Is your spare tire mounted on little tee nuts? Check it out

[profdant139]

My trailer’s spare tire mount is on the back wall of the trailer. I was thinking about mounting a small one-gallon gas can (for my generator) on top of the spare. (That project will be described in a separate post, coming soon.) But before I began the gas can project, I took a good hard look at the spare tire mount.

I removed the spare and realized that all four of the bolts holding the mount onto the back wall were a little loose – yikes! Worse yet, when I tried to tighten them, they did not tighten.

It turns out that the tee nuts inside the back wall of the trailer were rotating as I tried to tighten the bolts – the little prongs anchoring the tee nuts had bent.

Clearly, the tee nuts were not adequate for the load of the spare tire, especially given the vibration and shock caused by the spare tire on rough roads. This is what the tee nuts looked like – tiny and inadequate:


Click For Full-Size Image.

So instead of the original quarter inch steel bolts, I put in 3/8 inch stainless steel bolts. Instead of tee nuts, I added a thick piece of steel bar and used heavy duty lock washers and nuts:


Click For Full-Size Image.

Now the load will be distributed over a wider area of the back wall, reducing the “force per square inch” caused by the weight and vibration of the spare tire. And you can bet that I will check these bolts and nuts every so often, just to make darn sure that everything is secure.

[profdant139]

Interesting! But I have a gas can with a no-drip spout that really, really works. (California mandates these, and for once the regulators have gotten something right.) . It is a one gallon red plastic thing with a strong spring loaded spout. So that is why I am working on a gas can mount that sits securely on top of the tire.

As promised, I will post this project, but not for a couple of weeks -- family obligations are getting in the way of garage time. Sigh.

[JoeH]

profdant139 wrote:
My trailer’s spare tire mount is on the back wall of the trailer. I was thinking about mounting a small one-gallon gas can (for my generator) on top of the spare. (That project will be described in a separate post, coming soon.) But before I began the gas can project, I took a good hard look at the spare tire mount.

I removed the spare and realized that all four of the bolts holding the mount onto the back wall were a little loose – yikes! Worse yet, when I tried to tighten them, they did not tighten.

It turns out that the tee nuts inside the back wall of the trailer were rotating as I tried to tighten the bolts – the little prongs anchoring the tee nuts had bent.

Clearly, the tee nuts were not adequate for the load of the spare tire, especially given the vibration and shock caused by the spare tire on rough roads. This is what the tee nuts looked like – tiny and inadequate:


So instead of the original quarter inch steel bolts, I put in 3/8 inch stainless steel bolts. Instead of tee nuts, I added a thick piece of steel bar and used heavy duty lock washers and nuts:



Now the load will be distributed over a wider area of the back wall, reducing the “force per square inch” caused by the weight and vibration of the spare tire. And you can bet that I will check these bolts and nuts every so often, just to make darn sure that everything is secure.

They used to make a round gas can that would fit inside the spare tire, might want to consider that.

[profdant139]

Actually, the stuff I used is not silicone -- it is called Lexel:

Lexel

I put quite a bit of it into the bolt holes and also behind the spare tire mount. I have used it in other "through the wall" holes, with good results.

[richclover]

mobeewan wrote:
Great way for water to get into the wall.

I like the OP’s fix. A little silicone seal around the bolts...

[mobeewan]

Great way for water to get into the wall.

[profdant139]

If my trailer had a pass-through, that would be a great place for the spare. This trailer is so small that I have to go outside to change my mind! The box is not quite 12 feet long and 7 feet wide. (No kidding.)

[SoundGuy]

DutchmenSport wrote:
We each do it our own way, but I removed my spare tire from my previous travel trailer bumper mounts and carried them in the back of the pick-up truck bed and kept the weight off the bumper.

I've always moved the spare tire to that part of the front pass through storage compartment I'm least likely to use for other stuff - the centre area - and used the wheel well for storing extra main service cables and fresh water hoses. Works well, keeps the spare out of the elements entirely, and puts more weight where it belongs at the front of the trailer rather than the rear. :B

[profdant139]

Oh, and one more thing -- the reinforced tire support will also support my new gas can rack! I will report on that project in about a week or so, depending on whether I am authorized by my Supervisor (DW) to spend some uninterrupted time in my garage. 😉

So that is another reason to favor keeping the tire on the back wall.

[profdant139]

I, too, am leery of leaving it all on the back wall, but there are not a lot of other choices on such a tiny trailer. The tongue is at capacity. I suppose I could carry the trailer's spare in the bed of the truck, but I would lose a lot of cargo space that is already in use.

Or I could mount it under the trailer -- very hard to get to, and it would impair my clearance.

I have seen folks with roof racks on their trucks with spare tires up top -- that would raise the center of gravity a lot.

Since the spare and the back wall have already survived six years of traveling (much of it off-road), with the original poor hardware, I am hoping that my upgrade will keep the winning streak alive.

Life is a series of compromises, unfortunately.

[Tachdriver]

Nice catch and repair!

[bob213]

That's a good repair. Your profile says "modified for off road". I think I would find a new location for your spare. I would hate to see that entire back wall crumble or crack from one big jolt. Maybe I'm just too cautious.

[nineoaks2004]

Looks good and should hold a lot better than the junk they had installed to mount it.

[DutchmenSport]

I went out to YouTube and pulled up a couple videos on your camper to help understand how that tire is mounted to your camper. When I saw the videos I undrstood .... yikes! I thought mounting spare tires on bumper was daunting, but seeing yours is just hanging on the wall, dangling with no other support .... yikes!

We each do it our own way, but I removed my spare tire from my previous travel trailer bumper mounts and carried them in the back of the pick-up truck bed and kept the weight off the bumper. I did this with all 3 of my different travel trailers.

But your's looks even weaker than that. Nice fix you did there. Hopefully this will work well for you. Yes, check often.