Chinook RV

I really like the Chinook design (I have a 2003 Premier) but hate the spare tire hanging off the bumper. I've seen the posts about mounting the spare tire on the front of the rig but I'm worried that there would be too much airflow blocked, even without the cover. So, first off I'm wondering if those of you who have put your spare on the front have experienced overheating. I was also wondering if anyone had attempted to hang the spare above the storage comparment on the left rear of the Chinook (I have a Premier). I was thinking that a rack could be fabricated that would mount both on the roof as well as the rear wall so that the load could be spread over a larger area to support the weight of the spare. Any ideas on this? I know I could put it on the roof but then I'm not sure how I'd get it up or down the ladder.

Paul

I have had my spare mounted on the front since May 2014. Before doing that I did some research. At first I found some talk of Ford not honoring warranty or etc. (not that I have seen it in print). But digging a bit further I found a few decent accounts (in other words, people who were doing it on Ford based RV's, but not a lot of detail), but then I struck gold. By that I mean that I found a fellow with a Born Free RV (very similar to Chinook, Ford chassis like ours) who had not only put the spare on the front, but had proceeded to travel in the rig to Central America and back AND ran a Scan Gauge (reads out detailed engine and trans temps, etc.).

He reported no issues at all (and I specifically asked him about overheating). If they could make it through Central America, that was good enough for me to try it. Plus, I knew if it didn't work out I wouldn't mind having a front hitch anyway (the front hitch is mounted as a receiver for the spare tire carrier). So I'd only be "out" the spare tire carrier, which was not that expensive.

I ran with the spare in the stock location for some months (also running a Scan Gauge), then moved it to the front. The next day, I headed up a steep mountain type grade in 90ºF weather. Just to see, I started with the full "Continental" cover in place (completely covers center of tire), then, halfway up I pulled over and removed the cover entirely (open rim). No difference in temps, interestingly.

I then ran around in 100+ºF weather and found no ill effects.

However, THEN (as previously planned) I mounted a large transmission cooler (quite a bit larger than the stock one). My transmission wasn't really getting hot (even when towing), but... I like to see it cool as a cucumber. Now I notice that the engine cooling fan comes on every once in a while during an obvious strain (climbing pass in hot weather, etc.) What happens is the engine temp is normally around 196ºF or 197ºF. When it gets to 198ºF-200ºF the auxilliary (stock) fan comes on for around 45 seconds and bring the temperature back to 197º and shuts off. I actually think (am pretty sure) the reason for that is the transmission cooler dumping heat on the engine radiator, not the spare tire. And I have some additional "proof" of that.

A buddy with essentially the same rig (but bigger and heavier RV behind it) had the same trans cooler put on. He immediately noticed the same thing (occasional aux fan coming on for a minute or so on steep climb, etc.). But he DIDN'T have his spare on the front. Ran that way for a year or so. Then this winter, he copied my installation and put his spare on the front. He found no change compared to just the larger transmission cooler. We both tow around 4,000# on occasion as well.

I wouldn't hesitate to put the spare on the front again, and I baby my rig in terms of mechanicals. Not only is it great having the additional space by the rear entry, but I can access the storage locker there very easily. In addition it removed an (effective) close to 200# from the rear axle, and added a bit over 100# to the front axle. Since most Chinooks that I know of are heavy on the rear axle and not on the front, it seems like a good trade. I have weighed several times since then, so I have figures (at least on my rig). I wasn't overweight in the rear before, but it was still closer than the front (to max spec), especially when I tow (tongue weight). So a good move for my rig.

I can't see the spare unless I "sit up and look for it," but I'm not very tall. My buddy can just see it, but isn't bothered by it (he's taller).

I didn't really like the continental cover on the front looks wise, so I had a cover made of a Phifertex type material. Looks and performs well. Easy to check pressure in spare.

If there's anything I can answer that I didn't say (or said confusingly), just let me know.

BG

Hey Blue - did you install a larger transmission cooler because you tow alot? Would you put your spare on the front if you didn't have the larger transmission cooler? I like the idea of getting that weight off the back but want to make sure I'm not damaging engine or transmission. What sort of cooler did you go with (Brand and model)?

Still thinking about mounting the tire higher on the back so I could shorten the space needed to park/store it but the front mount would be the easiest as I already have a front receiver hitch. The mount would have to be fabricated but it should be a fairly simple thing to do.

On a different note I finally finished repairing my table (leg bracket had pulled out of the table bottom) so I'm getting closer to being fully ready for summer.

Yes, I installed the larger transmission cooler because I tow (not a lot, but when I do I like things cool). If I had moved the tire up front but DIDN'T tow in hot weather, I would not have changed the transmission cooler.

Actually, running with the tire up front and the stock transmission cooler would likely make the engine run cooler than my current setup. What I mean is, the heat coming off the trans cooler does warm up the engine radiator somewhat (it's just in front of it). Actually, it's not that the engine ends up running hotter, but the engine cooling fan does come on a bit more often to keep it running at its normal temperature. I don't think this happened with just the tire up front (although I only ran with it that way for a few weeks); I think it's the transmission cooler exhaust heat affecting the engine radiator.

