Im looking to relocate my spare from the rear of my new camper so that it frees up space and removes weight from the rear bumper as I plan on removing the cheap existing and upgrading it for a trailer hitch.

As I see it I have 4 options:

the lippert storage box system
a winch type system similar to our trucks
a cradle system like the BAL unit
or store the spare in a compartment

Any recommendations and why you chose it over others?

TIA

 

Or in the bed of your pick up.

 

I moved mine into the basement storage. It stays clean and out of the sun there. I had too many unused items in the compartment anyway and don't really miss the space. My other option was to bag it and put it under the front bed where you can't really access things very easily. The weight is better handled up front.

 

I use a BAL system which installs quickly and easily and is easy to access. I had no desire to waste compartment space and it seemed like a reasonable choice. Basically just personal preference. I posted on my install quite a while back.

Steve

 

while I do not have a 5th Wheel (yet)

I made a carrier similar to BAL... mine is just rear of second axle.
mine is just above axle line.. so if axle will clear, so will tire mount.

 

My BAL is on the front just ahead of the axle so to drag the front of the fiver would have to hit. Regardless of where you install anything under the frame, you do have to figure for possible drag. Having the door for our fiver at the rear ruled out positioning behind the axle.

 

I bought a BAL but didn't have room returned it for the Lippert winch mounted under the front between the jacks.

 

I installed the BAL behind the rear axle. With an enclosed underbelly, it's a bit of work to access the inside of the frame rail for through bolting, but I would highly recommend this approach as the unit will wriggle around with the weight of the spare. One good thing is there is space next to the spare for other things such as an aluminum step I have for working on my truck.

 

I did the same in the front using grade 8 bolts.

 

Thanks for all the different ideas.

Im going to go the winch route in the future but for now I'm going to tuck it up front behind the jacks.

Its getting dang hard to resist buying a whole bunch of stuff for this new camper especially since we haven't even made the maiden voyage yet!

it will be nice to get the spare up front as it is about 1/3 of the tounge weight of trailer hitch I'll be adding to the rear.

 

A single thought. Use it first. It is so much easier to prioritize once you are actually using your rig.

Steve

 

Man that's the truth!