Spare Tire

[sandriver]

What type carrier does anyone use for spare tire? Mine was removed when I purchased it. 1997 concourse

[Blue~Go]

I would guess that the original spare carrier (which mounted on the rear bumper to the left of the door) was made for Chinook by ASAP Metal Fabricators. I say that because they made a number of the custom steel fab items for Chinook. They are still in business and apparently friendly to deal with, so you may want to contact them and ask.

ASAP Metal Fabricators, Yakima, Washington.

They may be contacted via e-mail at valerie@asapmetalfab.com
or by Phone at 888-386-8189 or 509-453-9143

Their Website is www.asapmetalfab.com

It's basically a two-part steel channel "V", wherein the bottom of the V is a hinge. The tire therefore can be swung down and out (where it stays put by itself) so that one can access the "tire locker" just ahead of it (storage).

I moved my spare tire up front (for reasons of weight distribution plus more elbow room by rear entry), and I mounted it by putting on a Draw-Tite front hitch (designed for E-Series - goes on nicely with no bumper mods and tucks under front bumper), and then adding a Draw-Tite spare tire carrier to it. So that may be another option.

[1998chinook]

I have the carrier BG described. I happen to have it off at the moment to repaint. I can take a picture if you would like.

Also, I had ASAP fabricate replacement chrome bumpers. The were a perfect match to the originals. All the mounting points aligned correctly. ASAP was great to deal with. The replacement bumpers were pricey but chrome plating is getting harder and harder to find.

[sandriver]

Just ordered the Draw Tite system for front
Thanks guys

[Blue~Go]

I bet you'll like that. One additional note is that I also bought the Draw-Tite J hook that is a combination lock and "anti-rattle" piece. Keeps the tire bracket from shifting around. Other anti-rattle things I had looked at always seemed a bit flimsy, but this one is super stout, and it isn't just the lock that holds it in place, but also a nut.

I'll just list all the parts I used here, since I'm looking up the J-hook.

Hitch = Draw-Tite 65001
Tire mount = Draw-Tite 6715
J pin = Draw-Tite 63201

The hitch comes with "fish wires" that you can use to get the hardware into the Ford frame without removing the front bumper. I did it this way because I was in a campground where I didn't really want to make a big show of "working on my vehicle." However, it was a bit of a pain! If I had been at home in the driveway, I would probably have removed the front bumper, which gives you massively open access to all the mounting hardware. The fish wire did work though (with a bit of cursing).

The only thing I would change is to have the tire bracket not put the tire at an "underbite" angle. I think it's that way to allow it to clear bumpers on other vehicles (but not needed on ours). I have thought about having a welder straighten it up, but it's not a high priority.

[pdemarest]

Hey Blue - you mentioned that your front mounted spare tire has an "under bite". Does that mean that the bottom of the tire tilts backwards toward the vehicle? Do you think that angle helps with allowing air to get to the radiator? I'm looking at spare tire mounts for the front of my rig and the Drawtite has its tire mount at a 90 degree angle to the bumper while the Curt mount tilts back slightly. Any recommendations? I'm hoping to move the front tire to the front before a late February trip to Arizona.

Paul

[Blue~Go]

Hi Paul,

By "underbite" I mean that the bottom protrudes further - like a bulldog. In other words, the top of the tire "lays back" toward the hood a little bit. Mine is a Draw-Tite, and it's definitely not perfectly vertical. I do think the Curt may tilt more (I prefer a more vertical look, so that may be why I chose the Draw-Tite even though it's only less vertical, not perfectly vertical).

I don't know whether the tilt helps any with air flow. My guess is it's more that the tire sits reasonably far away from the grille. (It would be fun to put it in a wind tunnel both ways - heck, for all I know the air speeds up around the tire and then rockets into the intakes )) I only know what I can observe from watching my Scan Gauge, which makes me feel comfortable with it.

Here are the part numbers of what I chose to install:

1) Draw-Tite 65001 front hitch
2) Draw-Tite 6715 front spare tire mount
3) Draw-Tite 63201 "J pin" anti-wobble device (this is really beefy and effective).

I noticed just now that etrailer.com (where I bought these parts) now has a good video on installing the 65001 front hitch on a Ford van class C like ours. I note they did it the easy way by removing the front bumper. I recommend that over the fish wire method (I used the fish wires; did it the removed-bumper way on a friend's RV -- much easier!). The video shows the whole thing quite well.

[pdemarest]

Thanks, Blue. Luckily, my rig came with a front hitch so I just have to get the spare mounting hardware.

Paul

[pdemarest]

Oh - just forgot to ask this - does the front mounted spare make it difficult to get to the outside hood release?

[Blue~Go]

Sorry for not answering sooner. Am on the road (and in a CAR - so primitive!). You do have to kind of reach over to get the hood release, but I don't find it to be too bad. I'm not a 6-footer either. The Draw-Tite spare carrier does hold the tire off a bit from the grille.

Now if I'm doing more than changing the oil or something relatively minor, then I take the whole thing out (mount and tire together). For example when I installed a larger transmission cooler. But for 95% of the under-hood things I've done (including electrical/battery/etc.) it hasn't been a problem. In fact, you can set tools on it