Spare tire question

[MLM]

My new MC is on a 2021 e350 chassis it did not come with spare tire or jack I do have AAA . What most of y’all do or use should I mount a spare on the bumper and jack what say you?

[Bob Denman]

I'll call for roadside assistance, and make some sandwiches while I'm waiting...
I don't want to waste storage space for something I can take care of with a phone call.

[MLM]

Thank you very much. You answered my question that’s exactly what I was thinking I need all the room I have now.

[paulwadley]

If you decide to have a spare, think about using a trailer hitch spare tire holder to carry it. I have one that I use most of the time.


Paul

[DavidEM]

I bought a spare tire and wheel from Town Fair Tire for about $240. I already had the 1/2 breaker bar and 7/8" socket to remove the lug nuts but I bought a 4 ton bottle jack and a jack stand. I can now change a tire myself.

And despite the naysayers on another thread, I mounted the tire on the rear ladder of my Axis. It took a couple of 1/2" J bolts and extensions, all about $20 to mount it. It attaches right at a support strut, clears the tail light fine and doesn't intrfere with the rear hatch. No loosening of the ladder attachments so far. See the pics below.

The only real problem was lifting it in place with my 74 YO back and arms. After trying the hard way, I threw a rope over the top rung and used that to help hoist it in place.

David

[Bob Denman]

How is your ladder holding up under the extra weight?

[DavidEM]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

How is your ladder holding up under the extra weight?

Great!!!!!

David

[paulwadley]

The weight is not the only thing to consider, but the bouncing up and down while driving down the road is something I would be concerned about.


Paul

[ducksface]

A lack of a sense of safety, basing the safety of others on a $100 savings while ignoring the WOOD SCREWS solely holding the ladder only to plywood and plastic laminate was the total reason for my decision about blocking the poster.
Management needs to remove his post.

Paul is concerned, but I'm just out and out going to say it.
There is no concern. There is only certainty.
The guy is totally ignorant of the ramifications.

[Bob Denman]

If he keeps on the tightening of everything...
But it sure wouldn't hurt to reinforce those mounting screws...

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

Great!!!!!
David

Just saw this... glad to hear it!

[DavidEM]

You guys all said the same thing on another thread, but I did it anyway. When the ladder fails I will let you know and eat humble pie, but until then....

David

[Bob Denman]

Good luck!
I'd rather be wrong; than hear that you bounced a tire and ladder off of someone's hood...

[sportcoupe]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

You guys all said the same thing on another thread, but I did it anyway. When the ladder fails I will let you know and eat humble pie, but until then....

David

And I hope no one else gets hurt or killed when you do.

[DavidEM]

OK, I will go through the case for doing it one more time and then STFU for good.

Residential ladders are required to hold 225 lbs. Who knows what Thor designed this ladder for but anything less than that standard would be irresponsible. Steel structures are required to have at least a 2:1 safety factor before failing, ie you can load it to 450 lbs before something breaks, including the attachment screws.

The spare tire and wheel weigh 60 lbs, less than a third of the 225 lb nominal design load. Also the tire is mounted squeezed against the ladder with much of the load carried by top and bottom. When a 225 lb person climbs the ladder his body mass is about twice as far off and it can be concentrated in one place, a single rung.

When you hit a bump yes you get an impact load but that is less than 1 g. Has anyone been lifted off of their seat when you hit a bump? No, so it is less than 1 g. Also in my past life we designed very big loads to be moved on huge trailers. The design standard was 2 g vertical down and 1 g up.

So that tire worst case might apply 120 lbs of down force and zero lbs of up force out of a design load of 225 lbs. I don't think it will let go.

And if it does it is very unlikely to be catastrophic. I will just see some screws pulled loose. There are eight attachment flanges with 4 screws each that would have to fail including the top pair that bolt down to the top of the roof. I have now traveled almost 2,000 miles and have hit some horrible bumps and pot holes and nothing has happened.

Now lets look at the alternatives:

The best I saw was fitting a couple of cross members underneath and in front of the bumper. But that space is now filled with a mess of wiring. Maybe I could straighten it out and move it so it wasn't in the way but it doesn't look easy.

The other way is a bumper mounted spare tire carrier. Simple and easy unless you want to get to the aft hatch which we need to do to store camp chairs and a fire pit. That would mean unscrewing and removing the 60 lb tire every time we camp. Maybe there are tilt down hitch mounts that would work, but they would need to clear the hatch cover.

So I am willing to take the risk, watch the ladder attachments for failure, but I expect it to work out fine. So far it has. Oh and btw if it does fail, I will just install some wide mounting plates to distribute the load.

David

[Bob Denman]

You've obviously put a fair amount of thought into this, and I really do hope that you are 100% correct.
As for me: I sell insurance; so I see claims everywhere!

[Pete'sMH]

I really enjoy the diversity of ideas on this forum. This one is interesting. Personally I think it’s an absolutely terrible idea. Dangerous and somewhat silly looking. But that’s just me. Im glad the OP is happy (for his sake) and I hope he is correct (for my sake!) but I wouldn’t do it.

[halfprice]

I dont like this idea either but David make a good argument and sounds like he has knowledge way above mine. But I would add the backing plates now before seeing any damage and use high grade bolts to attach everything together

I could see a domino effect happen if a screw or 2 were to break

Jerry

[Pilobob]

I won’t climb on the ladder on my 29M I use a telescoping ladder and go up the side. I can’t imagine carrying the spare on the ladder with all the vibration from driving. One good pot hole and you’ve got big problems never mind it hitting he vehicle behind you. I did the hitch mounted roadmaster spare tire carrier a lot safer.

[vegas25.5]

Roadmaster Spare Tire Carrier.
Ford OEM wheel.
Matching OEM tire.
Tire cover.

Option to carry bottle jack and breaker bar in Vegas.

Have AAA so depending on situation, it may be a tow truck diver changing out a flat or myself.

Having the tire / wheel available was most important to us.