Is mounting tire under boondock 320s safe?

mcontini

I just purchased a 320s boondock with the 15" tire mounted in front of the large aluminum container over the A-frame.  Is there a reason why the tire is not mounted under the trailer using the existing tire hoist.  I am wondering if it is mounted on top to give the trailer a sporty look or if the underside hoist was found not to be strong enough or designed for the 15" tire.  I would appreciate feedback from anyone with knowledge about this.  I did email nuCamp in hopes to hear from them as well.  Thank you. 

MarkAl

Check, the larger tire may not fit. I have yet to see or experience a situation where the tire scraps the ground on my 2021 320S. I believe the new forward location (beneath the A frame) has more effective clearance than the older rear mounted area. But I have the smaller spare which I think is narrower in addition to smaller diameter.

pthomas745

Welcome to the Forums......

On my 2017 "Outback", the tire was ( and still is) mounted high on the back of the camper attached to the Yakima rack.  The tire on the Yakima rack caused people to say it caused "sway" (it doesn't) and there was a big do-it-yourself effort to move it to the front of the trailer.  It is a convenient spot.

The other trailers (I am unclear exactly what models) had the spare where you want to put it: under the trailer.  Owners said it either: scraped the ground while moving across driveway "dips." Or, the many Trailer Yoga And Strength moves necessary to lower the tire made it impossible/impractical to access.  These owners saw the new tire mounts on the front of the trailer, and moved them up there, too. 

NuCamp, who always watches what the geniuses on this forum are cooking up, started to install the tire mounts on the front.

And, now owners are starting to look at the prime real estate they are wasting with their DIY mounts, and are starting to rethink it. 

There are owners who carry the spare in the tow vehicle.  Or under the back bench in the trailer.  I'm not sure if the 15 inch tire is an issue with the hoist or not. 

Slackers

Our 2019 CSS (non Boondock) came with the tire mounted under the rear of the trailer.   That configuration resulted in it rubbing the ground when we backed it into the yard where it's stored.  So we're one of the folks that moved it forward to a mount fixed to the tongue jack.  I guess we could have just chucked it in the back of our pickup but there would have been the possibility of it getting left behind when we needed it.   An advantage of moving it forward was the added tongue weight which stabilized the trailer as pull it down the road.

Harwoodmary

I have a full spare tire for my 2018 Tab 320S. I want to put it under the camper rear/at tire mount. Concerns before I do this? Free up space at front for bikes.

ScottG

@Harwoodmary, that is how T@Bs came for several years. Assuming you actually have a rear tire mount, there is no reason you can't put it back there. The biggest concern--outside of it being a difficult place to access when needed--is that the tire could drag in certain conditions. I left mine out back for my first season and never had a problem.

YanniLazarus

The factory installed frame mounted rear spare "under mount" didn't make it through my first day with a non- boondock 320.  Bottomed out.  A boondock 320 may well have the little bit more ground clearance to work!