Where do you mount your spare tire?
 

I don't like the factory spare carrier under my truck so I got a carrier similar to this from ebay;


https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/L8IAA...Bv/s-l1600.jpg


it's the spare carrier for an E150 van. After I finish up my 351 swap and get my truck roadworthy, I'm going to try and figure out how to mount this under my truck.

I have the stock swing out tray under mine right now, but I'm looking at a couple of in-bed mounts on Amazon.

It will be rough going trying to mount this with the rear fuel tank in place.... so good luck with that plan... I suppose the wrong spare tie mount will be of much more use than a dumb ole fuel tank though...

Is that just the one arm holding the tire up against the fuel tank?


Sure feels like the tire could easily pop out!



Stupid fuel tank.

This would be super cool but I have a tool box.

Your concern about the stock spare tire holder is unfounded. Just think of how many MILLIONS of trucks Ford produced with such a mount. That thing goes back to the 60s. Not a problem.

Mount it at the rear of the bed instead of the front. I had one like that on my previous 1990 truck because it had a 32 gallon replacement tank and the tire would not fit under it:

http://jastrauss.fastmail.fm/right_rear.jpg

My issue with the stock holder was from road salt. It got quite difficult to use. So I scrapped it, and welded a piece of chain to the front right bed bolt. That let me lock it down. Worked for a while, then I scrapped the pickup bed and went to a flatbed. I then bolted it to the headache rack. That worked most of the time, but once I started hauling a truck camper I needed the spare back in the stock location, so I built a holder with 5/8" all thread and heavy wall 1" tube. Took 14 years but the tire is back where it started. Somewhat related: I don't concretely remember the last time I needed to use the spare. I think it was four wheeling on worn out Goodyear highway tires in the CO back country over 10 years ago. Run good LT tires, know your pressures, and you'll very rarely need that spare.. Carry plugs & a compressor and that's even more true. [Now I'm sure to tear a sidewall on my next adventure!]

The original carrier rusted on me and I have the spare in the bed. I thought about the Canadian model F150 spare carrier that mounts on the right corner of the bed by the tailgate, but I didn't like the idea of the spare tire taking up bed space...

That is something I thought about which is why I'm sure my mount is missing something.

Currently, my truck only has the "/" car that goes across the tire. Nothing holding it to the bar even though it looks like there were some type of mounts at some point.

I didn't see what year/truck you have but page 260-261 shows a bolt securing the wheel to the bar on 1996 F250/F350s:
http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Fo.../96f23og1e.pdf

That is super helpful thanks!

I do NOT have the wheel retainer. Looks like I'm going to hit the Junk Yards!


It is a 1990 F150 4.9L.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...1b77b7d1bb.jpg

I have 1990 F150 with a 4.9 as well and store the spare under the bed. When I got mine, the threaded plastic tire retainer was in the cab and it was missing the bolt that threads into it. I found an OEM NOS bolt on ebay. Once I had that, I lowered the spare tire support and centered the spare, outer side of rim facing the ground, on the metal support. After that, I placed the plastic tire retainer on the inside of the rim (not the outside) and fed the bolt through the support and threaded into the retainer. Lastly, once the tire was securely mounted to the support bar, I lifted the whole thing until the slotted end aligned with the eyebolt, where I placed the flathead of the jack handle and lifted the spare until it was snug. Make sure that the eyebolt is NOT aligned with the slotted end once the tire is in the position you want it. If it is left aligned, the support bar holding the spare will fall to the ground while you are driving, or when you remove the lug wrench from the eyebolt.

This thread should help you greatly!: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...re-holder.html