Spare Tire Mount..Rear Bumper Best Location?

[jimx200]

We have been leaving our spare tire (mounted on rim) at home but with a upcoming trip to Arizona, we want to carry it. Is the rear bumper the best place to mount it? If so, should it be mounted in the middle or off to the passenger side a bit? Any particular brand of mounting brackets recommended?

Our rig is a Class C, 1999 Shasta Sprite, 22' with the Ford Triton V10. Thanks much!

[Horizon170]

Double Post------sorry

[pnichols]

We have a 24 foot Itasca Class C on the Ford E450 chassis. Winnebago installed the spare up underneath between the frame rails in the rear just like where most pickup trucks carry their spare. IMHO, this is the 2nd best place for the spare on a Class C if it will fit there.

My 1st choice place for a Class C spare to be mounted would not be anywhere at the back, but on a spare tire rack mounted in the front. This helps keep the spare tire weight from unloading the front suspension - like it does if mounted at the back due to it's weight leveraging affect. Even though the spare doesn't "weigh that much", any lightening of the weight on the front suspension from stuff hanging off the rear is not advisable on a Class C due to it's negative effect on highway handling. Of course carrying the spare in the front not only doesn't unload the front suspension - it does just the opposite - it helps add a little more weight on the front.

Here's the 12-ton jack we carry in our Class C. Even though a 12-ton jack is a bit overkill on capacity, I bought this jack because it's a 2 stage jack, which gives it a long jacking-height capability. You never know what you might be faced with - such as lifting on soft ground, lifting on ground with ruts in it, having to lift on the frame instead of an axle or the springs, etc.:

https://www.amazon.com/Torin-T91208-Stage-Bottle-Jack/dp/B00028FB8Q

[Dusty_R]

Our square tube bumper on the last 2 mh has been made of aluminum.
You might consider a hydraulc jack with a remote pump. That's what I use and it sure is a lot nicer kneeling next to the mh pumping the jack than laying under the mh pump a jack.

Dusty

[wbwood]

You could always just get a hitch carrier of some type and chain (lock) down the spare on to it. Plus add other things to it.

[wbwood]

BruceMc wrote:


Yet, I've never had a flat on any of our RVs over the years. I am somewhat prepared, however, as I carry a small compressor and a tire puncture kit in the event I pick up a nail or screw. Still, I'd rather have a spare.....

The reason I went ahead and got with discount tire and got a spare tire and a used wheel. Sort of prepaid I guess. We carry roadside and I'm not going to even attempt to change the tire. We've found we have plenty of room in one of our storage bays to carry the spare. We do not full time and do no carry a whole lot of stuff in our bays. It's more or less seasonal type of stuff. If we go to the beach, then I put in some beach chairs and other beach type stuff. If we are going to the mountains, then I might change it up. I just don't like having to pull out a bunch of stuff to get one thing while camping.

[BruceMc]

I'm considering getting a spare for our Chevy based 24' Sunseeker as well. There is limited, but usable space under the tank where the spare is normally mounted.
If we do go with a bumper mount, I'd certainly build one so it attaches to the bumper mounting brackets & bolts on the frame rails, then when the spare is in place, it would rest on top of the bumper. The bracket would not use the square wall bumper as a mount.

It certainly would be a custom welding job, for sure. The simple, and perhaps more economical approach would be the receiver mount version.

Yet, I've never had a flat on any of our RVs over the years. I am somewhat prepared, however, as I carry a small compressor and a tire puncture kit in the event I pick up a nail or screw. Still, I'd rather have a spare.....

[TyroneandGladys]

My vote is for the receiver also. If you need the receiver for something else or you need front axle weight you can put a front mount receiver on your RV and mount the tire up front.

[Butch50]

I wouldn't mount one on the rear bumper with a typical mount but if you wanted to make one I would think if you made the bracket that held the tire come up in the front part of the bumper and make it tall enough that your tire would rest on the top of the bumper. This would take away from the leverage force that works on the type that hangs off the back of the bumper. I would also mount it as close as possible to the frame extension where the bumper is attached.

