Harbor Freight 500lb. cargo carrier for a spare tire?

[TippleUnduly]

Just noticed that Harbor Freight has its 500lb. aluminum cargo carrier on sale at $69.99. The posted reviews were very favorable.

I guess you can use their 20% off coupon, too, further reducing it to $56 or so. My question is - Has anyone used this carrier to haul a spare tire? If so, did it work well for you?

Thinking about our 3rd Alaska trip and would like to carry an unmounted 16" spare tire.

Thanks much

[wbwood]

rmasonschneider wrote:

TippleUnduly wrote:
Just noticed that Harbor Freight has its 500lb. aluminum cargo carrier on sale at $69.99. The posted reviews were very favorable.

I guess you can use their 20% off coupon, too, further reducing it to $56 or so. My question is - Has anyone used this carrier to haul a spare tire? If so, did it work well for you?

Thinking about our 3rd Alaska trip and would like to carry an unmounted 16" spare tire.

Thanks much

I have one and I like it. it was $79 and assembled in 10 minutes. I use it to carry a 60 gallon storage box on it with cast iron cookware extra fuel, wood etc. used it over a year, no issues. I will say though that you will need to find a way to keep it from wobbling a bit.

I have a unopened one in the shed, pm me if interested.

quiet hitch

[rmasonschneider]

TippleUnduly wrote:
Just noticed that Harbor Freight has its 500lb. aluminum cargo carrier on sale at $69.99. The posted reviews were very favorable.

I guess you can use their 20% off coupon, too, further reducing it to $56 or so. My question is - Has anyone used this carrier to haul a spare tire? If so, did it work well for you?

Thinking about our 3rd Alaska trip and would like to carry an unmounted 16" spare tire.

Thanks much

I have one and I like it. it was $79 and assembled in 10 minutes. I use it to carry a 60 gallon storage box on it with cast iron cookware extra fuel, wood etc. used it over a year, no issues. I will say though that you will need to find a way to keep it from wobbling a bit.

I have a unopened one in the shed, pm me if interested.

[wbwood]

The Logans wrote:
This is depressing news!

Somebody out there must make an affordable swing-away receiver hitch tire carriers for motorhomes! I know that there is one in the 800.00 to 900.00 dollar range, but that is WAY out of the budget. My wheel and tire are about 80 pounds and have a 8 lug pattern... I'll keep looking. Maybe something custom made by a welder?

Like I said, I just removed a grill that was really larger than what we needed from a storage bay and put the spare tire in it. Before that, I would put it in the back of our toad. But would need to remove it when we would use the car because there were 3 of us and I had to lay the back seat down for the tire.

[DaHose]

If you just can't find what you want then I suggest the following.

Buy something like the bicycle rack linked below, which is rated to 120 lbs.

bike rack link

Then cut the end off at the curve so that it is just a post sticking straight up. Get some 1/4" plate and drill/bolt up something in the shape of an H (or just a big square) so that you can bolt the wheel to it and it will hold solid. Finish by getting a thick piece of pipe that you can slip inside the bike rack post and bolt it in. Then attach the H to the piece sticking up with a couple bolts.

Alternately, you could buy the rack and ask a local shop to weld up something that will hold the wheel on. Figure the shop will charge a couple hours labor and materials. Total cost with the rack would probably be around $400, but you now have exactly what you wanted. They might even be able to make the wheel mount rotate so its easier to mount the tire back on there.

Jose

[The_Logans]

This is depressing news!

Somebody out there must make an affordable swing-away receiver hitch tire carriers for motorhomes! I know that there is one in the 800.00 to 900.00 dollar range, but that is WAY out of the budget. My wheel and tire are about 80 pounds and have a 8 lug pattern... I'll keep looking. Maybe something custom made by a welder?

[wbwood]

More bad news...I emailed Curt Mfg about their spare tire carrier that some are using. I asked what the weight limit was. The response I got was...

Brian, this carrier is designed for a car or light truck wheel and tire, not a class C wheel and tire.

Thank you,

Brad Howell
Technical Service Associate

With that said, I pulled out the big coleman roadside grill I had stored in one of my storage bays and put my tire in it's place. I put the spare tire to my tow dolly on top it. That's where it's gonna ride for a while.... Gonna get a better and smaller grill that will still fit in the bay and use the coleman at home....next to the Weber Baby Q that I bought for the TT 5 years ago...lol

[wbwood]

Sent another email and here is the response I just got...

