Spare Tire Mount..Rear Bumper Best Location?

Tyrone,

I've checked out that front hitch link, before, that you show above.

They don't seem to show any model for the Ford E-Series chassis. I guess that their closest listing would be for the Ford F-Series trucks? I wonder if the the F-Series have the same front end frame and bumper configuration as the E-Series for any given model year?

fourthclassC wrote:
All interesting discussions. 2003 Winnebago Mini 24V here. Spare is mounded underneath between frame rails with bolt on bracket. Nightmare to lower if I ever had to on the side of road. Always carry moving blanket because you can not access it unless you are lying underneath vehicle. I agree that on square bumper is not strong enough. Might be ok if the tire mount was directly on the frame extension where it connects to the square bumper but not ideal. Now you all got me thinking a front mount would be better. Has any one seen a front bumper mount available?

Mine mounts under the frame, but there's a cable hoist system with a sort of hex head under a cover on the sidewall. To lower it, one only has to put an appropriate sized socket on the shaft and turn it many turns with a ratchet or whatever. (A cordless drill is very handy for that part.) Actually getting the spare out from underneath the vehicle does, of course, involve some amount of crawling around.

DrewE wrote:
Mine mounts under the frame, but there's a cable hoist system with a sort of hex head under a cover on the sidewall. To lower it, one only has to put an appropriate sized socket on the shaft and turn it many turns with a ratchet or whatever. (A cordless drill is very handy for that part.) Actually getting the spare out from underneath the vehicle does, of course, involve some amount of crawling around.

Hmmm ... that excellent spare tire storage and access system is just like the one that came stock on my GMC pickup.

I sure wish our motorhome's Ford E450 used that cable lower/hoist system for it's existing spare tire under-carriage rear storage area!!!

Does anyone offer a retrofit kit to convert my E450's spare tire storage into that kind of scheme? (It should not take rocket science to offer an after-market kit to do this.)

We had a 24' '03 Itasca on an'02 E-350.
I used a rope and pulley that deer hunters carry to hang their deer to dress out, to lower and raise the spare tire that is mounted between the frame rails.

On a front mounted hitch. I got one off the internet for the front of that '02 E-350, to carry our bicycles. Then moved it to our '15 E-450. So they are available.

Dusty

Just Google '16 E-450 front hitch.

pnichols wrote:

Hmmm ... that excellent spare tire storage and access system is just like the one that came stock on my GMC pickup.

I sure wish our motorhome's Ford E450 used that cable lower/hoist system for it's existing spare tire under-carriage rear storage area!!!

Does anyone offer a retrofit kit to convert my E450's spare tire storage into that kind of scheme? (It should not take rocket science to offer an after-market kit to do this.)

This Guy
seems to have done it.

IAMICHABOD, thanks for the link. That guy did a great job!

What's the big deal with Ford providing this kind of setup, stock?

When I have to get at the spare underneath the rear of our E450, that heavy LR E tire comes down easy and fast (via gravity). Putting it back is the problem (via my muscles pushing up at weird angles). Probably if I had to change a flat on my own, after mounting the spare I'd just throw the bad tire inside the coach on the floor, take it to a repair shop, and have their guys lift the repaired tire back up underneath into the spare tire mounting rack between the frame rails.