Of course the engine cooling *does* have a fan to come on, whereas the transmission is more "defenseless," so in that way a trans cooler is good.

I think a transmission cooler that's somewhere between the two sizes (stock and the large one I have) would probably be perfect for most people. Or keep the stock one depending on usage and tolerance for seeing warmer transmission temperatures. I have the Tru-Cool 00-47391 cooler.

One note is that the spare tire doesn't sit right up against the grille. There is a fair bit of space between them, plus the tire is angled somewhat (just the design of the tire holder).

I wouldn't be comfortable mounting the spare up higher on the aft cabin wall without doing some major reinforcing/backing inside. Not sure if you could do that in the space under the bathroom sink or if you'd have to remove or cut a hole in the shower enclosure. Not that I've seriously looked at the possibility, but no way would I "just" mount it to the rear wall. The shell is just not that strong (tire and rim are very heavy, plus dynamic loading).

I think I've mentioned this before, but here are the parts I used to mount my spare up front.

Front hitch (which is useful for many things, not just the spare mount) is a Draw-Tite 65001
Spare mount is a Draw-Tite 6715
Anti-rattle hook (works specifically with Draw-Tite hitch - and works well) is a Tow Ready 63201

Installing the hitch is really easy if you take the front bumper cover off (then the frame ends are wide open). I just did this on a friend's E-Series and it made the hitch install trivial. On my rig I did it the hard way (using fish wires that come with the hitch) and did not remove the bumper. This was for two reasons: One is that I was in a commercial campground and didn't want to make it look like I was rebuilding the rig; and two is that there was some fog light wiring Chinook attached to the bumper and I didn't have my electrical tool bag with me. It probably still only took an hour or two, but it was VERY fiddly. This vs. around 30 easy minutes by taking the bumper off on buddy's rig. The hitch tucks away under the bumper and looks sleek (you can barely see it).

The spare mount simply slides in to the hitch like any drawbar would. Then the anti rattle pin goes in in place of the normal pin. Unlike some I've seen, the relatively cheesy little lock part is not what holds it in place. That's done by a reasonably hefty nut (comes with a wrench), and then the lock is just an extra.

Three carriage bolts (supplied) hold the rim onto the spare tire carrier.

The spare tire mount on my Chinook's rear bumper was easily removed (three carriage bolts, IIRC) and I have it stored away for potential future use. It's amazing how roomy the rear entry area feels with the spare not there by the door.

That said, I could see times when I might want to move the spare back to the rear. For example, carrying something like a small dirt bike up front and the spare in back might be preferable to having the bike block the door.

Thanks for the input. I'm leaning towards the front-mounted spare at this point - sounds less complicated than my fabricated rear mount idea.

Hey Blue - you mentioned a type of fabric that you used for your spare tire cover on the front of your rig; does it allow air to flow through it?

Yes, I'd think it does to a certain extent. I've never tried to measure (and I'm not sure there was even much difference between solid cover (the original) and no cover at all), but it probably does let some air through, and it's a type of fabric I just like. I like the way it looks, and it cleans off beautifully (I just brush bugs off, or maybe hose it off from time to time - still looks almost as good as new).

In the boating industry this is typically known as "Phifertex" (which is a brand name). The tire cover I have is actually an off brand but similar fabric. Just because I had it made by a company that makes windshield covers -- I was having a windshield cover made and asked them to also do a tire cover (they hadn't ever made a tire cover out of this fabric but they agreed to do it as long as I took responsibility if it didn't come out as good as their typical ones). I am really happy with it. Funny thing is that as it turns out, I haven't ever yet used the windshield cover (oops, guess that was not a necessity...), but the "oh as long as I'm getting the windshield cover" add on tire cover is in use 100% of the time.

If I were doing one again I probably would go for the "real" Phifertex, just because I know it as a brand and know it's really good quality. Not that I've had any issues with the "Phifertex-like," but still.

If you want to see color samples and get a good feel for what it's like, you could go to http://www.sailrite.com. Good company, good people, and a good website. You can learn a lot about fabrics, and their videos almost give you a feel for it (as good as you can get without being there). They also send out samples very inexpensively. What I have would be very similar to the basic Phifertex (not the plus or whatever they call the denser weave one).

I would do the same type of fabric again for a tire cover. Mine still looks sharp (to me at least) after over two years of constant use. Here is a photo - perhaps you can get an idea of how it's somewhat permeable in the way that you can see the holes in the rim through it. This photo was taken when the cover was already about two years old.

Wow - looks great! I'll take a look at that website.

On a different topic, did you remove your generator? I seem to recall that you did but I could be mistaken. I'm wanting to line the generator box with sound deadeners and isolators on the generator mounts but would need to remove the generator temporarily to do so and was wondering how difficult it is. Any ideas?

Took a look at the sailrite website - I think I may try running with the spare in front with the original metal cover on first to see if it affects engine temperature at all. I'm hoping to have the same experience that you did as far as it NOT making the engine/transmission hotter. If I decide I need a cloth cover like yours I think there's an upholstery shop that I've used before that might be able to fabricate a cover for me.

Thanks again for all your expertise!