Rear Door Spare Tire Mount

[pbkid]

Hmmm, my main question is: Is the full-size spare planned to be VX carried full-time OR only on off-road outings???

If the full-size spare is only planned for off-road outings, then the "donut" should be retained for urban travel.

donut will not work if you change your tires from stock AT ALL....

i keep my full size spare with me all the time...

[Triathlete]

Another option for those with no back seat might be a cradle with a ratchet strap over the top of the tire like the ralley trucks use...

[LittleBeast]

If the full-size spare is only planned for off-road outings, then the "donut" should be retained for urban travel.

Yeah never ever put any other sized tire on the VX on any one or two tires, your TOD will fry like a poptart's wrapper in the microwave

[Marlin]

Alright boys and girls, as promised I completed the project. I now know why there is no deformation on Toms door. It isn't just sheet metal. The outer painted piece is standard body sheet metal, but it is layered on top of some pretty thick stuff. I did not go the same route as Tom's PO did. I used longer bolts and went all the way through the inner spare support portion. I used 3/8" bolts, 4.5 inches long with nylock nuts. I mounted it more like studs, with the head of the bolt inside the door. This enabled me to keep my gas can in the door. Now the weight should not be on the outer steel, but most should be distributed inside the spare area, which is also some heavy duty steel. Overall, including removing the isuzu badge, took about 1.25 hours or so. Not long at all. It came out pretty good, I still need to find a way to mount the license plate, but the way I have will do for now. I was running around with no rear cladding and on the way to Ace Hardware, I cop turned around in the road to come get me, but I think he got a call, cause he ended up doin a 360 with his lights on, I was the only other car out, but on the way home, I saw what I assume to be the same cop at a house with his lights on...seriously doubt I would have gotten a ticket, if I explained what I was doin, I had the plate in the passenger seat.
If anyone has anymore questions about this project, it is pretty easy. The door didn't seem to hang any different, as I said, a 20% weight change is not significant. Once again, the bracket came off of a Pathfinder, it has a padlock stud built into it. The angle of departure and approach shouldn't be affected too much either, it sits pretty high off the ground.
Materials needed:
Drill, 3/8" metal bit
4 3/8x4.5" bolts, 8 flat washers, 4 lock washers and 4 nylock nuts
9/16 socket, and a 9/16 wrench
sharpie marker
tape measure
1 spare mount off of a Nissan Pathfinder(make sure you get all three lugnuts too, I only got two, I am a dummy...)
Some tool drawer rubber or somethin for behind the bracket
Primer(for the holes after you drill them)
Putty knife for taking the ISUZU badge off and some goo gone for residue.
An extra hand may be needed when tightening the bolts, I couldn't reach all the way inside and outside at the same time.
I had to take the cladding off, I wish I had mounted it about 2 inches higher. The bottom bolts ended up on curved portion of the door, which was a PITA to drill, hence the cladding removal, I did tear up some plastic trying to drill those holes out, but nothing you can see once the bracket is mounted. Overall I put this project at a 6 out of 10, but only cause you gotta measure precisely or else risk it being crooked. I think mine may be off a tiny bit, but nothing significant. I did notice that my bracket is a little bent, that is my bad, didn't check at the junkyard, but no biggie. The only deformation was a bit of the cladding, as you tighten the bolts down, it compresses the cladding a bit, but nothing extreme.
Here are the pics:

[Marlin]

The biggest problem I noted, my stickers are covered up!!!!!!!! Now I have to move my extra Jeep Recovery Sticker, glad I bought two.
The door opens smoothly, no rubbing, nothing abnormal at all from what I can tell. I bounced it around, hung on the spare, no bending of the metal. I think this is a solid mount. For those looking for an option, I think this is a good one...

[Marlin]

Yeah never ever put any other sized tire on the VX on any one or two tires, your TOD will fry like a poptart's wrapper in the microwave

I would think you could get away with a different size in the front...if you have manual hubs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is why that is my next mod, plus I wanna do donuts and I like the idea of being able to disengage the front in case of CV problems. That way I can still drive it.

[CrnCnn]

Not too bad. I just am not sold on it yet. I would love to see one in person to decide for myself if I want to do this. I think it looks unfinished. As I dont need or even have a rear seat anymore I am still thinking of going with the inside vertical mount like I have been planning.

Edit: After thinking about it. I wonder about something that would be a little lower. Like where the lower cladding is. Something that I could remove for around town use and put the tire inside and would not ruin the look of the door by having an ugly bracket sitting there. But on trips when the back is loaded and I want the space that the spare is taking by standing there I could pull it and mount it back there. Hmmm. I'll need to think about this more....

[Scott Harness]

Not too bad. I just am not sold on it yet.

Mine fits great on the inside,If I need the space that bad,I'll do roof basket.

