my spare tire mount on the tongue

ChanW

(sorry if the pix are a bit large)
I mounted a brace across the tongue A-frame to support the spare tire, and used the tongue jack crank tube to stabilize it. 
The angle iron brace wraps the tire a bit, to keep it from 'kicking out' at the bottom.
It leaves just enough room between the tire and the battery/propane box to reach in to unlatch it.
There's a PVC collar around the crank tube to protect it, and the (red) block keeps the tire vertical relative to the tube.
Note that our Tab has the older hydraulic surge brakes, which gives less room between the battery box and the tongue jack tube than the electric brake system has.

Ratkity

Looks nice! You used every millimeter available.  

Cyclonic

Nice work on the angle iron brace, looks good and even matched the off center jack well.

ChanW

Thanks. I had to blur the photos some to meet the standard that others are setting in their 'Tab improvements'... B-)

It's nice to have it done with. There was one friend's driveway in Albuquerque I couldn't access from any angle, with that spare tire underneath. Pain. We'll have to go back and try it now!

Photomom

We camped at Cain Hollow this weekend. Most of the sites that were allegedly for RVs had dips at the beginning of the driveway. People were waiting 2-3 hours for maintenance to bring a load or two of gravel to fix the driveway so they could get their RVs in. We had a relatively flat site but even a T@B could not have gotten into those sites with the tire on the back. 

deedeerode

I am curious where you got the part to mount on the tongue, did you do it yourself?

ChanW

Yes, it's 2.5" x 3/16" angle iron. I used a small garbage can lid as a template, to mark the correct diameter curve for the tire to fit, then cut it with a sabre saw (handheld "jig saw"). Took patience, but worked well.

Hops

Nice job. I mounted a bike rack there. So, I found a way to use my Tow Vehicle spare. Story at this thread:http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/84357#Comment_84357

Estancio

Nice solution!

Sharon_is_SAM

Smart, as long as you don't get a flat with the TV and the Tab!

Fergie

Before we went any distance with the new trailer two years ago, I bought a trailer spare tire mounting bracket (normally for bolting to the trailer frame) from the local trailer service center and mounted it on the jack casing with two U-bolts.

I was worried about deforming the casing and possibly messing up the jack, but I found a happy medium in torquing the bolts. Since then it hasn't come loose in 10,000 miles of travel and the jack works fine. One thing I did do as you can see from the photo was to set the tire ON the frame with the tire already on the bracket and THEN tighten the bolts to the jack. This gives some support and stability to the whole arrangment without putting any stress on the tire except for its own weight. There is plenty of clearance between the spare and the storage unit.

Since the picture was taken I have also put a cover over the tire to reduce UV damage. The chain is threaded thru the wheel openings and then to the hitch lock to deter theft of the spare. It's an extra operation when hitching and unhitching, but on our long trip to Alaska I got pretty good at it! Practice, practice, practice!

Also the picture shows the mounting of the sewer storage tube I also installed. Our tow vehicle was a 2009 Ford Expedition with a 700 lb. tongue weight capacity so I wasn't concerned about adding the extra equipment there. Again, as mentioned in lots of other posts, one should check the specs on your vehicle before such modifications.


Fergie