Is it a good idea to go offroad with the spare tire stashed in its defualt location underneath the vehicle?

Depends on the terrain. There are 2 hazards:
1) cutting the tire by dragging it on something
2) not being able to lower the tire when needed due to the vehicle being too low to the ground between the terrain and the flat tire.

For casual 'wheeling, I leave it under, but when things get interesting, it goes on the roof or in back.

Brent

Cal-Mini is currently working on a cure for this problem. It is going to be somewhat expensive, but if you off-road seriously it looks to me like it will be worth it. So much so that I am on the waiting list as soon as they roll out of production. Of course it helps when some other slob trashes your bumper so they can buy you a new one. :)

A racheted tie down strap can hold your spare in place in the rear cargo space while offroading. For the most part it's not a problem with the stock tires. As you go to larger/wider tires more hangs down in the rear and you get exposed to possible damage, or hanging on the tire.

p.s. welcome to the board.

I tore of two wheel weights at GOX having my 31" swamper spare stored underneath! No damage to the rim but a healthy scuff on the tire. Need to get that fixed before the 20th of October!

RRD,

WOW! What is amazing is you didn't damage the rim on that one! I have drug my rim so many times it is embarrassing. I can't wait to get it out from underneath the truck. I feel like a dad waiting for a new baby! :)

I've opted to wait on buying one of the pricey kargomaster racks as other mods that will actually improve the offroadability of the truck are more pressing (read Air Locker). However, I am interested in storing the spare tire on the roof. For those of you without racks, how do you secure your spare topside? Thanks

I just slide the crossbars together so the sidewall sits on 'em then tie it down with a heavy-duty ratchet strap (motorcycle tie-down). I've had some problem with it shifting on the trail and slipping off one of the rails and down onto the roof, but someone recently suggested the rubber waffle-style toolbox liner you buy in a roll at Home Depot in the Tool Corral to wrap around the crossbar to provide anti-slip. Sounds like my solution.

Brent

I have the Surco rack and thinking I might need to order the spare tire carrier for it. Just don't like the thought of hefting that 64 lb Swamper up their! But hey, everyone else is doing it.....

Originally posted by rrdstarr
I have the Surco rack and thinking I might need to order the spare tire carrier for it. Just don't like the thought of hefting that 64 lb Swamper up their! But hey, everyone else is doing it.....


yes, but can you imagine driving on your swamper with no wheel weights??? yikes!!!

what surco rack do you have have i just got the 45" by 60" alum got it for $25 at a local salvage store bran new still in box i put a metal bottom in it

Originally posted by x2see
what surco rack do you have have i just got the 45" by 60" alum got it for $25 at a local salvage store bran new still in box i put a metal bottom in it

you got a roof rack for $25? Bastard!!! :bloated:

sorry thay get them some times i will keep a eye out fore more the have two westin safari bars right now for the x and thay fit some other trucks i can get them for $40 each

Most everybody runs ARB for front bumpers here! The guards (any of them) will drag and bend when you are out doing serious four wheeling!

My surco rack is the smallest one and I purchased it from Overlander.com. It is 45" X 50" and weighs only 28 lbs! Getting you rack from the junkyard is a good deal! You'll have to get the Xterra specific mounts for $40.00

http://www.overlander.com/pages_racks/roofrack_fr.tpl?cart=30838683322383558

Its not a junkyard its a store thay get most of their stuff from jcwhitneyThe only thang those bars are for is to hold some lights for people that dont go off road. I am going to get the tjm t17

I tied my spare to the roofrack before our last trip to Mt St Helens...drove my fiancee to work and forgot I had it on the roof...hit a water pipe in the underground garage and had to make a hasty red eared retreat !!!!.

I like the spare on the roof and are looking for the most economical "basket solution" any ideas???


Claus:flash:

The cheapest way is to strap the spare to the roof. Move the crossbars close enough together so that the sidewalls rest on the crossbars, then use atleast 2 rachet straps and crank it down tight. Keep an eye on the straps one of mine just wore out and broke.

A friend of mine has the small basket from Nissan, he had to cut part of it to fit the spare in, but it does give him a floor for the spare and a better way to secure it. Cost about 100.

I keep mine here.

