Forum Discussion

mikeinaz's avatar
mikeinaz
Explorer
Sep 03, 2014

Where should I mount the spare tire

I just purchased a Starcraft 26bhs this week and am having a receiver mounted on the back bumper for my bike rack, along w/ the bumper being reinforced. Its the same setup I had on the camper I just traded in. On that one I had them mount the spare under the tongue. On this TT since its a tad heavier than my old one by about 800lbs, I am getting close to max payload capacity judging by the dry hitch weight (around 550lbs)and what we carry w/ us (total weight how it sits now is 5200lbs). Would adding the spare on this tongue be a major issue or would it be better to mount it underneath or towards the rear? I do run a WDH so I am thinking although you may add 50lbs to the tongue, 1/3 of that is transfered back to the tt wheels once the wdh is adjusted, correct?

Since I will have a lot more storage in the front of this unit as well as at the back in the lower storage compartments, I will be able to shift and play w/ the load a bit to fine tune it and get the 12% or so I need in total weight over the tongue. I wont know till I get it on a scale but I need to get the spare mounted before I pick it up Friday. Based off of this limited info, what are your thoughts? This TT has the arctic package on it so I dont think there are many options underneath of it but have not looked too hard yet either. Thanks!!
  • I really like it too and want to get one. They have several versions and model 28218 is for I-beam frames with an enclosed underbelly. Funny thing about this product is that not many RV vendors are selling it, but BAL products are otherwise available all over the place.

    We were on a Washington State ferry last summer and got dinged an extra fare for being about 3" over the incremental length/rate. On the return trip, I took the spare tire off and saved $5-10. It won't take many trips on that ferry to pay for the hide-a-spare.

    DutchmenSport wrote:
    myredracer wrote:
    BAL Hide-a-spare

    Under $150 incl. shipping here: ...


    Now THAT is definitely one of the best things I've seen in quite a while! Unfortunately, the underbelly of my camper is closed in, so the tire would not fit up between the frames. Hanging upside down from those bars it would, but not right side up.