Moved My Spare To The Tongue - Have A Question

lapowers57

I have moved my spare tire to the tongue and I am not quite sure about the finished product.  I used an Extreme Max Bolt On Spare Tire Carrier and two 2.5 inch muffler clamps.  Due to the width of the clamp there is minimal contact of the clamp to the jack.  Also I only tightened it enough to flatten the lock washers because I did not want to dent the jack tube.  Did I miss something?  Should I wrap the tube in some type of rubber to fill in the gap and get more purchase for the muffler clamp?

Thanks for any input.

Cyclonic

If you flattened the lock washers it should be tight and not go anywhere.  The tire itself should help as well.  Could not hurt to ad a little rubber padding though, to help keep it from sliding up and down in travel.

Lil_Lucy

Here are pictures of my tongue mount. I just towed my T@B from Michigan to Oregon with no problems

ScottG

Coincidentally, I just moved my tire to the tongue yesterday. I slipped the round outer casing from some flexible electrical cable over the U-bolts before installing them. There's still a bit of gap, but the casing gives a little more purchase, and protects the finish on the jack.

I think almost anything would work, even a few wraps of duct tape (in your choice of color) if that's all you have lying around! 

ChanW

I'm in the process of installing mine on the tongue. I was going to wrap the crank tube with a heavy pipe (split in half lengthwise), to spread the pressure of the u-bolt, and try to prevent denting or damaging the tube.

I have my tire sitting on some angle-iron cross bars that go across the tongue for support.

Photomom

ChanW said:

I'm in the process of installing mine on the tongue. I was going to wrap the crank tube with a heavy pipe (split in half lengthwise), to spread the pressure of the u-bolt, and try to prevent denting or damaging the tube.

I have my tire sitting on some angle-iron cross bars that go across the tongue for support.

Pics, please, when you're done.

ericnliz

PVC would be a LOT easier to cut, and accomplish the same thing since they sell it in different diameters, just a thought.

Photomom

I assumed he was talking about pvc plumbing pipe. 

ChanW

Yeah the PVC would work to protect the paint and prevent a dent, but I'm not sure it would distribute the 'weight' over the length of the tube as well as galvanized would. I'll have to see what inside diameters are available. It might end up PVC.

ChanW

Photomom, I will, but our tongue arrangement is a little different from yours, because we have the surge brakes, with the hydraulic master cylinder on the tongue. It mainly takes away some room for the spare tire on ours. You'll see when I post pix.

Photomom said:

ChanW said:

I'm in the process of installing mine on the tongue. I was going to wrap the crank tube with a heavy pipe (split in half lengthwise), to spread the pressure of the u-bolt, and try to prevent denting or damaging the tube.

I have my tire sitting on some angle-iron cross bars that go across the tongue for support.

Pics, please, when you're done.

Cyclonic

I have the same problem as @ChanW , surge brakes take up some space.  I had the tire fit in there until I switch out the plastic tongue box for the diamond plate one, which is larger.  Now there is not enough room.  Still, I would not give up that tongue box, it is a great space saver.

ericnliz

Yes, Photomom, PVC pipe, sorry should have been more specific.

deedeerode

Finally got our spare on the tongue jack. So happy with it.

mash2

DeeDeeRode, what type mount is it?  Looks like it might work on mine.

lapowers57

Once the spare tire is on the tongue can the factory spare mount under the trailer be removed?  I was thinking of removing it and then putting the bolts back with rubber washers to protect the holes from water infiltration.  What have others done?

Ratkity

I left mine. Didn't even think of any water getting in because the floor is composite. I also think don't think the bolt heads on my unit are visible from inside.

ScottG

lapowers57 said:

Once the spare tire is on the tongue can the factory spare mount under the trailer be removed?  I was thinking of removing it and then putting the bolts back with rubber washers to protect the holes from water infiltration.  What have others done?

The mount can be easily removed by loosening the two nuts holding it in place. (Much easier than getting the tire itself off, I might add...) The heads of the bolts themselves are not accessible, so I just left them in place and put the nuts back on. I may have even included a rubber washer--can't remember.

Photomom

I had my son crawl under and remove the mount. Looked goofy just hanging there. 

