Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club

what do you all think about mounting a spare on the FRONT of the camper.. on the front bumper. We have in the distant past, done that to a pickup when we lived in Montana. We would have to probably leave off the cover , or have a cover that only covered the rubber part and not the whole deal, so as to let air circulate thru the front of the engine. It would, of course have to be a custom type of rig to be able to swing away so as to allow access to the motor.

Just wanted some feedback..thanks! (we are thinking of heading up to Alaska this summer.

_________________
Life is what you make it

We have mounted a spare on the front using a front mounted trailer hitch and a hitch spare tire mount. It has worked fine for us.

The added benefit of a front spare tire is that it adds weight to the front vs the back. The front axle is usually lightly loaded and the back axle heavily loaded. Adding the weight to the front improves weight distribution and helps some in steering control. Adding the weight to the back makes it all worse.

_________________
1999 26RSB
Fort Collins, CO

For many years I have carried a front mounted spare on my pickups, but my use was never very far with a heavy load. It would be different with a BFT carrying a heavy load for long distances, and I have been wondering about sufficient air circulation to cool the engine. I still have a spare front mount and a great machine shop that can mount it if there is evidence that it would not hinder the circulation enough to be dangerous to the engine. Any input will be appreciated.

In Africa it's often necessary to carry 2 spares or more if there is room or capacity . A common solution was to mount the spare on the hood. I have never seen equipment in the US to do that even though many claim to be off road enthusiasts but it should not be difficult to fabricate.

i would never put one on the hood but the weight thing was the reason I wanted to do one on the front. I believe that if it is positioned an inch or 2 FROM the grill,,, maybe 3 or 4,,would let sufficient air flow around the tire. Especially if there is not a solid cover over the wheel itself. something interesting to invent!

_________________
Life is what you make it

Others have mounted their spare to front hitch bars with little or no cooling impact. So it can and has been done. Not sure why there is a problem with the hood. Works pretty well on my Land Rover. Of course you have to be strong enough to get it off the hood. I just toss mine onto the ground and of course you have to clamber all over the hood to get it on and off. But it's not difficult to do unless you consider your truck too precious for that sort of treatment. In which case you don't really need a spare

I know this has been talked about before in much much detail.
But also consider just a loose tire/ no rim.
But I image, most of you would give this option a thumbs down.

_________________
Steve
2011 Born Free 22 foot/ corner kitchen, E350, 30k miles.
Our first RV. Lots to learn. Thanks.

The reason I think it best to have both a rim and a tire as a spare is that when and if you ever need road side service from such companies as AAA or Coach Net, when they come to your aid, they will be equipped to change out a tire already on a rim but generally will not have the equipment to remount a spare tire to one of your existing mounted rims.

_________________
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad

We have only had Coach Net for road side service and IF you tell them you have an unmounted spare they will send someone that will change the tire and mount the spare on the wheel.

However, you have to pay for the labor to install the unmounted spare. The trip charge is covered though.

One down side to not having a mounted or unmounted spare if if the tire is blown or damaged, is you will pay very high retail for the new tire. Could be $100 or $150 more than you would pay if you could go to Sam's Club, Costco, or Discount Tire.

_________________
Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago 29' Class A MH
Chevy Colorado Toad
Former BF owners.

I had a friend with Discount Tire tires (with purchased road hazard protection) on his van who took it to Alaska on vacation years ago. He had a flat up there, purchased a tire locally for $200 (was way over priced because it was in a remote location). When he got back, he took his receipt to Discount Tire, the clerk opened up the till and gave him $200 cash, no questions asked.

Bill

_________________
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA

Yep - your all right on the discount tire certificate - but - its only good for 3 years. They didn't tell me that when I just bought my tires (and I didn't read the fine print) - $20 per tire for 3 years? I am not sure if thats a good deal. Probably good if you are a full time RV'er, the option is really not set up for part time RV'ers in my opinion. I have to think about that and may call them Monday and see if I can get out of the deal.

I have a update - Not sure what to think about this.

I called Discount tire and they said I was right that the warranty certificate on the back of the receipt says 3 years. But I should just ignore that cause as a customer they want to treat all their customers right. He said he would cover 100% replacement for the life of the tire and that I should trust him. Then he went on to tell me that they are not like other business's that they take care of their customers. Again I pointed out that the warranty said three years and that was the only legally binding agreement I had, he said they had to put that on there because they use the same receipt at stores in other states that have statute of limitation laws. Again he said I should trust him, This conversation went on for some time - mostly with him telling me how great their company is and they are not like other company's, and that they will always take care of their customers.

The conversation ended with him saying I could bring my receipt in and he would personally write on it that the tires are covered for the life of the tire - and he would personally sign it.

I don't know - I have heard from others that they are a good company - and I was impressed with the service, professionalism, and facilities when I was there.

Guess I am just not used to doing business like this.