I recently removed my carrier last weekend and I have to say that I like it off. Has anyone else removed theirs and if so have you remounted the spare somewhere else? Post pics if you have, I am interested in seeing other ways of mounting. I want the spare on the truck, but not on the back. I have my mtb rack in the hitch and use it every other weekend. little annoying having to remove the whole thing since it is little awkward to carry off yourself every time.

 

i dont have one on my h2 now. I wanted to get one if i bought one without a carrier but after not having it on there, i dont think it would be nice at all. the hatch would get in the way of the tire and it would just be more stuff to have on the back to mess with all the time.

my h2 is going to stay without now i think.

steve

 

I had the same concern. So I added a second hitch on the swing away tire carrier to mine. I only use it for bikes as it is not designed for towing. But it works great, any bikes on the bike rack will swing out with the tire carrier and allow access to the bed of the truck. All it took was a little welding and a 2inch receiver tube from tractor supply for 20 bucks

 

Nice work jsmith77!! Have the cops questioned about your rack covering your license plate?

Since my license plate is mounted on the front bumper, I might mount it on the rear this weekend so I do not get bothered by the cops. I had a few stair me down, I think they were wondering where my plate was. Usually city cops care more then Sheriffs or state police.

I will have to buy a generic rack and do the same setup, thank you for posting the pics!

 

No problem Det2008SUT, it works better than I thought it would. No problems with the law yet and I have had it like that with the rack on the whole time for about the last 9 months all across TN and mostly in Memphis. I figure its no worse than putting one of those racks on any other car with a hitch or pulling a trailer for that matter. Plus the cops in Memphis probably have other things to be concerned with than my bike rack if you know what I mean...

Only issue, pay attention when you close the tire carrier with bikes on it, if you aren't careful the bikes with hit you in the back if you are in the way...

But overall no real problems. The tire carrier has no problem with the weight of the bikes either. The spare is at lease 100 lbs stock so another 20-30 lbs doesn't make a big difference.

Ross

 

Your solution carrying a spare without the carrier, you could always look into having a "Swing Gate" made for your truck. This removes the factory tailgate and puts a tube frame tire carrier in it's place. They are reversible so you can have the spare leaning into the truck bed at an angle (think Pre-Run) or have it leaning out to allow more usable room in the bed, which may be preferable. These things are really popular in Utah, Az and California. They are pinned, so you still have use of a "tailgate" that swings open; most of all though, they are really nice, so they don't look cheesy or out of place.

 

No pics yet but I have the gobi basket rack with the tire mounting on the roof

 

TubDuck, there any difference in mpg adding that roof rack?

 

And to my carrier being removed. I have remounted the carrier back on.

I have spoke with my buddy who is a local police officer and told me that in MI, it is required to have your licence plate mounted on the rear of the vehicle. So not wanting to spend $150 on the replacement of the tow hooks, I just put the carrier back on with the cover.

I never really thought about how inconvenient the license plate actually is on the spare tire cover.

 

Not really, with a 2" lift and a tonneau though it's just storage. There is really no practical way to get up that high in any hurry if you were to have a tire fail on the highway or in city traffic. I should note i drove it 1000 miles from illinois to florida when i moved, and now drive 6 miles daily with my commute, if i ever have one fail i won't be in a pinch to get going right away