Anyone use a spare tire bike carrier?

[Humm3r_H3]

Hey...

Does anyone here use a bike carrier thats mounted on the spare tire. I have tried the Thule Spare Me but it doesnt fit the 33 inch tire. Yakima says theirs will only fit a 32 inch tire. Allen said theirs definately wont fit. I have also called Swagman and Surco, who also make bike carriers for spare tires, and they say that they are positve their bike racks wont fit an H3 spare either.

If anyone is using one on a 33inch spare tire, please let me know which one.

I would look into a hitch bike rack, but i dont have a hitch. I do have the crossbows on the roof, but am thinking it might be a pita to get the back up there.

thanks

[HummerNewbie]

Have not used a spare rack before but I also don't think my hitch rack from my old SUV is going to work. Think the spare sticks out to far and the rack won't have the reach to clear it.

[DDWH]

Get a Hummer trailoring package and use a hitch mounted bike carrier.

[HummerNewbie]

Depends on the reach of the hitch mounted carrier. I will have to try mine later to see if it will work.

[DDWH]

It works....I just can't post a pic of it, damn ftp error dealy again.

[HummerNewbie]

What brand carrier do you have. I can't remember off the top of my head what mine is but it is one of the bigger brands.

[Mancil]

I have one, what I did was welded an extention to my through tire bar so it would fit. I can snap some photos it you would like

[Ipedog]

I've got a Yakima hitch mount and while it fits... you can't open the cargo door with it on. http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

I am going to be getting a Drop Receiver (http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/blue_ox/droprcvrs.htm) to get the thing low enough for the door to open.

[Humm3r_H3]

thanks, but it looks like Mancil is the only one who has responded to my question. As I mentioned above, I DO NOT have a hitch, so i am NOT looking into a hitch mounted carrier. I am more interested in a spare tower mounted bike carrier, but cant find one that fits a 33inch tire. Anyone else know what spare tire mounted bike rack will fit?

thanks

mancil - thanks, i've seen your bike carrier in a previous post.

[Mancil]

Originally posted by Humm3r_H3:
thanks, but it looks like Mancil is the only one who has responded to my question. As I mentioned above, I DO NOT have a hitch, so i am NOT looking into a hitch mounted carrier. I am more interested in a spare tower mounted bike carrier, but cant find one that fits a 33inch tire. Anyone else know what spare tire mounted bike rack will fit?

thanks

mancil - thanks, i've seen your bike carrier in a previous post.

I think you saw my roof mount system, I also have the thule through tire mount. I don't think I have posted pictures of that.

If you can find anyone that can weld it really is a quick fix.

[hmrlvr]

Why don't you just get the one that attaches to your hitch? http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[HummerNewbie]

Actually, there are responses to your question, just not the answer you were looking for. You thread just got expanded to cover the receiver rack as well.

[Ipedog]

Originally posted by HummerNewbie:
Actually, there are responses to your question, just not the answer you were looking for. You thread just got expanded to cover the receiver rack as well.

What he said! http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

I get a bit worried about tire type carriers. They just don't seem all that stable and safe. Perhaps Mancil's idea would work best... Who knows? Good Luck. http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[frank6150]

Has anybody mentioned to him about using his hitch?

[HummerNewbie]

Originally posted by frank6150:
Has anybody mentioned to him about using his hitch?

Another smart ass pad post http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[HummerNewbie]

I personally would be worried about adding that kind of weight to the spare mount once you add a couple of bikes or more.

[frank6150]

Originally posted by HummerNewbie:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by frank6150:
Has anybody mentioned to him about using his hitch?

Another smart ass pad post http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh you bastard!

[HoKC]

I Have used the roof rail trays and it is definitely a pain in the butt to put the bikes in. If you are not worried about spending a little bit of moeny you can add a hitch that sits a little below the bumper (gives better door clearance for hitch mounted racks) for about 250.00. We have done a number of them. I think your only other choice is to modify one to make it fit.

[HummerNewbie]

Originally posted by frank6150:
Oh you bastard!

LOL http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

[evldave]

Originally posted by HummerNewbie:
I personally would be worried about adding that kind of weight to the spare mount once you add a couple of bikes or more.

I took my old smittybuilt hitch carrier and cut the hitch mount part off, then welded a bracket together to mount to the spare tire mount (make sense?).

Here's some discussions about bike racks (includes a pic of what I did)

http://elcova.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/2706067735/m/1...011067741#6011067741 (http://elcova.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/2706067735/m/1681095741/r/6011067741#6011067741)

As far as strength, I had the spare + 2 bikes occasionally, and the spare + 1 bike at least once per week for months. No damage at all + I also banged it up pretty good

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5873548928131173327

Bike was on the truck when I did this and no problems. I've been keeping an eye where the spare tire mount attaches to the rear deck and haven't seen any movement.

So my conclusion would be that you could probably carry a bike or two with no problem in at least the short-term (<6 months). I'm lucky, now the spare it up top and I don't have to worry about weight on the rear hatch http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[Humm3r_H3]

thanks for your replys guys.

