Just got my new tires mounted and am trying to mount new spare. Lots of decisions with backer nuts behind spare tire.
I presently have spare mounted away from FG wall as when I took it off first time, had rubber wear in marks and tire lettering imprinted on FG on trailer.
Is it better for spare to be tight to FG wall, or offset by 1/2 inch or so? I have tire presently sitting about 1/2 inch away from trailer, but of course concerned about vibration during travel. Is it better to be closer or am I good?
Sure is a pita to get distance away from trailer and tire the same all around tire due to shell curvature. Have monkeyed with backer nuts half a dozen times and leaving it for now.
Hi! I dont picture how your mount is made but, if it is similar to mine, you want the tire pretty tight on the fiberglass wall. Remember the FG is about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. If it is sitting out, all the load will be only around the bolts. Imagine the swing going down a gravel road! If you are worry about your paint job, you can cover the tire with a tire cover that will go in between!
Bought some felt blocks, pads, that I stuck on the trailer where the tie would hit and set the inside nuts so the tire was against the felt. I wasn't worried about the tie and or the cover leaving imprints in the fiberglass vs the tire not wobbling and breaking away for the fiberglass.
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Byron & Anne enjoying the everyday Saturday thing.
I remember the previous owner of my Scamp had the spare tight against the shell, and I also did not like the idea of dust and grit accumulating and scuffing the wall. I keep it away from the wall now. (The size of the gap does not really matter.) I was also concerned about the vibration, and I made myself a pair of wooden wedges that fit on top of the bumper, and are tied to it with a thin bungee cord that pulls them together. That way the bumper supports most of the weight. You could probably achieve the same using a simple, flat scrap of wood of appropriate thickness.
Good luck.
Even if you get it very tight against the trailer shell, you will still experience abrasion due to road grit which will get in that area and rub the trailer. In the NASCAR world, they call it "door donuts," when two vehicles get too close and the tire of one car rubs a nice circular "donut" pattern in the side of the car he hit. Very similar action. In short, you can't really ever get it tight enough to prevent this from happening. Your options to prevent this from happening would be having a stand-off bracket that prevents the tire from making any contact with the trailer shell at all, or removing it and carrying it elsewhere.
It may not work for everybody, but if you have a pickup or an SUV with enough room, you could mount it on a separate removable bracket which could be slid in and out of the truck bed for trips, and stored when not needed. This is a bracket I made from some scrap metal pieces I had laying around in the garage. Works great, and it isn't permanent, so I can take it out when I'm not towing the trailer. YMMV
You need the backing nuts to stabilize the lug nuts and keep them snug without working loose or over stressing the bolts in the shell,also to allow the wheel to be bolted directly to the shell.
The back of the trailer is reinforced to support the tire and the bolts.
Be sure the tire is aired up to full pressure then adjust the backing nuts to allow the tire to just touch the shell.this spreads the load evenly. Then use the lug nuts to mount the spare.
You could use a plastic bag or some other protection to prevent discoloration but I always figure that the trailer will always have a spare in place so why worry about it?
Unless you don't carry your spare back there, in which case, it would show up where it once was mounted. I have a rotomolded gearbox (Stow-Away) that I plug into a 2" receiver hitch mounted on the back of mine, so, yes, having the spare tire rub marks would definitely show. If you always plan on having the spare mounted there, slowly and surely wearing away your gelcoat, (and perhaps more,) then I suppose it would be OK. I carry this on the back, so I don't want any tire circles on my gelcoat.
Hey Wendy,
I had the same thought as you about marking up the shell. Only my trailer didn't come with a spare to begin with. The first year I carried the spare in my van but I didn't like that, the next year I put an aftermarket carrier onto the tongue but that added more weight than I wanted. Last month I made up a custom mount that is attached to the bumper. It's on the back where it looks good but it sits away from the shell.
Unless you don't carry your spare back there, in which case, it would show up where it once was mounted. I have a fiberglass gearbox (Stow-Away) that I plug into a 2" receiver hitch mounted on the back of mine, so, yes, having the spare tire rub marks would definitely show. If you always plan on having the spare mounted there, slowly and surely wearing away your gelcoat, (and perhaps more,) then I suppose it would be OK. I carry this on the back, so I don't want any tire circles on my gelcoat.
I have had mine properly mounted for 13 years now, and 70,000 miles. No significant damage other than a preventable light stain ring.
I have also owned many Scamp trailers which were much older and only had two bolts... same results.
As I said... if the stain bothers you... install a barrier, but there is no fear of damage when properly installed. Your trunk would hardly be safe on a Scamp13 let alone appropriate. Although it would surely cover the space formerly occupied by the spare.