Claus,

You should look at my Surco rack! It was only $164.00 plus $39.00 for the Xterra mounts, from Overlander.com. Most racks start at $250 and go up from there!!!

Originally posted by rrdstarr
Claus,

You should look at my Surco rack! It was only $164.00 plus $39.00 for the Xterra mounts, from Overlander.com. Most racks start at $250 and go up from there!!!

Of course that won't keep him from running the tire into parking garage pipes! :rolleyes:

Help...I'm at work and just surfing because I don't want to fight the traffic! Nobody's here but me! I did get Joe's crossbar cut and turned the Delrin into an L shape. I'll try and sand it to get the final desired shape and size. Ok, I'm going to try and leave now...I'm getting hungry!!!

Hey Goliath! Easy on the JPEG compression. :D Your pictues are pretty blocky. Just keep 'em under 70k (55k for a 640x480 image is plenty compression).

Originally posted by rrdstarr
Claus,

You should look at my Surco rack! It was only $164.00 plus $39.00 for the Xterra mounts, from Overlander.com. Most racks start at $250 and go up from there!!!

I would love to but you have decided to become a hermit for the weekend !!!!!!!......Come on you and Chuck can mount lights another day ...time for play !


Claus

Let me talk to ChuckH and see if he'd like to go? You know that none of have winches? So no big mud holes!

Would take the original route planned for the Canada Weekend !...even a trip to the hotsprings !

I know Chuck would not pass a good Canadian Weekend up !



Claus

I can't wait! I might bring my roommates along too. We'll be doing some camping too, I presume. I hope the weather improves. Don't know what it's like in Canada right now, but it's raining in Seattle! :eek:

Oh, and thanks Chuck! Stopped by his work and reinstalled the crossbar. He even re-painted it for me after cutting it!

The more the merrier. Scott V (XOC member ) is coming too he is a 4x4 virgin but wants to get out there....

Rick and (Chuck?) are not coming. Bring your roomates !

The weather forecast is cloudy with a chance of rain...bring tarps as we are camping in a wooded area.

What time can you make it up?. We need to pick up your rims before we head out. expect 1hour at the border northbound

Claus

:( Sorry Schuld!!!!! I figured it was good enough so people could get the idea. Us dialup guys have been conditioned to only upload pictures with small file sizes, but if 55K is cool with you then its cool with me!:D

For all you cable and DSL guys who don't have to worry about file size, what can I say but :flipa:

Originally posted by Schludwiller
Hey Goliath! Easy on the JPEG compression. :D Your pictues are pretty blocky. Just keep 'em under 70k (55k for a 640x480 image is plenty compression).

Downloading at minimum 315kbs on my cable connection allows me to say the following:

:finger: fight back at ya SUCKA.......


:alien:

I'm assuming you mean :bloated: 'RIGHT':bloated: back at ya sucka?

:bonghitte

Originally posted by Xlax


Downloading at minimum 315kbs on my cable connection allows me to say the following:

:finger: fight back at ya SUCKA.......


:alien:

No,

Fight back at ya is the term we use in Canada.......OK so I phucked up...pie in my face:p

Originally posted by Goliath the X


For all you cable and DSL guys who don't have to worry about file size, what can I say but :flipa:



I think I have a modem in my P-90. I'll see if I can dig that up to see what all the bitchin' is about. :evillaugh

What's a modem? :confused: :sun:

Originally posted by Goliath the X
The cheapest way is to strap the spare to the roof. Move the crossbars close enough together so that the sidewalls rest on the crossbars, then use atleast 2 rachet straps and crank it down tight. Keep an eye on the straps one of mine just wore out and broke.

I keep mine here.


That's sort of where I kept mine, but unfortunately my Swamper spare is too large (32.7" in diameter) to stay there safely, so I had to move it farther forward and that meant I had to put one of the rear seats down. That was fine until my daughter was born (I'm not taking the chance of the ceiling tie down failing and the tire falling on her). So I just put it in the back, but with the hi-lift jack mounted PNWX style, I can't get the tire to lay stable enough to not drive me nuts when 4wheeling. Now the spare is on the roof killing any hopes of getting reasonably good (16 mpg) gas mileage. I mount it like you have it mounted when off-roading.