After reading everyone's messages, I think I'm gonna go with the hitch mounted bike carrier. (gonna use a hidden-hitch). My other question is, will Thule or Yakima bike racks clear the spare tire. I noticed Ipedog uses a Yakima rack and it clears the spare just fine. Which model do you have?

[entheos]

Hopefully not too late for you, but I have the Thule Spare Me for my H3 with 33's and it won't work without an easy modification (drill 2 small holes). I will post a picture of the mod it if you are still interested. I looked and asked about bike racks (including this forum) for the H3 for a long time and was never able to find a hitch rack that allowed you to open the rear door without COMPLETELY removing the rack from the receiver. It is because the hitch is SO high and the spare comes down lower than the door. The swing down or away features of the racks out there all come up more than 4.5" (the clearance from the top of the receiver to the bottom of the swinging tire). Now there is a hitch rack available from the dealer that looks like it will tilt down and allow you to open the rear door (without removing the rack), but it costs nearly $400 and no one said for sure if it actually did this. My dealer isn't real interested in selling accessories anyway. Of course someone on this forum did say to get a roof rack. They don't seem real convenient to me.

Ironically one of the reasons I started to look at buying a new truck (which turned out to be an H3) was something that could accept a hitch rack.

Also the Thule is a nice rack and is solid, though Thule's cable lock isn't integrated like the Yakima's though the rack lock is good. It won't come off for me now that I lost the keys!

[evldave]

My hitch rack worked fine with the spare. It was ~1" out from the rear tire and would pivot out of the way (opposite the door) to clear the door with plenty of room to spare.

I googled it to see if I could find a link, but gave up. I got mine at GI Joes (Pacific Northwest outdoor store chain) and paid $70 on sale a few years ago. Might want to look for that, or you can go w/the smittybuilt spare tire rack.

http://www.truckstuffusa.com/outlandlockablesparetiremo...ierbysmittybilt.html (http://www.truckstuffusa.com/outlandlockablesparetiremountbikecarrierbysmittybi lt.html)

[Humm3r_H3]

Thanks!

evldave - which hitch rack did you have? did you have the factory trailer hitch? and did you have to use an extension? thanks

[Hal]

STOP THE MADNESS
I HAVE A "THULE SPARE ME" MOUNTED ON MY 33" SPARE ON MY H3 RIGHT NOW. I have used it a number of times, it stays mounted there ready to go any time, it's not in the way, it's not too heavy, it has its own lock so a thief that wanted your spare would have to break the bike rack before they could get at the spare tire. The bikes ride high off the ground so no clearance problems at all when off road. I can use my tow hitch for towing whatever I want with bikes mounted to the spare.
On the negative side: the fit of the rack to the 33" tire is tight. I use the rubber spacers that come with the rack and also before tightening the lugs on the spare it helps to lift up on the rack mounting plate. You need all the clearance you can get for the top bar of the bike rack to clear the top of the tire when the rack is extended and ready to load bikes. If you have the capability to bend that top crossbar of the rack to fit the curvature of the top of the spare tire (only 1/2" would do it) then the rack would no longer have such a tight fit to the tire. You could also air down the spare and get a better fit (if you have a way to air up again when needed, and I don't know what that would do to the pressure monitoring system). The rack is not big on bike space, 2 bikes fit very snug on the rack. Lastly, with bikes back there your bad rear view goes to worse.
Bottom line, mine stays where it is, looks good, works good, and adds security to my spare tire.

[Humm3r_H3]

Originally posted by Hal:
STOP THE MADNESS
I HAVE A "THULE SPARE ME" MOUNTED ON MY 33" SPARE ON MY H3 RIGHT NOW. I have used it a number of times, it stays mounted there ready to go any time, it's not in the way, it's not too heavy, it has its own lock so a thief that wanted your spare would have to break the bike rack before they could get at the spare tire. The bikes ride high off the ground so no clearance problems at all when off road. I can use my tow hitch for towing whatever I want with bikes mounted to the spare.
On the negative side: the fit of the rack to the 33" tire is tight. I use the rubber spacers that come with the rack and also before tightening the lugs on the spare it helps to lift up on the rack mounting plate. You need all the clearance you can get for the top bar of the bike rack to clear the top of the tire when the rack is extended and ready to load bikes. If you have the capability to bend that top crossbar of the rack to fit the curvature of the top of the spare tire (only 1/2" would do it) then the rack would no longer have such a tight fit to the tire. You could also air down the spare and get a better fit (if you have a way to air up again when needed, and I don't know what that would do to the pressure monitoring system). The rack is not big on bike space, 2 bikes fit very snug on the rack. Lastly, with bikes back there your bad rear view goes to worse.
Bottom line, mine stays where it is, looks good, works good, and adds security to my spare tire.

thanks Hal, I will have to try that spare me again then. have any pics of yours installed?

[dochummer]

pics plz...