Spare tire under trailer?

[lfhoward]

I have a M116A3 that is running civilian pickup truck wheels (16 inch steel rims with 31’s). I am interested in fabricating an under-trailer spare tire carrier using a pickup truck spare tire winch.

Has anyone with an M101 or M116 done this before, and if so, would you be willing to share some pictures? Did you locate the spare tire in front of the axle or behind? Thanks in advance for your responses so I don’t have to “reinvent the wheel.”

 

[McGuyver]

I've thought about doing this too. If you mount it right over the axle, then it would be easier to lift the tongue and maneuver the trailer when it's empty because it would be balanced...

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[antennaclimber]

It does fit in front of a M101A2. We put a crank up spare tire winch in mine.

 

[lfhoward]

Thanks, antennaclimber. Nice to know it can be done. Do you have any closer up pictures showing the winch and it’s attachment method? Thanks!

 

[lfhoward]

I've thought about doing this too. If you mount it right over the axle, then it would be easier to lift the tongue and maneuver the trailer when it's empty because it would be balanced...

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Hi McGuyver, I looked and there won’t be about room over the axle for the tire. The M166A3 axle has a higher center for maximum ground clearance, which eliminates that space.

 

[antennaclimber]

Thanks, antennaclimber. Nice to know it can be done. Do you have any closer up pictures showing the winch and it’s attachment method? Thanks!

I will see if I can get a few pictures tomorrow or Saturday when I pull it inside.

 

[McGuyver]

Hi McGuyver, I looked and there won’t be about room over the axle for the tire. The M166A3 axle has a higher center for maximum ground clearance, which eliminates that space.

I've got an a2, so it might fit mine. I haven't checked yet however.

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[M35A2-AZ]

It does fit in front of a M101A2. We put a crank up spare tire winch in mine.
View attachment 791520

Nice job!! I was thinking of doing that to my M105A2, but not sure there is room for it.

 

[Barrman]

A spare will also fit under the rear of a M101A2 with a wind up civilian truck/suv winch. I don't seem to have any pictures here at work of mine. I will get it at home this weekend.

 

[antennaclimber]

A spare will also fit under the rear of a M101A2 with a wind up civilian truck/suv winch. I don't seem to have any pictures here at work of mine. I will get it at home this weekend.

That is where we put the water tank, behind the axle.
I will get pictures tomorrow of the underside of the trailer.

 

[antennaclimber]

Not easy to see, but we added a bar between to horizontal members to hold the spare tire winch winder.

 

[lfhoward]

Thank you for the pictures, antennaclimber. That looks like a 2” square tube maybe from a receiver hitch. Or is it a bed frame rail? What model of truck’s tire winch did you use? eBay has a ton of options and they all look like they attach differently.

 

[McGuyver]

Couple of different styles I found when I searched:

Amazon.com: Lippert 159056 RV Spare Tire Winch: Automotive

Buy Lippert 159056 RV Spare Tire Winch: Winches - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

New Spare Tire Hoist Assembly 22968178 15079644 For Cadillac Chevy GMC Truck | eBay

15079644 GENERAL MOTORS. 22968178 GENERAL MOTORS. 2017 Cadillac Escalade. 2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV. 2014 Cadillac Escalade ESV. 2007 Cadillac Escalade. 2007 Cadillac Escalade ESV. 2007 Cadillac Escalade EXT.

www.ebay.com

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[antennaclimber]

It is

It is similar to this one.
The mounting bracket goes between two of the trailer bed horizontal members.
I believe its a modified piece of channel.

 

[lfhoward]

I’m finally getting around to making the spare tire winch a reality.

This is a carrier from a Chevy/GMC C/K 2500 from the late 1980’s/ early 90’s, same era as my trailer:

I also got the jack and the tools to wind the tire winch:

Looking forward to getting it installed.

 

[lfhoward]

Here are some photos of where I'll be installing the GMC spare tire winch.

It's the beam in front of the axle, right side of this photo:

Which is the same as the left side of this photo:

The beam is beefy, so I am not worried about the weight.

The spare tire winch will be installed like this sketch:

The angle iron will be a place for the tire to rest against so that it doesn't wobble when on the road. The tube going to the winch will go through a hole in the angle iron to keep it stabilized as well.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Nice!

I'll be checking in on your progress. I like the idea of having a spare, and this seems like the ideal location for it. I alos like using a Chevy part for it, as it's more consistent with the CUCV that tows it.

 

[tobyS]

When I look at the front of your trailer I see a big white wall and a tool box. Why not make a frame to hold the spare and put the box on top of it.

It looks like you are committed to under, but that front area looks easy to access and the spare is not too large.

 

[lfhoward]

When I look at the front of your trailer I see a big white wall and a tool box. Why not make a frame to hold the spare and put the box on top of it.

It looks like you are committed to under, but that front area looks easy to access and the spare is not too large.

Thanks for the suggestion, tobyS. My tool box is actually a battery box, so it already could be 150 lbs.

Having the tire on the tongue along with the battery box would increase the tongue weight even more and so I am wanting the tire to be back closer to the axle to mitigate that. I thought about putting the spare behind the axle but I would need to lose the rear stabilizer leg to do that and I am saving that space for a future water tank.

 

[lfhoward]

Here’s how much room the spare tire takes up under the bed in the camper. Looking forward to relocating it underneath!