Where do I put my spare wheel?

[Harold]

Advice on where to put the spare wheel.
I have acquired a bakkie-mate to replace our roof-top tent that has been in service for the past 15 years. The bakkie-mate was one of the early models made in the late seventies.
Originally owned by a doctor who travelled the greater part of South Africa with it. After he died it has stood in garage for the 8 years till the family finally decided to sell it. It fitted perfectly on his Isuzu bakkie but on my single cab Toyota there is a 275mm gap at the front of the load bin; not a problem as it provides adequate space for water and other camping paraphernalia.

But main concern is where do I put the spare wheel? The only two options available are, mounted on the side of the load bin but that would mean the overall width of the vehicle would be 2.3m.
The 2nd option is in front of the engine. My existing bull-bar could easily accommodate this.
I believe the air flow into the engine would not be reduced to a critical level.

So, what do you think?

[FIRSTGEER]

Howzit going Harrold.I recall chatting to you a year or two ago whilst I was still busy with my hilux camper project.
After looking at your new camper and from what I can see,I suggest you consider mounting the spare wheel on the front panel of the camper,above the vehicle's roof.You can also fit a small platform over the cab onto which extra items can be carried and also can serve as a platform for easy access to the spare wheel ?

[rigardt]

why not put it on the side of the vehicle under the camper ? where the camper over hangs on the load bin. it wont increase the width of the vehicle or camper. lots of wasted storage space there. or ...... you can mount it on the bonnet like the land rover guys do !!

[FIRSTGEER]

Sorry I never noticed the bin covers the roof .My mistake

[moagi]

Hi, a bit off topic, but would mind sharing pictures of the camper interior?
Anyway, i would suggest the side of your bakkie, underneath the camper? Or on your bonnet, i think your hliux would look bad a$$!

[Harold]

Hi, a bit off topic, but would mind sharing pictures of the camper interior?

Will post pictures when I finish with it: main tasks are redoing all the inside wiring with the necessary fuses as there were none, also replacing neon with LED. All body old body seals must be stripped out of the seams and redone.
The internal layout will remain as is. I am amazed how spacious the interior is.

Harold

[FIRSTGEER]

Good luck Harrold,can't wait to see the finnished camper.

[Haboob]

Hi Harold,
What is wrong with the space under the loadbin where the normal spare wheel is normally fitted or do you want space for a second spare?
The only other option I see is on the back of the camper, but for this you would need to build a lot of re-enforcing to the body or chassis of the vehicle, as re-enforcing to the body of the camper alone, would probably not be sufficient to carry the weight of the spare on rough roads and would probably destroy that part of the camper.
A bit of the spare may still stick past the side of the camper, but this should only be a very small piece. I would suggest that it gets mounted on the left back, above shoulder height, which would limit accident damage from vehicles and pedestrians alike.
Also be aware that the spare being further back than the normal chassis length of the vehicle will compound the weight effect of the wheel and strength of the support that would be used, needed to keep it there safely.
Good luck with your project and safe travels...

[JohanM]

Hi Harold,

looking at the setup, I would be very tempted to try and see if with a fair amount of small mods and supports made, to try and alter te camper slightly and fit 2x spare wheels behind the cab underneath the luton that extends over the cab. The walls might need a bit of cutting but it will not be enough to weaken the structure significantly at that point and it will aid weight distribution a lot. Lifting the tyres can easily be done with a small but assisted bracket similar to the fridge slides.

Some food for thought.