When we bought the RV, the spare wheel carrier was U-clamped to the rear bumper bar with two clamp fittings, something that looked like they came from a vehicle road spring, the fixings were bent, rusty and the whole thing was loose.
We stripped the carrier off the RV and threw away the rusty fittings, to then decide how we would carry a spare wheel in the future, or even decide if we would carry a spare at all. We have full vehicle recovery back to home from anywhere in the UK, but decided on balance it would make sense to have a spare wheel and tyre on board, despite the heavy weight.
We initially planned to put the spare wheel under the bed, But, after a chat with Karl from Roaming In Raymond over a few thought provoking beers at our house, we decided that it would be a good idea to put the carrier back on the motorhome, but this time we would use a different method of fastening it, something that was going to be a bit more substantial, and would stand the test of time.
We stripped the carrier down, removing all of the old paint. In fairness, it was Karl who noticed that the carrier was actually cracked (see the photograph below) and so Karl took the carrier home so he could weld it up.
As you can see from the next photograph, Karl did a cracking job of welding up the crack, firstly drilling in some pilot holes to prevent the crack from extending, next filling the crack with MIG weld, then preparing it back, ahead of a nice coat of fresh paint.
Next, I had to buy some nice new bolts and nuts, so we could bolt the carrier directly to the bumper bar. A chunky pair of M14 X 130mm 8.8 Grade BZP Hex Head Bolts and Nyloc nuts did the job very nicely.
We also cut off a pair of box sections from alloy stock, in order to use this inside the bumper bar. This would prevent the 100mm x 100mm bumper bar from compressing when the M14’s were fully tightened up.
Karl then MIG welded a pair of new M12 bolts to the spare wheel carrier, which would then be used to secure the spare wheel. I may replace these nuts with new Nyloc nuts, just to ensure nothing will work loose when the RV is out on the road. But for now the wheel is nice and secure.
And there we go, the spare wheel is nice and secure, certainly better than it was when we purchased the RV in July 2019.
All that remains now is to find a nice spare wheel cover, perhaps one with an American theme.
When you get a moment, please do pop over and take a look at Karl and Helen’s Youtube channel, and don’t forget to let them know that we sent you.
Cheers Karl !
Vintage RV Adventures 