I noticed that the bolts that the spare would go on we're quite rusty already. Another reason not to keep the spare there. 

jbug10

Where would I take my Tab to get my spare tire moved to the tongue  and remove the bolts underneath?  Any regular RV service center??? 

Photomom

jbug10 said:

Where would I take my Tab to get my spare tire moved to the tongue  and remove the bolts underneath?  Any regular RV service center??? 

Don't know about that, but the trailer shop where we had our brakes adjusted had a T@B owner come in to get the spare mounted on the tongue. 

tabasco_jim

So why is everyone moving the spare?

jbug10

I travel on some pretty rough roads getting to rivers and bottom out with the spare tire once in awhile.  The clearance is very low when the tire is underneath.

Photomom

If you have to change a tire, you'd be lying on your back under the tab, removing a 40 pound tire from over your head. And then have to put the repaired tire back. I know I don't have that kind of upper body strength. 

lapowers57

If you have your spare mounted under your T@B try removing it and putting it back while parked in your driveway during the day under good conditions.  My spare was inside the T@B and after trying for an hour to mount it under the trailer I gave up and moved it.

Ratkity

When I went in the driveway and wiggled under the T@B to get to the spare, I thought "OMG, there's no way on a hot interstate with semi's, huge land yachts, idiot drivers, debris, and something rotting in the nearby ditch am I going to change this tire by getting under here. I'm not a plus-sized body and I felt claustrophobic.  Getting those two bolts off were taxing and I needed a couple of bricks to hold the tire up the end so the tire wouldn't fall on me. I went for the gold and bought the Yakima rack and basket for the coolness factor and put the spare there. 

I would recommend trying to take off the spare in ideal conditions. Then imagine road conditions. Add in some cold rain, snow or hail just for fun in your scenario! LOL.

Also, I had gone up a gas station entrance and heard it lightly scrape the spare when underneath. After the 2nd time I took out the T@B, that spare was off the bottom! I could see the scrapes. To be honest, I like the front position of the tire many people have set up. I need a little step to reach the lock for the tire on the Yakima rack. In addition, the front position adds a little tongue weight and can reduce a bit a sway if your TV can handle it (depending on how you pack). The tire weighs approx 40 lbs.

ScottG

@Ratkity, what was involved in mounting the Yakima rack on a non-Outback T@B? I can see the advantages of that should space and weight capacity on the tongue become limited. (And I also think it looks cool!)

ChanW

I agree with ScottG, it looks cool. It totally complements the Tab character. I'm surprised it's not standard design for LG.

Knowing the structure of the roof though, makes me hesitate. Kinda like a cantilevered house - what's gonna hold it up, the foam roof and aluminum struts?

Ratkity

@ScottG, Well, measure 10x and mark the screw holes. Measure a few more times to make sure all things are centered and then take the plunge. The camper aluminum struts are 8" apart, but they start up 10" from the seam of the rear panel. I put them on myself and needed my 8 ft A-frame ladder to reach the top. The curve in the rails are not perfect, but fit snug once tightened down.  The butyl "tape" they say to use is really the RV butyl putty you can get at any RV parts store. I suggest buying the big roll of it. Don't leave it in the hot sun. The pre-drilled Yakima holes aren't used, ignore them. The putty plugs them. Putting the rails on the "shoes" was a piece of cake. Putting the basket on wasn't too bad - an extra hand would have helped. Lifting the 40 lb tire and maneuvering the spare tire holder that attaches to the basket was a pita to do alone, but it was done more as an exercise to see how hard it would be for me to take off the tire if I had a flat. I also had to use a step to put the tire cover on. A plus to the Yakima rack system is that there's a place to put a padlock on the spare tire mount. Minor peace of mind, but nice for slightly paranoid mad scientist!

ScottG

Thanks, @Ratkity. I'm keeping a copy of your description should I decide to tackle this mod down the road.

It sounds like the key is to get the rail "shoes" screwed securely into the camper's aluminum struts. Picking up on @Chan's concern, does anybody know if the Outback roofs are reinforced in any way compared to the standard T@Bs? I'm guessing not...

Ratkity

Nope Scott, the roofs are the same. The roof is more than sufficient to hold up the weight of the rack and tire (or 70# of things). The rails are spread wide and the weight distribution is over a large area. 

Ramrod

Question. Can we use one of those small donut spare tires on our camper?