I don't see the big deal with spares moounted underneath. My truck and Explorer have them. They don't require hardly any "crawling around underneath them." You insert a crank handle underneath the tailgate and crank away until the spare lowers to the ground. Then you kneel down, remove the cable and slide the tire out from underneath. No crawling involved. And if it's raining, you're gonna get wet the second you step outside the car, regardless of where the spare is.
Which "SUVs" have spares not mounted underneath?
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Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
G wagon. 5th wheel and tire mounted on the back, 3 locking diffs, full frame, hand built in Austria.
And looks like the world's most expensive toaster oven.
You could get that sweet 6x6 G-Wagon they had on Top Gear recently.
G wagon. 5th wheel and tire mounted on the back, 3 locking diffs, full frame, hand built in Austria.
And looks like the world's most expensive toaster oven.
You could get that sweet 6x6 G-Wagon they had on Top Gear recently.
Originally Posted By: exranger06
I don't see the big deal with spares moounted underneath. My truck and Explorer have them. They don't require hardly any "crawling around underneath them." You insert a crank handle underneath the tailgate and crank away until the spare lowers to the ground. Then you kneel down, remove the cable and slide the tire out from underneath. No crawling involved. And if it's raining, you're gonna get wet the second you step outside the car, regardless of where the spare is.
Unless you're 4 wheeling...then, invariably, the tire goes flat when the truck is in a bog, or the axle is in a rut, and that under frame mounted spare is completely inaccessible.
For a station wagon pretending to be a truck, sure, stick it under the frame...if you're heading into back country...better mount it where you can get at it...
I don't see the big deal with spares moounted underneath. My truck and Explorer have them. They don't require hardly any "crawling around underneath them." You insert a crank handle underneath the tailgate and crank away until the spare lowers to the ground. Then you kneel down, remove the cable and slide the tire out from underneath. No crawling involved. And if it's raining, you're gonna get wet the second you step outside the car, regardless of where the spare is.
Unless you're 4 wheeling...then, invariably, the tire goes flat when the truck is in a bog, or the axle is in a rut, and that under frame mounted spare is completely inaccessible.
For a station wagon pretending to be a truck, sure, stick it under the frame...if you're heading into back country...better mount it where you can get at it...
Originally Posted By: exranger06
I don't see the big deal with spares moounted underneath. My truck and Explorer have them. They don't require hardly any "crawling around underneath them." You insert a crank handle underneath the tailgate and crank away until the spare lowers to the ground. Then you kneel down, remove the cable and slide the tire out from underneath. No crawling involved. And if it's raining, you're gonna get wet the second you step outside the car, regardless of where the spare is.
I can understand how some would not find it a hassle. When one drives on normal hard top roads and towns all their life, it is not a big deal. I wouldn't worry about it either if that was my situation. Like I stated in my previous post, in just a couple of months after purchasing my brand new 2013 pickup, when I lowered the spare from underneath, it was layered in several inches of mud and gravel. I had to take a pressure washer to it. So it now rides in the cargo box. The wet doesn't bother me either, but with all that mud and gravel caked on the wheel, it adds another dimension to the issue. There are many folks who have similar situations as mine and having a underside spare storage is not very ideal.
I don't see the big deal with spares moounted underneath. My truck and Explorer have them. They don't require hardly any "crawling around underneath them." You insert a crank handle underneath the tailgate and crank away until the spare lowers to the ground. Then you kneel down, remove the cable and slide the tire out from underneath. No crawling involved. And if it's raining, you're gonna get wet the second you step outside the car, regardless of where the spare is.
I can understand how some would not find it a hassle. When one drives on normal hard top roads and towns all their life, it is not a big deal. I wouldn't worry about it either if that was my situation. Like I stated in my previous post, in just a couple of months after purchasing my brand new 2013 pickup, when I lowered the spare from underneath, it was layered in several inches of mud and gravel. I had to take a pressure washer to it. So it now rides in the cargo box. The wet doesn't bother me either, but with all that mud and gravel caked on the wheel, it adds another dimension to the issue. There are many folks who have similar situations as mine and having a underside spare storage is not very ideal.
