Swing-away spare or roof top spare?
 

I need some opinions from the folks here. I currently have my spare tire on the swing-away mount. After picking up a trailer I plan to convert into an expedition camping trailer I discovered I can't swing the tire away and get to the bed because the mount hits the surge brake reservoir on the trailer. It's going to be a pain to have to drop the trailer any time I need to access the bed on long camping trips.

I pretty much have two options:

1) Remove the surge brakes (not really needed on a trailer of this weight and capacity) and relocate the pintle
2) Mount the spare on the Gobi Ranger rack. I can buy a separate mount kit even though I don't have the spare tire specific rack: https://www.trailduty.com/product_in...0a3a2309f46996

It's going to be a royal pain to get the tire up there and back down every time I rotate the tires or in a flat situation, but it isn't exactly easy to get it off the swingaway carrier either. I will lose some storage space on the rack, but that's the point of the trailer.

Recommendations?



Here's a really crappy blow up of the issue. I'd get something better, but the trailer is in the garage right now.

Re: Swing-away spare or roof top spare?
 

Oh, and if I go roof mount and take the swing away mount off, I lose the D-rings (they are integral to the mount). Are there aftermarket rings that will fit?

Re: Swing-away spare or roof top spare?
 

So I went ahead and ditched the swing away spare tire carrier. I have not noticed any degradation in handling or gas mileage, but I don't think either could get much worse than they were with 37" tires, roof rack, and the aerodynamics of a brick.

I bought the add-on tire carrier from Gobi for my Ranger rack. It was a simple install other than having to unbolt the rack from the roof so I could lift it high enough to get my arms underneath to tighten the bolts for the carrier bracket.

Here's some pics - the clearance is right at 8 feet now and fortunately the limit is 8'2" at my airport parking garage.

Re: Swing-away spare or roof top spare?
 

I moved the license plate over to one of the d-ring bolt holes and used a cheap plastic bracket along with a light (need to paint it black).



A few more pics to make everyone jealous of Kalifornia in February:

Re: Swing-away spare or roof top spare?
 

Looks really good.

Re: Swing-away spare or roof top spare?
 

Nice job, looks great! That swing away tire is a pain on the SUT, but I've learned to live with it over the years.