Mounting DRW spare tire on front hitch

hidden hitch has one... I addapted it slightly

been using it since 2003

with Reddog1s camper in back ground



Womens Grove... redwoods

homemade carrier on my homemade camper that I built in 1969... picture taken in 2000

tkcrawford wrote:
Short of custom fabrication, does anybody know of a commercially available tire carrier that will mount a dually spare tire on the front hitch? I've looked at several but none allow for the large backspace on dually rims.

Mount it with the dish facing out , like the outer rear wheel . The other side is almost flush with the tire .

Mount the deep side to the carrier... you could use all thread carrage bolts installed from the back of the carrier... use nuts as spacers they'll extend far enough to use lug nuts to hold the wheel in place.

I even made mine lockable.

sleepy

ticki2 wrote:

tkcrawford wrote:
Short of custom fabrication, does anybody know of a commercially available tire carrier that will mount a dually spare tire on the front hitch? I've looked at several but none allow for the large backspace on dually rims.

Mount it with the dish facing out , like the outer rear wheel . The other side is almost flush with the tire .

On the carrier I bought (the Reese 6715) the dish on the wheel is so deep that it can't even reach the mounting flange on the carrier if I try to mount the spare so that the tire is closer to the front of the truck. If I turn the tire around so that the flange on the wheel is against the flange on the carrier, the tire sticks out a really long ways in front of the truck. Too far to be safe.

tkcrawford wrote:

ticki2 wrote:

tkcrawford wrote:
Short of custom fabrication, does anybody know of a commercially available tire carrier that will mount a dually spare tire on the front hitch? I've looked at several but none allow for the large backspace on dually rims.

Mount it with the dish facing out , like the outer rear wheel . The other side is almost flush with the tire .

On the carrier I bought (the Reese 6715) the dish on the wheel is so deep that it can't even reach the mounting flange on the carrier if I try to mount the spare so that the tire is closer to the front of the truck. If I turn the tire around so that the flange on the wheel is against the flange on the carrier, the tire sticks out a really long ways in front of the truck. Too far to be safe.

Then you have a problem...

My tire sticks out just as you say... by design., I want to get as much air to the rediator as possible.

Experiment: cut a disk the size of your wheel and tire... mount it close to the grill... watch your engines temperature gauge. Compare it to an open grill.


Your last sentence... "too far to be safe" ... what is unsafe about having it sticking out? enough to allow air flow.

Sleepy

this might give you an idea how far in front...

... my wheels have 4 big holes in them that also catch air and funnel it toward the grill.

My truck and camper are 27' 6" long... including the spare.



(that is the Parthanon, in Nashville, Tn in the back ground)

With about $40 of metal you could fab one in about an hr

I bought one...

it is specifically designed to use the existing bolt holes for my exact truck... year and model

I didn't have to look for material (steel tubing and plate steel and go after it

I didn't have to cut each piece to an exact fit... then weld it up. After it is welded I'd have to drill holes in the exact places (which would require a carboard model fitted into a proper place. There is also some slots that would need to be cut in the plate to make the homemade carrier as versital as the one from hidden hitch or another company

After building a rack that isn't certified I'd still have to powder coat it.

And... I'd have to buy some grade 8 bolts 1/2" longer the the ones I'd have to remove from the cassie where the tow hooks are bolted in.

There is no way in this world that I'd do all of that to keep from spending a $100 on a truck and camper that are worth $100,000 or more.

Sleepy

Sleepy, just curious if you have ever had to use the spare tire?
i know better to have it and not need it, but I think if you maintain the correct air pressure and replace them when needed a failure is pretty rare.