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Originally Posted By: exranger06
I don't see the big deal with spares moounted underneath. My truck and Explorer have them. They don't require hardly any "crawling around underneath them." You insert a crank handle underneath the tailgate and crank away until the spare lowers to the ground. Then you kneel down, remove the cable and slide the tire out from underneath. No crawling involved. And if it's raining, you're gonna get wet the second you step outside the car, regardless of where the spare is.
Unless you're 4 wheeling...then, invariably, the tire goes flat when the truck is in a bog, or the axle is in a rut, and that under frame mounted spare is completely inaccessible.
For a station wagon pretending to be a truck, sure, stick it under the frame...if you're heading into back country...better mount it where you can get at it...
I guess that's why the Range Rover guys when they go safariing mount them on the roof racks!
I'm surprised more off road pickup guys don't do that, seems like a good place for them and keeps them out of the bed.
Originally Posted By: exranger06
I don't see the big deal with spares moounted underneath. My truck and Explorer have them. They don't require hardly any "crawling around underneath them." You insert a crank handle underneath the tailgate and crank away until the spare lowers to the ground. Then you kneel down, remove the cable and slide the tire out from underneath. No crawling involved. And if it's raining, you're gonna get wet the second you step outside the car, regardless of where the spare is.
Unless you're 4 wheeling...then, invariably, the tire goes flat when the truck is in a bog, or the axle is in a rut, and that under frame mounted spare is completely inaccessible.
For a station wagon pretending to be a truck, sure, stick it under the frame...if you're heading into back country...better mount it where you can get at it...
I guess that's why the Range Rover guys when they go safariing mount them on the roof racks!
I'm surprised more off road pickup guys don't do that, seems like a good place for them and keeps them out of the bed.
I was pretty harsh...sorry about the "station wagon" thing...but the truth is, for 95% of modern SUV buyers, the vehicle will never see real off road. It might see a few "soft roads"...I.e. Graded dirt/gravel, in which case the under frame set up is fine, because the surface is relatively flat and you can get at the spare.
Door mounted spares, or swing away mounts, cost more $$ and take away from cargo room, so most manufacturers have gone to under frame, in response to consumer preference.
Door mounted spares, or swing away mounts, cost more $$ and take away from cargo room, so most manufacturers have gone to under frame, in response to consumer preference.
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Customer response may be part of it, but it probably has more to with utilizing available space and freeing space somewhere else. Since most folks do not have to change tires on a recurring basis, it seems reasonable in Detroit to mount the spare underneath. Guess none of those engineers winter over in Michigan and deal with the salt, sand, dirt, etc. And it is a sure bet that none of them have ever seen farm country except in the movies. So for the small percentage of us, the spare under the vehicle is not ideal. But it was an easy solution for me with a pickup.... just throw it in the bed. For those with SUV's, the choices are limited.
Originally Posted By: datech
I am a big believer in the 12 v tire pumps. Good for adjusting air pressure when the seasons change or whenever a tire is low, as well as sometimes the quickest way to get underway from a flat.
Maybe one space saver and one full size spare would be enough. What would the chances of having two flats?
This thread has me looking at picking up a mini-compressor to stash in the trunk, have a C-H in the garage, but nothing for the road.
Also; had 2 flats on 2 diff tires within 2 hours of each other on my one car.
Bent my scissors jack changing out the first flat on what looked to be perfectly level parking lot.
The second flat happened about 800 yards away from the NTB that fixed the first flat...
Was telling the wife - again - that if she insists on one of those SUVs with the full-sized spare underneath - the spare stays inside the cargo area.
I am a big believer in the 12 v tire pumps. Good for adjusting air pressure when the seasons change or whenever a tire is low, as well as sometimes the quickest way to get underway from a flat.
Maybe one space saver and one full size spare would be enough. What would the chances of having two flats?
This thread has me looking at picking up a mini-compressor to stash in the trunk, have a C-H in the garage, but nothing for the road.
