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Thank you! The ratchet strap is a good idea. I will do that. The tire has a slight front to back wobble that I can make it do by hand. I could probably eliminate the wobble by putting another piece of steel angle behind the winch to match the one in front. I wondered whether the tire would...

Spare tire winch update: Today I got under the trailer and installed it. I measured carefully several times before drilling, so that each hole was right where it needed to be. Getting started by bolting on the Chevy/GMC C/K 2500 spare tire winch. Next came the new crossbeam I made with angle...

I got the 3rd coat of paint applied yesterday. If the weather holds, I should be able to post some pics of the installation tomorrow.

Thank you. The directions on the can say to apply additional coats either within an hour or after 48 hours. Looks like Saturday afternoon is the earliest I could do it. I don’t want it to rust so I’m ok with the wait.

Second coat. Think it needs a third?

Tools for prepping and painting. First I used the wire wheel to remove rust and scale that had built up on the surface. After that I wiped it down with mineral spirits to remove the steel dust, cutting oil, and any other residue. Before painting. After 3 passes with Rustoleum, using...

That is a good idea. If I were designing my camper top again from scratch I would make the front wall strong enough to support a tire. It would look good there.

Today I started fabricating the angle iron bracket that will serve to stabilize both the tire and the tube that turns to lower and raise the tire. It’s drawn in here. The only difference will be that it will face backward so that it doesn’t catch and hold road spray from the Jeep. The bracket...

Here’s how much room the spare tire takes up under the bed in the camper. Looking forward to relocating it underneath!

Thanks for the suggestion, tobyS. My tool box is actually a battery box, so it already could be 150 lbs. Having the tire on the tongue along with the battery box would increase the tongue weight even more and so I am wanting the tire to be back closer to the axle to mitigate that. I thought...

Here are some photos of where I'll be installing the GMC spare tire winch. It's the beam in front of the axle, right side of this photo: Which is the same as the left side of this photo: The beam is beefy, so I am not worried about the weight. The spare tire winch will be installed like...

I’m finally getting around to making the spare tire winch a reality. This is a carrier from a Chevy/GMC C/K 2500 from the late 1980’s/ early 90’s, same era as my trailer: I also got the jack and the tools to wind the tire winch: Looking forward to getting it installed.

Thank you for the pictures, antennaclimber. That looks like a 2” square tube maybe from a receiver hitch. Or is it a bed frame rail? What model of truck’s tire winch did you use? eBay has a ton of options and they all look like they attach differently.

Hi McGuyver, I looked and there won’t be about room over the axle for the tire. The M166A3 axle has a higher center for maximum ground clearance, which eliminates that space.

Thanks, antennaclimber. Nice to know it can be done. Do you have any closer up pictures showing the winch and it’s attachment method? Thanks!

I have a M116A3 that is running civilian pickup truck wheels (16 inch steel rims with 31’s). I am interested in fabricating an under-trailer spare tire carrier using a pickup truck spare tire winch. Has anyone with an M101 or M116 done this before, and if so, would you be willing to share some...