Spare tire on front

Yeah, for a roadgoing vehicle, a spare tire is pretty much unnecessary. I removed the spare in the Miata years ago for extra trunk space, compressor and plug kit are more than sufficient. Then again, in a truck with more than enough space for a spare, it seems silly to not carry one, especially in an off-road situation, where a sidewall puncture or other severe tire failure are real possibilities.

Either way I'd still carry a plug kit and inflator, in case I get more than one flat, and because that saves me the trouble of checking the pressure in the spare.

I think there is a Dodge car on the market that uses a different tire size front/rear.... so they include a bottle of slime, and a 12 compressor instead of a spare....

that would work too!

bulldog_mack13 said:

We useed rubber on M1114 bumpers to nail Iraqi's = Insurgents off the road

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It def works, but the proper thing to do is fab up a steel bumper for that use. You want a real solid smack as opposed to a bump when dealing with vehicles.

well, like i had said earlier, ive got a 33-incher hanging off the rear end of my sheet-metal with no problems yet. we had a big steel plate welded to where it was going to mount, and then bolted it on that, for both top and bottom hinges. ive yet to have a problem. all in all it was about $20 for the old bronco tire carrier and to convince our buddies to weld it on. its really quite solid, and id trust it over a heavily modified bicycle rack that sits in the hitch (no offense to anyone), but it seems like it would make towing anything with the truck and having a spare a little difficult, unless you went with the tire in the truck, or on the front, or strapped it down on top. plus i bet itd look pretty snazzy hangin on the rear of your truck

mangus580 said:

I think there is a Dodge car on the market that uses a different tire size front/rear.... so they include a bottle of slime, and a 12 compressor instead of a spare....

that would work too!

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It's pretty common practice for new vehicles now, whether they have different front/rear sizes or not, especially for sports cars, where weight is a consideration. In other vehicles, cost has more to do with it.

one of my 1009's came with a tire on the front...

I've had both flat tires and blowouts, and the fact is that they tend to happen when they happen. It usually ends up being at the worst possible time (crazy how it knows when that is). I have two schools of thought on the poll, but first I'll let you know where I come from on it. Being military and seeing what being prepared can do (military operations can't be stop, only delayed), I tend to err on the side of caution. For that reason, I vote for moving the wheel/tire to the front. But, I think there are better options to consider before you choose the front.

I would be in favor of mounting it on top, but with an assisting device to help lower it (much like on the 5 ton truck, but smaller), that way you can prevent injuries.....and your pristine paint job <insert sarcasm>. It frees your rear hitch for towing, and your front grill for airflow/weight. It may however reduce your mpg, but hey....it's not a Miata! If you still aren't for mounting it on the roof.....then may I suggest towing a trailer full of spares. You just can't be too careful these days. Besides I might have a blowout myself, and you could bring me a spare.

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I'll post an update when I move on this thing.
J

i swear ive seen a few civy k5s with the tire racks in the back. I think the tire on the front looks good on the 70s era gm trucks, but on this model, no not really. I mean im talking cosmetics here, and thats opinion, personally i dont like many grill guards on gm trucks at all, but i think the cucv looks perfect so i wouldnt do it. Though as far fuctionality, yeah that works. I would definetly keep a spare because i personally have bad luck with tires, so.

I dont know why you would do it with an m1008 though, you got the tire mount under the bed in the back

Dabba said:

i swear ive seen a few civy k5s with the tire racks in the back.

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Read the thread some more. There was, it's rare, and it's problematic even with stock sized tires.

I dont know why you would do it with an m1008 though, you got the tire mount under the bed in the back

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Only for stockish sized tires.

There is also this kind of option...

http://joelrasmus.com/gallery/d/15744-3/DSC_2613.JPG

http://joelrasmus.com/gallery/d/15750-3/DSC_2615.JPG

There is that, but the expense is what usually keeps me away from that. Do you know a good source for those frames?
I'm not even sure where I would get one.
J

www.ColoradoK5.com and visit the vendor's forum.

That truck is actually a CK5 members'. Goes by the screen name obijuan. I can't remember if he bought it, had it made, or built it himself though.

Those pics are of the DIY4X rear bumper. However there are always cheaper ways of building your own if you have any fab skills.

86M10086.2L said:

I like it. Have though about it myslef, but don't know if it would work well on the trails, and would block my planned offroad lights on the grill guard.

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I don't know what lights you have planned for the grille guard but, I did run some good amber lights with my front tire carrier. Take a look under the tire in the pic which was taken from up above so you know they were visible forward. Included pic without tire also. Old pics!

I've got the spare on the front of my '96 F350 Powerstroke. Mounted a front receiver hitch and fabbed up a mount. I was going to replace the rear fuel tank with an extra capacity model but haven't gotten to it. Haven't had any overheating problems while towing or otherwise.

I had a 1975 heavy half ton with a front spare mount, it made a great push truck!

I've seen a bunch of pictures of the Chevy K5 Blazer Chalet package with a front mount spare tire. Just hit up google images for 'Chevy Blazer Chalet' and over half the pics show it.


I say give it a run and see how it does, if it restricts airflow too much, go up on the roof.