A garbage bag or other barrier is needed anyway if you have a tire cover since the tire will stain that right through.
I don't use a tire cover.
Even though my trailer is getting a stain on the gel coat from the spare tire, Scamp recommends it to be touching the trailer, and that is how I will keep it mounted. Since I'm in the Pacific Northwet and the spare tire cover has already succumbed to mold and mildew, I use no cover now.
Wendy, what I've done works well for me but I'm in the desert and not in a rainy area. My SD has one threaded bolt in the rear shell that goes through the spares hub hole with a large wooden washer and the tire sits on the bumper. I cut a tire size circle out of 1/8th" ply, used 3M contact spray to glue on a very short nap (3/16s) carpet from a box store on the shell side. Here's a hint for anyone, I drilled a small hole through the mounting stud about 1/4" from the snugged bolt and keep a safety clip though it. If the nut should back off I won't loose the tire. Bottom line, at least to me, I had the extra materials on hand to do that, but in reality the tire marks on the shell are a mental thing as no one is going to see it and it's normal. All that said, when the wood finally falls apart I'll put the spare back in place against the shell and not worry about tire marks. But as always YMMV .
Just got my new tires mounted and am trying to mount new spare. Lots of decisions with backer nuts behind spare tire.
I presently have spare mounted away from FG wall as when I took it off first time, had rubber wear in marks and tire lettering imprinted on FG on trailer.
Is it better for spare to be tight to FG wall, or offset by 1/2 inch or so? I have tire presently sitting about 1/2 inch away from trailer, but of course concerned about vibration during travel. Is it better to be closer or am I good?
Sure is a pita to get distance away from trailer and tire the same all around tire due to shell curvature. Have monkeyed with backer nuts half a dozen times and leaving it for now.
Regards,
Wendy
We have a Casita and the spare is mounted so that it is tight to the wall. No problems in 10 years with damage to the trailer. We put a tire cover over it just to keep the sun off of the tire but it doesn't fit between the tire and wall. Keeping the tire tight to the wall prevents bouncing around. It won't really rub since it doesn't move at all with it being tight to the wall. I think if it is loose it will bounce and could even hit the wall.
This is all good information. I will mount the tire snug to the FG shell. But what confuses me still is where along the bolt to set the backing nuts.
Seems like when I have all backing nuts sitting relatively on the same thread on the 3 bolts, perhaps the top of the tire might sit flush, but then the bottom or sides kick out from the trailer. Or vice versa.
Should I perhaps try to set the backing nuts at different places along the bolt? For example, place the but on the top bolt at a certain spot, then spin the bottom two backing nuts a little closer to the trailer?
I'm not trying to be a nerd, I just figured the tire should sit and have about the same space all around between the FG shell and back of tire.
My spare rides inside the trailer under the bed. It keeps the dog food bag from running amuck While it looks brand new, it's we'll over the three year limit.
Trailer: 2015 Scamp (16 Std Layout 4) with '15 Toyota Sienna LE Tug
North Carolina
Posts: 5,156
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raz
My spare rides inside the trailer under the bed. It keeps the dog food bag from running amuck While it looks brand new, it's we'll over the three year limit.
Tires stored inside the camper are exposed to increased ozone from fan(s) and so should be replaced after two years.
By the way, I first heard that fact on April first...
This is all good information. I will mount the tire snug to the FG shell. But what confuses me still is where along the bolt to set the backing nuts.
Seems like when I have all backing nuts sitting relatively on the same thread on the 3 bolts, perhaps the top of the tire might sit flush, but then the bottom or sides kick out from the trailer. Or vice versa.
Should I perhaps try to set the backing nuts at different places along the bolt? For example, place the but on the top bolt at a certain spot, then spin the bottom two backing nuts a little closer to the trailer?
I'm not trying to be a nerd, I just figured the tire should sit and have about the same space all around between the FG shell and back of tire.
The bottom of the tire will sit out from the trailer some. My tire sits on the bumper. Because of the curvature of the trailer the top and sides fit tight to the trailer but not the bottom.
I was looking & your storage box Casita Greg, look great! I noticed you don't have a pressure reducer on your fresh water hose and just thought I would mention it. Happy camping!
We actually attached door bumpers to the body of the trailer so we could hold the tire tight to the body. When we attached them, we put the tire up there and the dust from the tire left a ring for us to use to line up the bumpers correctly. We washed it off when we got them on, of course...but this setup works great for us. As for keeping the nuts tight, we used nuts in front of and behind the wheel with jam nuts. Hasn't moved an inch!
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