Brian,
I am sorry but no this tire carrier is not heavy duty enough to handle the class C Tires. The rim has the deep off set for one thing and it is too heavy to boot. Would not want the thing to fall off going down the road.

Thank you
Have a Blessed Day

Randy Clay
Ultra-Fab Products
57985 State Rd. 19 South
Elkhart, IN 46517
574-294-7571

I did ask them to consider constructing something for us Class C owners. Perhaps others can email him randy@ultra-fab.com and also ask him to do the same....

[wbwood]

Dakota98 wrote:

wbwood wrote:

Dakota98 wrote:
TippleUnduly,

This mount does not swing out, but it does swing down. I have one & it works well.

ULTRA-FAB $33.00 Amazon

I also have the Harbor Freight 500# cargo carrier & it's been working fine.

I contacted ultrafab about that carrier and using it on a motorhome.. They said it's made for trailers and not recommended for motorhomes.

Just curious, but did they give any reason as to why ?

They just said it was for trailers and not motorhomes...More or less they won't stand behind it if you use it otherwise...I was going to get it myself, but thought I would contact them and see...If the company says no, then so will I.... I'm thinking it had to do with the weight of the wheel/tire... I just emailed them again to see what they say. Their website does say "universal RV" on it...perhaps the person before didn't understand my question or did not know... let's hope because this would solve some issues for me...

Just read on etrailer that the weight capacity is 70lbs for it....can't remember what the wheel and tire weigh...

[Dakota98]

wbwood wrote:

Dakota98 wrote:
TippleUnduly,

This mount does not swing out, but it does swing down. I have one & it works well.

ULTRA-FAB $33.00 Amazon

I also have the Harbor Freight 500# cargo carrier & it's been working fine.

I contacted ultrafab about that carrier and using it on a motorhome.. They said it's made for trailers and not recommended for motorhomes.

Just curious, but did they give any reason as to why ?

[wbwood]

Dakota98 wrote:
TippleUnduly,

This mount does not swing out, but it does swing down. I have one & it works well.

ULTRA-FAB $33.00 Amazon

I also have the Harbor Freight 500# cargo carrier & it's been working fine.

I contacted ultrafab about that carrier and using it on a motorhome.. They said it's made for trailers and not recommended for motorhomes.

[TippleUnduly]

Thanks for all your helpful replies! My plan to carry a not-mounted spare is due to the fact that I doubt at age 80 I'd be able to change the thing myself. Any decent road service should be able to change the tire (he hopes) ...but if not, at least I won't have to wait several days for a replacement. I have all the nec. hitch components and my B+ bumper is not the sewer storage type, so those adapters, etc. will not help. Next stop is Harbor Freight to check out their variety.

[DaHose]

I have the steel version of the rack and it hauls all sorts of stuff. Had it loaded with tables, bicycles, grills and chairs. Probably just 200 lbs. worth of stuff altogether, but the carrier felt solid and I was standing on it while pulling some rope tight.

Jose

[klutchdust]

Dakzuki wrote:
Cargo carriers in that price range tend to be of iffy construction. I bought one and promptly took it back. I have a Rola carrier of similar capacity and it's built like a tank. It also cost more.

Rola Carrier

Not necessarily. I purchased a HF trailer to pull behind my ATV in the desert. I loaded it with rock, wood, junk of

all kinds and it held up well. Had it for 5 years then sold it to another man. I checked all the welds before purchasing and

all the time I owned it. Being a welder myself, i couldn't build one for what I paid for that one. I looked at their racks also,

I see nothing wrong with them.

[Golden_HVAC]

This is a pintle tow hitch mount, and has 8 holes in it for $40.

http://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/MaxxTow/MT70038.html

This combined with a front hitch might solve your problem to carry a mounted tire on the front of a vehicle. You might need to have another flat plate of steel or aluminum bolted onto this thing to support some of the 8 lug nuts. You can carry a 16" rim with only 2 bolts, but I would recommend 3. At 6,000 pounds, it can certainly carry the weight. . .

Have fun in Alaska!

Fred.