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Old 03-06-2015, 08:16 PM   #1
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Options for mounting spare tire on '89 SMB

For whatever odd reason the PO owner of my '89 SMB decided to remove the mount for the spare tire and fill in the holes prior to painting the van. Driving around with the spare inside is not gonna work, I'm finding that out quickly on my first trip. He had been using a hitch mount carrier to put it on but unfortunately that's also not going to work for me, the hitch will always be used either by bike, moto or drift boat.

Is my best option to source one of the mounts from a junk yard and re-drill the holes in the sheet metal? I see that aluminess makes some pretty cool frame mounted ones for the newer vans but nothing for mine, any chance a newer one would work on my older van? Anything else to consider before I start drilling?

Thanks,
Dan

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Old 03-06-2015, 08:31 PM   #2
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Re: Options for mounting spare tire on '89 SMB

The spare on my 89 was inside as well. The PO had removed the external carrier but left the holes. I went to a junkyard and found on that would work with some minor modifications. Did a search and came up with lots of possibilities. This one may be what you are lookin for,http://www.discountvantruck.com/vant...recarriers.htm
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Read detailed trip reports, see photos and videos on my travel blog, luinil.com.
Current van: 2002 Ford E350 extended body camper with Colorado Camper Van pop top and Agile Offroad 4WD conversion.
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Old 03-07-2015, 04:27 PM   #3
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Re: Options for mounting spare tire on '89 SMB

I've been through a bit of a journey to address this same issue on my 1990 E350 - I too drove, even offroad trips with no spare due to having no bracket, bad idea!

My old bracket had rusted out and putting the weight of the BFG 33' spare basically on the door hinge kinda seemed like pushing it. I don't think those filmsy OEM? spare holders were made for offroad setups.

I first purchased something like the one on that discountvantruck link, an aftermarket, model specific (allegedly) size but the mounting area didn't extend enough to bolt to the rim. Basically my mud rims were too deep. They are 17" I believe. Amazon let me return it and even paid shipping.

So then I went with the tiregate which basically plugs into the receiver hitch but maintains your use of the receiver. There are many varieties they are in Anaheim I went down there and they gave me a deal on a used one, they had lots. First I got more of the baja looking one with the ratchet straps, then swapped it for this setup I think is a bit cleaner. And it's got a bit of room behind the tire for the hi-lift or other accessories. On the sides I had a great local shop put on the receiver and fabricate new bumper corners (that bolt to the old mounts) to match it for protection, as this setup essentially replaces the old E350 bumper.

I'll try and take a pic later so you can see how it turned out. I'm very happy with it but it certainly wasn't a shoestring solution ha! Hopefully this helps!
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Old 03-07-2015, 09:55 PM   #4
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Re: Options for mounting spare tire on '89 SMB

Here ya go.

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Old 03-08-2015, 10:31 PM   #5
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Re: Options for mounting spare tire on '89 SMB

That's pretty clean looking glasspack, which corresponding model is that listed as on their site?
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Old 03-30-2015, 02:13 PM   #6
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Re: Options for mounting spare tire on '89 SMB

It's called the HG series.
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