Tomas

Keep in mind that a LOT of the structural strength of the upper half of that hatch is the GLASS that's glued to it...

If I were going to try making my xB look like one of my old Jeep Cherokees. I'd FIRST consider a mounting anchored to the bumper underpinnings in some way, or second, a swing-away mounted to a strongly reinforced rear body corner...

I would NOT try to mount it to the hatch without totally re-engineering the hatch, it's hinges, the body mounting of those hinges, the pneudraulic struts, and their mountings...

Then you'd have an underpowered, two-wheel-drive, Jeep Liberty...

Digger

I've had this same thought and have a few ideas for it...

Idea 1:
Get a trailer hitch and fab-up a mount off of that instead of mounting it to the hatch. You can make it swing out of the way so that you can still open the hatch without removing the spare. The downfall would be that the hitch mount would show across the bumper running up behind the spare.

Idea 2:
Install a hitch, cut a hole in the top of the rear bumper and weld a tube to the hitch coming straight-up through the hole in the bumper. Hinge this tube right above the bumper so that the spare can be swung straight down for hatch access.

crayonBOX

^actually; those hitches already exist..

the local auto store was selling a "spare tire mount" hitch accessory that had a straight bar up w/a set of lug studs for the spare wheel; it also came ina swing away and swing down option:
swing down was like $40 iono how much swing away was...

crayonBOX

here we go


or

which looks like:


if someone is willing to cut thru their bumper...though it's a static mount...

squirrel

^^^Those mounts can be found at any trailer shop and retail for around $30 or so.

Tomas

Of course one could always use the old Land Rover trick of mounting it on the hood...

sexyscionlover

Get outta here Tom



the hood would be unique as hell. haha. front bumper maybe like a farm truck does?



scott

Dansthunder

Actually there is plenty of room under the hood to make a fiberglass hood with a indent in the center for the tire to mount in, so that it does not ubstuct you vision.

jamesgang

I always know when I'm getting back to the old neighborhood (not that where I live now is all that different) because the station wagons are used to haul tractor tires. And the pickups are for carting kids

djct_watt

Have you ever seen the crash videos of the CRV crash tests? It totally looks cool, and is a killer idea, but be weary of your rear passengers in a rear end collision. There is a good chance that you may see some fatalaties.

Scion05BOPxB

Fabulous rear bumper, hinged license plate, hitch behind plate, tire mounted on hitch mounted holder.

Remove the tire part, insert bike rack and you have my long term plan when I get off my butt and start riding again.

Scionpilot

What about doing it like the old Broncos and 4 Runners where it was on the side?

Box916

Insurance considers a spare tire on the rear as a safety addition to the car.

I also know I'll have to pick up some stronger shocks for the rear hatch, I've already weight tested them and it doesn't look like the stock ones can support a full size spare. Sorry to not be on this week, I've been busy with work. I'll see how soon I can make the magic happen

Box916

That just mounts on your rear bumper? I'm havning trouble imagining this...

djct_watt

Yeah. . . that's odd. I'm sure that maybe in a large car, you may see some added safety. But in smaller cars, there was actually a decrease in safety, as the spare would cause the rear crash forces do be directed away from the bumper (where they are supposed to be) and into the hatch. Subsequently, there would be higher damage in claims, and higher % fatalaties and injuries in high speed collisions, especially in smaller SUV's/hatchbacks. And being that there is less than an armslength reach to the hatch, I don't know if redirecting forces is a good idea.

Here is JUST one link. . . you can find more if you search for yourself.
http://www.cnn.com/US/9807/21/suv.report/

Box916

I agree that the spare tire costs more in rear end accidents, but I believe it acts as a little extra protection during an accident. If the mount isn't installed properly, I'm sure that during an accident it wouldn't spread the damage out easily. I'll look around, great article on cnn!

djct_watt

Yeah, I'm not actually trying to stop or deter you guys, just trying to make sure you guys are fully aware of all the details involved.

Box916

Yea good looking out, thanks for the info! I saw some xB rollin around here in the bay area has a Yakima roof rack with a spare mounted ontop that looks iighty, I was just trying to be different...I'll see if I can find something sturdy that would spread an impact evenly across the hatch or something...

UBOW

A can of spray glue and packing foam (peanuts - lots and lots of 'em).

Box916

^^^ Great idea...