I had a spare tire mount on one of my small aluminum trailer on the side. The told me if they didn't support the underside of the trailer that it would ripe the mount right off the trailer because of the leverage. They mounted a small rounded piece of aluminum under the tire to support it and it worked great.

[j-d]

Oh, the Jack... A loaded Class C weighs 7 tons or less. About 4.5 on the rear, 2.5 on the front. So in theory a Four-Ton Bottle Jack would handle it, since we only lift one "corner" at a time. Problem is, we don't get to lift just a corner, since the jack ends up toward the center of the rear axle. And, we get a very poor angle at the jack under there. A Ten-Ton isn't all that common, but I happen to have one and it works pretty well. I bought it because I thought my Twelve-Ton had died. Since then I've used the Twelve on most of my work and I like it. With so much extra capacity, it lets me pump it at odd angles with a shorter handle. This is a Twelve-Ton Low Profile Jack.
Twenty-Ton would be still easier, but remember the jack has to fit under the axle with a FLAT tire, and Twenties are pretty tall. Also pretty heavy to position under the coach.
In addition to the jack, we carry a "four-way" wrench for truck wheels, a jack stand, and a thick plywood square to support jack and stand on soft ground.
You may not want to actually change a flat, but for many of us it makes sense to be equipped to be able to do it.

[j-d]

wbwood wrote:
Check with the manufacturer of the bumper mount device you are thinking of. I contacted one of them and they said it was only for trailer size tires.Not for motorhome tires...would it work? maybe...but I wouldn't risk it. We carry our spare in a compartment.

This makes a lot of sense. Our mount is plenty strong in itself, but the mfr may have been aware that a heavy spare would transfer too much strain to the tubular steel bumper.
Y'all have motivated me. I think I will try to see if there's a way to tie the spare tire mount into the actual bumper mounting brackets, therefore to the end of the frame rail. Somebody equipped to weld or fabricate could easily do that but I left that behind the last time we moved. If I figure something out I'll post it here. It'll be awhile...

[wbwood]

jimx200 wrote:
We have been leaving our spare tire (mounted on rim) at home but with a upcoming trip to Arizona, we want to carry it. Is the rear bumper the best place to mount it? If so, should it be mounted in the middle or off to the passenger side a bit? Any particular brand of mounting brackets recommended?

Our rig is a Class C, 1999 Shasta Sprite, 22' with the Ford Triton V10. Thanks much!

Check with the manufacturer of the bumper mount device you are thinking of. I contacted one of them and they said it was only for trailer size tires.Not for motorhome tires...would it work? maybe...but I wouldn't risk it. We carry our spare in a compartment.

[Horizon170]

IAMICHABOD wrote:
As noted the rear bumper may not be the best choice,although some RVs have them.

To be safe I would suggest mounting the spare using the receiver.

Here are some examples

Absolutely, the receiver hitch is the way to go without worry that the bumper will break.
If the right adapter is selected you can use it for towing and carry the spare at the same time.
Marvin

[DrewE]

If you're looking for a jack to use when changing a tire, keep looking. That one is completely unsuited to that use. I have and use a bottle jack for tire maintenance and similar work; getting one that's somewhat higher capacity than the weight you would need to lift (which would basically be one half of the rear axle capacity) is wise because it adds a margin for safety and it makes it less effort to operate the jack--which one has to do at rather awkward angles due to the location of the jack points.

That jack would probably be fine for stabilizing a travel trailer. It might work as a stabilizer jack for your motorhome, but I suspect you'd need to have a bunch of blocking underneath it much of the time. It is too light duty and has entirely the wrong sort of mounting plate at the top for tire changing and general maintenance duty.

[jimx200]

Thanks for all the great reply's! The under carriage mount makes sense, but really not enough room under there. I think the rear carry hitch mount makes the most sense although I'm going to see if there is enough room under the rear bed to store it.

Another question: can anyone recommend a good jack? Harbor Freight shows a few and like some thoughts on this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/floor-jacks/2-1-2-half-ton-trailer-stabilizer-jack-96406.html

[crasster]

If you have a mount under the vehicle with the cable, go with that. Otherwise you need a super secure back bumper mount. And by this I mean re-enforced if you are using the square tube type.