Just wondering what you guys thought of the gobi with the tire on the roof. I took of my spare today because when i got my new tires i forgot to order one for the spare. When I took it off I kind of like the way the H3 looked without the spare on the back. It seems that behind the spare tire carrier there is just a little vent. Does anybody know why? I looked at the pictures of the gobi with the tire on the roof from the gobi website. The back of the H3 in that picture has a big black box where the spare tire used to be and looked a little ugly. My H3 did not have that. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

The vent is so the air conditioner and heater will work more efficiantly. Without it, the cabin would get pressurized when the fan is on.

 

I think for the range of tires that can "normally" be found on a given H3 it's fine to run them up top if you preffer to. It would free up your feild of view out back for sure. On something like a trail rig that is running 39" and up it's a real pain. At that size it makes it hard to handle these heavy tires up top. In fact it's getting more common to see swing down carriers on rear bumpers, so that they don't have to lift and lower these heavy tire/wheel combo's... and that's just to the bumper level.

But, just be aware that it will be a little more of a pain, even with the smaller tire to put it up or take it down from the roof. Perhaps the gain of vision is worth it, and there is always the fact that it being a spare means it's not something you would have to do all the time. Ultimately, it depends on if you feel like messing with it etc. If you feel it's worth the gain, then go for it.

 

Another thing to consider with the spare on the roof is wether you park in garages, either at home, or work, or when you shop, and if you will fit afterwards. I had a F350 diesel that I put a leveling kit on, and after that I couldn't park in certain garages around town. Drive through's could become a problem as well.

 

good points so far guys....thanks

 

Not necessarily a good idea!
The more you put on top, the more weight distribution overloads take ahold, making your H3 top heavy.
That's why the spare is put on the rear of the vehicle! Plus, I think it looks cool on the rear!