[tomdietrying]

I think it looks great! Nice job.
Peace.
Tom

[Marlin]

I think it looks great! Nice job.
Peace.
Tom

Thanks Tom. I did some more playing, and rocked the car around with the tire, still no flex of the metal. I need to go hit some mud holes around here. See what comes of it.

[Triathlete]

I like the idea of being able to disengage the front in case of CV problems. That way I can still drive it.

Nope, don't work that way. The hubs are at the end of the line. If a CV goes bad it will still be spinning with the hub dis-engaged. The tires just won't be driven. In order for it to work you would have to have a TOD disconnect switch, a JDM transfer case or a real transfer case so you can dis-engage the drive shaft.
The VX as it is with manual hubs dis-engaged the drive shaft and axle shafts are still spinning.

[Triathlete]

Edit: After thinking about it. I wonder about something that would be a little lower. Like where the lower cladding is. Something that I could remove for around town use and put the tire inside and would not ruin the look of the door by having an ugly bracket sitting there. But on trips when the back is loaded and I want the space that the spare is taking by standing there I could pull it and mount it back there. Hmmm. I'll need to think about this more....

Something like this would do the job and be more functional. It would totally protect your cladding and it swings down for door access! If I was to do an outside mount this is what I would check into...

[Marlin]

Nope, don't work that way. The hubs are at the end of the line. If a CV goes bad it will still be spinning with the hub dis-engaged. The tires just won't be driven. In order for it to work you would have to have a TOD disconnect switch, a JDM transfer case or a real transfer case so you can dis-engage the drive shaft.
The VX as it is with manual hubs dis-engaged the drive shaft and axle shafts are still spinning.

I was thinking more along the lines of this...I got this from the manual hubs thread. It would be more than a flip of a switch, but better than nothing.


Hubs
Awhile ago we spent alot of time discussing whether lockable hubs are any advantage. It was part of the TOD 2wd selector discussion (mbeach, me and others). The hubs disconnect the wheels from the front halfshafts. True the TOD does keep the whole front spinning, however it can't send torque there. I have lockable hubs and here is why:

1) Better gas mileage. I've monitored this with a scan gauge. On a 40 mile round trip at 70 miles an hour I got 1.4 mpg better with the hubs disengaged as opposed to locked. These runs were back to back on the same day, same conditions on the same highway both directions to combat any wind. I even refueled to keep the weight the same. On my 1900 miles to and from moab this year I averaged 19.8 mpg with the hubs disconnected. (albeit driving like a grandma)

1a) At one point I had the TOD cut off (there is a blue wire, its in the previous discussions) and I seemed to get even better mileage but never tested it. I reconnected it to prevent any damage and I was tired of the check light on the TOD.

2) With the hubs disconnected. The TOD cannot transmit any TORQUE to the wheels. So the reliability is better because nothing is loaded. I am lifted and have had a hell of a time with my CV's. Granted they are still spinning but that is much better than spinning AND transmitting torque. As for whether the front axle freewheeling is a good thing; It can't over spin (ie go faster than the rear), it freewheels some of the time with the TOD anyway, so I've never seen any problem.

3) 2wd is fun. In the snow and rain it is a hoot. Plus it is all you really need most of the time (my opinion, others will differ)

4) Bragging rights for climbing obstacles in 2wd are always better than those in 4wd.

5) If you break a cv on the trail you can ulock the hubs and unbolt the front axle from the TOD and get home. (I've never had to do this, yet, Though I tried it to make sure it works just in case.)

So thats my 2 cents. I have the superwinch hubs and they have held up fine. Though if I had to do it over again I probably would've just pulled some from a trooper.

[Ldub]

So thats my 2 cents. I have the superwinch hubs and they have held up fine. Though if I had to do it over again I probably would've just pulled some from a trooper.

There are varying schools of thought on the Superwinch vs. Aisin hub debate.

While Aisin's are considered stronger/better built, some say it's better to use the Superwinch or other aftermarket hubs as a "fuse" to prevent CV damage.
Having the hub grenade before any CV damage happens would make for a much easier trail repair if you carry a spare hub...

[Marlin]

There are varying schools of thought on the Superwinch vs. Aisin hub debate.

While Aisin's are considered stronger/better built, some say it's better to use the Superwinch or other aftermarket hubs as a "fuse" to prevent CV damage.
Having the hub grenade before any CV damage happens would make for a much easier trail repair if you carry a spare hub...

Interesting thought, purposely buy an inferior product to act as a sacrifical anode for your CVs....

After I do the hubs, I am gonna do the HID roof lights. Ldub, yours were blinding. I am going with H11s, I can get the fixtures for about 20 bucks a piece and the HID kit, transformer, ballast and bulb for about 50 bucks a pair. That is less than a 100 bucks to do the project, just gotta find a cool box to put the ballast and transformer in...Tupperware maybe>