With the new wheels and tires, we needed a new way to carry the spare. It no longer fits in the location where the stock one did. The exhaust is in the way.
The plan is to mount it to the drivers side rear door. That one does not get opened and closed as much, so adding the weight to the door is not a huge deal. The hinges on the door are super beefy, the same ones used on big refrigerator semi trailers, so I think they will take the extra 250lbs ok.
The basic plan is a “basket” the tire will sit in, with long legs that will spread the load across the panels that make up the door. It will get through bolted to the door, and the tire will get a couple ratchet straps to hold it in place.
I used 1×2 steel, .125 wall I believe. Some odd angles were needed to match the tire profile. A couple of gussets were added for strength.
It was bolted in place with polyurethane sealant, and lots of bolts. Getting them all drilled and everything lining up with sealant everywhere was a fun project. You can see the lifting eye I added also in the picture below. This lets me hook a come along to a pulley for lifting the tire. Much better than trying to man handle it up there…..
Getting the tire up is still a chores, but the mount is solid and works very well!