[produceconsumerobot]

After ditching the run flats in favor of slightly oversized Yokohama Geolandar AT G015 235/60R18, here's my solution to mount a full size spare using the seatbelt mount points for the 1/3 3rd row seat.
Parts used:

• 2" x 3/16" x 36" steel flat bar (Home Depot)
• M12 x 1.5 threaded rod, nuts, washers, lock washers (McMaster)
• Leader Accessories Universal Spare Tire Cover for Jeep, Trailer, RV, Truck and All car Wheel (Black Premium, 28"-30") (Amazon)
• 2x lug nuts (Toyota)
• 18mm drill bit
• 1/2" drill bit

A bit of hammering with 4lb hammer to get it into the right shape + some drilling and angle grinding, et voila! According to my calculations it can handle over 10,000lbs of sheer, which is likely more than the seatbelt bolts and well more than the 4800lbs of a 60lbs tire in an 80mph impact, so it should be pretty secure. I might see if I can add a locked flange nut to prevent over-tightening of the lug nuts, but otherwise I'm so far pretty happy with the tradeoff of turning a 7 seater into a 6 seater with a mounted full spare!

 

[OnTheRoadAgain]

Cool. Personally I would just try to mount it on a roof rack.

 

[22Ranger]

Cool. Personally I would just try to mount it on a roof rack.

I’ve got mine in a roof box, but it is a beast to load it!

 

[22Ranger]

After ditching the run flats in favor of slightly oversized Yokohama Geolandar AT G015 235/60R18, here's my solution to mount a full size spare using the seatbelt mount points for the 1/3 3rd row seat.
Parts used:

• 2" x 3/16" x 36" steel flat bar (Home Depot)
• M12 x 1.5 threaded rod, nuts, washers, lock washers (McMaster)
• Leader Accessories Universal Spare Tire Cover for Jeep, Trailer, RV, Truck and All car Wheel (Black Premium, 28"-30") (Amazon)
• 2x lug nuts (Toyota)
• 18mm drill bit
• 1/2" drill bit

A bit of hammering with 4lb hammer to get it into the right shape + some drilling and angle grinding, et voila! According to my calculations it can handle over 10,000lbs of sheer, which is likely more than the seatbelt bolts and well more than the 4800lbs of a 60lbs tire in an 80mph impact, so it should be pretty secure. I might see if I can add a locked flange nut to prevent over-tightening of the lug nuts, but otherwise I'm so far pretty happy with the tradeoff of turning a 7 seater into a 6 seater with a mounted full spare!

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Super clean looking, nice job!

 

[RedShift42]

Nice fabbing job, That’s some pretty serious commitment!
But personally I’ll just stick to putting my compact spare in the back before long trips.

 

[Are Vee]

I have those wheels, also. Found a matching, used wheel to make a spare for my 235/60R18 Cross Contact LX25 Continentals.
Good job with the fabrication of your spare tire mount!

RV

 

[produceconsumerobot]

After a couple recent tire incidents (on the old RFs), my wife & I weren't comfortable driving without a spare on non-RF tires (or even with RF tires, for that matter) and we wanted it to be securely mounted so that it didn't become a 60lb wrecking ball in an accident. Roof was definitely an option (and still is if we need the space), but I wasn't that excited about changing the (pretty great) aerodynamics of the sienna for everyday driving and I'm not sure my wife could get the tire off the roof by herself in a pinch. It's also possible to lay the spare flat with the 3rd row down or prop it up behind the 3rd row and secure it to the 3rd row seat anchor points with a strap, but I decided to give it a more permanent home rather than move it around whenever we want to reconfigure. Only time I think we may need to take the spare out (along with the 2nd row) is when hauling a sheet of plywood (albeit it might still fit OK at an angle).

 

[jseyfert3]

Well, that’s one way to do it! Pretty slick if you don’t mind loosing the interior space. I doubt you’ll get plywood in there with the tire in place though.

A thought I had for those browsing this thread. Toyota apparently thought of the liability of having a flat tire just floating around in the van. So included with the jack and tire wrench (well, at least on FWD models, not sure about AWD) is a strap, and the manual instructs you to use this strap to anchor the flat tire behind the rear seats.

Definitely not as secure as what’s pictured here, but probably quite suitable especially as the seats themselves will provide at least decent protection in most cases. Downside is you need to leave the seats upright to stow the tire this way.

I’m quite content with my compact spare that stores under my van. Benefit of not having AWD…

Sidetrack thought. Has anyone mounted a full size spare on a hitch mount, Jeep style? I’d definitely get a good laugh seeing a minivan speeding down the interstate with a full size spare mounted like that. 😂

DIY-Low Cost Swing Down Hitch Mount Spare Tire Rack

Well, that seems to be a mouthful but I wanted to make sure that it would show up in the search bar for the next guy looking for an inexpensive way to mount your spare tire to your hitch. When I started this endeavor I had looked and looked for a quality hitch mount spare tire holder that...

www.overlandbound.com

 

[floridanative]

Nice job! That looks great!

-Mike

 

[floridanative]

Well, that’s one way to do it! Pretty slick if you don’t mind loosing the interior space. I doubt you’ll get plywood in there with the tire in place though.

A thought I had for those browsing this thread. Toyota apparently thought of the liability of having a flat tire just floating around in the van. So included with the jack and tire wrench (well, at least on FWD models, not sure about AWD) is a strap, and the manual instructs you to use this strap to anchor the flat tire behind the rear seats.

Definitely not as secure as what’s pictured here, but probably quite suitable especially as the seats themselves will provide at least decent protection in most cases. Downside is you need to leave the seats upright to stow the tire this way.

I’m quite content with my compact spare that stores under my van. Benefit of not having AWD…

Sidetrack thought. Has anyone mounted a full size spare on a hitch mount, Jeep style? I’d definitely get a good laugh seeing a minivan speeding down the interstate with a full size spare mounted like that.

DIY-Low Cost Swing Down Hitch Mount Spare Tire Rack

Well, that seems to be a mouthful but I wanted to make sure that it would show up in the search bar for the next guy looking for an inexpensive way to mount your spare tire to your hitch. When I started this endeavor I had looked and looked for a quality hitch mount spare tire holder that...

www.overlandbound.com

Someone here has used that (non folding) spare tire mount. Don’t remember who or which gen van it was on.

-Mike

 

[produceconsumerobot]

To jseyfert3 & floridanative's points, there are a number of other places to put a spare depending on your priorities. Here are a few of our outtakes FWIW.