Spare Tire Carrier (Again)

[bentriderken]

From what I have been able to gather from previous discussions on this subject, there are the following alternatives: 1. leave the spare where it is and sacrifice under the floor storage, 2. buy a cheap carrier and risk damage to the rear door, 3. buy a carrier from Amuminess for big $$$, or, 4. get a receiver for the front and mount the spare on it.

This last option sounds interesting. It would cost me about $300 for a very sturdy mount which would not impede the rear doors at all. The only disadvantages I can think of are looks and possible interference with cooling. (I don't have and will never have a winch so that will not be a problem)

Does anyone have any knowledge of any problems with cooling or any other disadvantage that I have not thought of?

Thanks,

Soon to have a new SMB (2008 Ford EB10 2wd)

[bluedog225]

If you have not looked lately, the recent posts in the Transmission Temperature thread currently active are worth a read. If the Ford emblem is causing problems, a tire could only make them worse. If you decide to do it, an air scoop/diverter and/or moving the oil and tranny coolers would seem wise.

[Greg In Austin]

Bent,

Do you already have a front receiver? if not, factor in that cost. It is not an insignificant project to add a front receiver to our van.

There are folks who have had colling issues when placing items up front, so that is definitely a potential issue.

For the under-body storage, you have to worry about whether a larger tire size will even fit.