Also; had 2 flats on 2 diff tires within 2 hours of each other on my one car.
Bent my scissors jack changing out the first flat on what looked to be perfectly level parking lot.
The second flat happened about 800 yards away from the NTB that fixed the first flat...
Was telling the wife - again - that if she insists on one of those SUVs with the full-sized spare underneath - the spare stays inside the cargo area.
Originally Posted By: exranger06
I don't see the big deal with spares moounted underneath. My truck and Explorer have them. They don't require hardly any "crawling around underneath them." You insert a crank handle underneath the tailgate and crank away until the spare lowers to the ground. Then you kneel down, remove the cable and slide the tire out from underneath. No crawling involved. And if it's raining, you're gonna get wet the second you step outside the car, regardless of where the spare is.
Having done road service for a living, I dreaded under-vehicle spares. Invariably, unless the vehicle was basically new, they were STUCK. Many times, I couldn't budge the crank even with a cheater pipe on it! A couple times, instead of lowering, the mechanism simply broke. I took a couple off with a hammer.
I don't see the big deal with spares moounted underneath. My truck and Explorer have them. They don't require hardly any "crawling around underneath them." You insert a crank handle underneath the tailgate and crank away until the spare lowers to the ground. Then you kneel down, remove the cable and slide the tire out from underneath. No crawling involved. And if it's raining, you're gonna get wet the second you step outside the car, regardless of where the spare is.
Having done road service for a living, I dreaded under-vehicle spares. Invariably, unless the vehicle was basically new, they were STUCK. Many times, I couldn't budge the crank even with a cheater pipe on it! A couple times, instead of lowering, the mechanism simply broke. I took a couple off with a hammer.
Also - 12V air compressors are fine if all you pick up is a nail...
However, in the real off-road environment, you're not going to pick up a nail, you're going to have the sidewall ripped out by a hidden rock in the mud (happened to a tri-guard BFG, tough sidewalls...but a sharp rock) and NO air compressor is going to fix that one...time for a spare that you can reach, that isn't frozen with rust...give me a swing-away or rear-mounted, please.
However, in the real off-road environment, you're not going to pick up a nail, you're going to have the sidewall ripped out by a hidden rock in the mud (happened to a tri-guard BFG, tough sidewalls...but a sharp rock) and NO air compressor is going to fix that one...time for a spare that you can reach, that isn't frozen with rust...give me a swing-away or rear-mounted, please.
Update - thanks all for the replies! I was out-voted for a basic pickup truck so after looking at a lot of small-midsized sport-cutes, we ended up getting a Subaru Forester.
Oh well, least the spare is inside.
Thanks again!
Oh well, least the spare is inside.
Thanks again!
Quote:
Any Toyota RAV4 without a rear-mounted spare has the spare in an interior compartment covered by the floor mat. It's a pain to get at when the car is full of stuff, but at least it's clean.
Not quite correct.... There are some Sport Models that use run flat tires and have no spare whatsoever.
Any Toyota RAV4 without a rear-mounted spare has the spare in an interior compartment covered by the floor mat. It's a pain to get at when the car is full of stuff, but at least it's clean.
Not quite correct.... There are some Sport Models that use run flat tires and have no spare whatsoever.
Originally Posted By: supton
I wonder if they can go retro on pickups, and mold a spare into the side of the bed... Nah.
One of the reasons I have been eyeing a flat bed stake side to replace the box on my pickup. For my situation, the box is really more a PITA than it is really of much use. I could easily put a mount on a stake side or up front on the behind the cab frame to fit the spare. Sure, the box would be more stylish than a flat, but I am not trying to pick up chicks on Saturday night downtown.
I wonder if they can go retro on pickups, and mold a spare into the side of the bed... Nah.
One of the reasons I have been eyeing a flat bed stake side to replace the box on my pickup. For my situation, the box is really more a PITA than it is really of much use. I could easily put a mount on a stake side or up front on the behind the cab frame to fit the spare. Sure, the box would be more stylish than a flat, but I am not trying to pick up chicks on Saturday night downtown.
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