Tire on the roof?

[Dogboy]

On my Ranger, I'm in the process of building a roofrack/headache-rack/roll bar thing.
My plan is to put my spare tire up there, and have some room for gas cans, and a couple backpacks, or what ever. I would like to put the tire up there because a 33" tire will not fit under the bed, and I don't want to have it loose in the bed, and I can't mount it in the bed (I haul dirt bikes all the time).

My main question is, do you think having a 33x12.5 on top of the truck, will be to much weight that high?
I've had a couple people say it's a bad idea, but at the same time, I see Cherokees and 4runners with roof mounted tires all the time.

 

[E30Newbie]

Depends on how you wheel. Weight up high is always a bad idea, but that is where my spare tire is. I did notice almost 2 miles less per gallon though.

 

[Dogboy]

My cousin and friends give me crap for "***** wheeling" but I also don't break stuff.

A 2 mpg hit is pretty bad... I might have to take it down for trips, haha.

Part of my plan is to take a spare spindle I have, along with wheel bearings and a hub, and use that to mount the wheel. That way I have a spare hub and wheel bearings.:haha:

 

[Rdy4rks]

I would try to mount it in front of the wheel-well on the drivers side that way it's not in the bikes way blind spot and not screwing around taking it down but that's just me

 

[Totalled]

I would try to mount it in front of the wheel-well on the drivers side that way it's not in the bikes way blind spot and not screwing around taking it down but that's just me

That. Mount it to the bed side inside the bed. You don't want that weight up high to act like a pendulum when you're off camber.

 

[Dogboy]

I would try to mount it in front of the wheel-well on the drivers side that way it's not in the bikes way blind spot and not screwing around taking it down but that's just me

I've thought of that, but I have a tool box, and it occupies that space,
I'd rather relocate the tire, than put all that stuff in the cab.

 

[redneck_hippy]

Have you thought about some kind of tailgate tire carrier?

 

[CHOP SHOP]

I see Cherokees and 4runners with roof mounted tires all the time.

Some people put looking cool as a priority over function.

If you put it in the roof, be sure to get a sweet snorkel too.

 

[TreeClimber]

I'm absolutely positively NOT a fan of putting tires up high.
I do like the spindle idea.

I ran the Ersham Duzy trail in Cali a few years back. I had my CJ5 with a rear mounted spare, on a spindle (with wheel hub & lockout hub). One of the guys in the group snapped a spindle. My spare spindle allowed him to drive out. (Who carries a spindle?...). Anyhow, because I no longer had a place to carry my spare (the CJ was full of camping gear), we strapped it to the top of my roll cage. What a disaster! It totally changed the characteristics of the rig. I would NEVER do that again.

But Choppy's right. If you decide to mount it up high, make sure to get the snorkel too. That way, you can run underwater while changing a tire.

 

[whatthe?]

Depends what kind of wheeling you do. I have mine atop the cherokar daily driver and it does fine but I don't do hard, off camber trails with it. It is nice having it out of the way. If your on a difficult trail, put it in the bed but to and from the trail, up on the roof so you can haul everything else. Since it will be in the bed on the difficult trails when you run into Chop you won't have to explain where your snorkle is at.

 

[bigiron]

build a mount out in front of the truck then you can keep it low

 

[chainsaw]

I had a simular situation. SASed truck on 35s plus a bed bob made for no under the bed option. Compound that with carring a dirt bike + having a tool box in the bed made for a head scratcher. I ended up using some 1.5 x 2.5" peices of wood to lift the tool box a smidge, now the tire fits under the box which gets it 90% out of the way.

I say no to tires up high.

 

[zukkev]

Mine's mounted in the 'bed' of the Sami :awesomework:...but that's ALL that'll fit in there!!! :haha:

 

[whitetrashfab]

Anywhere but the roof, TTB and a lift already makes it a tippy-uncontrolable POS to drive anyway... Why make it worse?

 

[Ice]

I say no to tires up high.

Everyone says no to tires up high, but I havent had an issue yet

 

[dirtygoat]

Leave your spare back at camp...:awesomework:

 

[chainsaw]

Everyone says no to tires up high, but I havent had an issue yet

Yet....

 

[ain'tstuckjustresting]

Leave your spare back at camp...:awesomework:

This! I tried toting my 40" spare around for a while. Choppy said "Your gonna hate that thing" before my 1st run with the carrier. He was right! I carry a plug kit and a small compressor for minor issues. The spare is locked on the trailer just in case.

 

[Dogboy]

This! I tried toting my 40" spare around for a while. Choppy said "Your gonna hate that thing" before my 1st run with the carrier. He was right! I carry a plug kit and a small compressor for minor issues. The spare is locked on the trailer just in case.

That is a good idea, when camping.

I think I'll finish my rack, and try it out. If I don't like how it affects the truck, then I'll sell it, and either do the under tool box idea, or a tire gate idea.

 

[Dogboy]

Anywhere but the roof, TTB and a lift already makes it a tippy-uncontrolable POS to drive anyway... Why make it worse?

I'm not sure what kind of setup you experienced, but my Ranger have pretty good road and trail manners.