like an option that would meet my needs. Hmmm.... I'll look into it.

I'm not worried about the weight of the spare in general, since I'm already carrying the second spare (much of the time). I just want a better way to carry it.

 

[Barko1]

I had a shop weld the tube in and use a cargo carrier to lug a Segway along. Never had an issue with airflow to the radiator.

 

[Desert Rancher]

Not the answer to your question...but a good plug kit is much easier to use than changing to a spare.


Most punctures are usually small and easily plugged. Like I said, it's easier to plug and air up than to change.

I've had sidewall punctures where I've stuffed a handful of plugs to keep going. Have to stop and air up every so often, but it can work.

One time down in Baja I changed out a flat with the spare and then got another. Took the original flat and shoved plugs in it and put it back on.

 

[Desert Rancher]

commando camping?

 

[realbtl]

My 97 ex-Forest Service Ford had the traditional spare-in-the-bed set up and of course the stock mount was rusted to hell so I went with the 2" front receiver solution. Doesn't really impact the sight lines and hopefully it will add a little extra protection when (in Montana it's not if) I nail a kamakazi deer. Cheaper to replace than bumpers or grilles.

 

[UglyScout]

I'd go with a front mounted 2nd spare. that way it is always there. And if it falls off - you'll know.... You laugh - but I had the factory spare fall off from under a work truck and the only reason we 'found' it was we drove back the same way later in the day and it was in the ditch.

As for tire patching - I've had pretty good luck with Saftey Seal. I've used it a lot on my off road truck and trailer tires. With some bailing wire mixed in you can even fix some nasty side wall gouges. If I was headed way off the beaten path - I'd pack the 2nd spare and the tire patch kit.

 

[Desert Rancher]

Damn, I just ordered a front mount receiver.
Less that $85 for a Curt hitch, shipped.

Guess I always needed one....
(and I don't even have a 2nd spare)

This dang site costs me money I don't have.

 

[Barko1]

This dang site costs me money I don't have.

I know exactly what you mean!

 

[pvstoy]

I carry tire plugs but have yet to use them since I years ago switched to BFG AllTerians. Been lots of places and been lucky enough to not have tire issiues.

Those that are having tire failures and multi tire flats, have they been with the BFG All Terrians???

 

[MarkBC]

Actually...I've only had one flat in the 100,000 miles that I've had my Ford.
But prior to that, with my Toyota Tacoma, I had flats -- and changed them -- frequently enough that I probably could have gotten a job at Les Schwab (except for the beard). I had more than one brand of tire on that Toyota, but all were load range E, mud-and-snow (but not full-on mudders), for what it's worth. I should also mention that these were sharp-rock flats driving mostly on the Steens East/Alvord road -- a high-speed gravel road where the gravel is crushed rock -- pointy crushed rock. I got double-flats when both tires on one side ran over the same sharp rock embedded in the dirt. If I didn't drive on those roads at 65 mph I probably would have gotten fewer flats..but I don't want to drive slower.

I've never used a tire patching kit for a truck/car tire -- are they capable of patching a good-sized rock-hole or are they only good for nail holes?

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

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just some sample pictures I have saved over the years ...

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[kcowyo]

I've never used a tire patching kit for a truck/car tire -- are they capable of patching a good-sized rock-hole or are they only good for nail holes?



I've seen as many as 8 plugs shoved in a good sized hole when a pal needed to get the 50 miles over washboards from Saline Valley, back out to Hwy 395 and Lone Pine for a replacement... Definitely a good option for peace of mind!

Are you airing down before long stretches in the Steens..? Nothing wrong with ripping down a dirt road, but airing down your tires will prevent a lot (but likely not all) punctures. Helps smooth out the ride too.
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[LuckyDan]

I carry tire plugs but have yet to use them since I years ago switched to BFG AllTerians. Been lots of places and been lucky enough to not have tire issiues.

Those that are having tire failures and multi tire flats, have they been with the BFG All Terrians???


While BFG's aren't the specific tire we're using, a tires quality makes a lot of difference. Load rating is one thing to consider the amount and type of belting is another. I've had great luck with Toyo and Dean. This includes Includes runs down the E. Steens road, South Catlow Valley, Glass Butte's (They don't call it "Glass" for nothing). Professionally the worst tires we use are the one's that come with the trucks from the factory. We used to try to get our value out of the stock tires then switch. Now they fail so fast out in the brush we just trade them for aftermarket the minute we get a new truck in.

As for mounting I'd opt for one of the front end options especially something along the brush guard lines like Stan@Four Wheel Campers posted a picture or two of. I have not had a rear swing out on a camper, but I've dealt with one enough on a Jeep and Bronco to know that it gets tiresome opening the swing out to get in the back. I don't know about Bend but over in Prineville I know there are a couple of fab shops that could set you up with something. As for which bank to rob to pay for it I can not help you with.

 

[ntsqd]

I carry tire plugs but have yet to use them since I years ago switched to BFG AllTerians. Been lots of places and been lucky enough to not have tire issiues.

Those that are having tire failures and multi tire flats, have they been with the BFG All Terrians???

I had a BFG A/T get a very large cut in the middle of the tread out in the Mojave Preserve on Ivanhoe Rd. Just wasn't going to plug worth a darn so I had to put the spare on and then prudence called for us to cut short that trip as the plan was to get much more remote. That tire didn't owe me a thing. I later figured out that it had over 35k on it, ranging from pavement to Oregon beach sand to Mojave Desert racing pit support to Baja 1000 pit support to a February trip to Toroweep. It had been on two different Suburbans in it's lifespan.

In the buggies carrying a spare was not really an option. We carried tubes, bead breakers, and motorcycle tire irons. Use a "Seal-A-Meal" on one of those foil lined electronics bags to seal the tube from UV and ozone.

Airing down works good if you are going slow. Going fast it is not a good call, and not just from a handling perspective. From experience with this a tire at normal pressure at speed does not cut as easily as a low tire. It is more likely to roll over something sharp at speed than to get cut by it. When going slow just the reverse is true, or that has been my experience anyway.

If you're going to build or have built a tire carrier I would suggest not using the typical design that has to 90* bends/joints in it that the tire then bolts to. Build a rectangular cradle for the tire to sit in, and run a HD ratchet strap over the top of the tire. Those two bends/joints will flex and eventually fail from fatigue.

Is Tom Hoy back from "the suck" yet? Bet he could do a stout job if he's doing that sort of work. He came over from Prineville to an event that I was at on the OR coast. Since Bob McCasland has retired he would be my first contact if I needed something like this built in that part of OR.