TheSamba.com :: View topic - factory spare tire location storage space?

Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:16 pm

I was under my van today looking at the now empty spare tire area in the front of the van. (tire is on the back)

Seems like a waste of valuable space.

does anyone use this space to store something other than the tire?

Just curious what i could use the space for.

Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:24 pm

I've been seriously considering water storage. I feel like I need to add some weight to the front to offset the spare and aux batteries being in the back.

I had also thought of bolting a couple of large ammo cans to the clamshell to hold seldom used items I think I need with me. Spare parts anyone?

Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:44 pm

i was thinking auxiliary batteries maybe? i wonder if hey would fit. maybe with a custom built tray or something...

Wed Mar 13, 2013 10:44 pm

I have a skid plate there on my syncro, and strapped too the skid plate I keep 3 ammo cases. They're water tight, steel, and convenient. In one I keep "electrical Spares" which includes a few spools of wire, a soldering iron, countless connectors, relays, etc. It's gotten me out of a few jams. I could probably take the 10 feet of 4 gauge out though.... : )
In another I keep "Cooling System": Which includes a bunch of hose, a bunch of T's, a bunch of clamps, and a bunch of caps. The bostig cooling system is quite simple and doesn't have a bunch of location specific hoses, so i've got what I need to make repairs!
In the last one, I keep "Bostig Spares/Macguiver". Bostig spares means 1 spare spark plug wire (the longest), a set of plugs, and an exhaust hanger. You should see how many spares I have to carry in my waterboxer powered van...
: )
The "MAcguiver" section includes metal 'plumbers tape', an assortment of sheet metal screws, an assortment of metric bolts, nuts, and washers, Tape, Sealants, Additional Hose clamps, and a jar of salted peanuts (i get hungry sometimes when fixing...)

With these three bins, I've gotten out of plenty of jam, and yet they take up no interior space, and are there when I need them.

Wed Mar 13, 2013 11:11 pm

Thanks for the description!

Do you have any pictures available of this setup? Also, how difficult is to access the ammo cases with a skid plate instead of the regular tire carrier?

I was thinking of using a 55 gallon barrel to create some sort of water tight container, never thought of using ammo cases.

Wed Mar 13, 2013 11:14 pm

I carry Solaire anywhere BBQ grill. Pelican case would be nice in there.

Thu Mar 14, 2013 12:25 am

"Clamshell storage" search finds you all this good stuff:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?search_keywords=clamshell+storage&search_forum=20

Thu Mar 14, 2013 1:04 am

Train Horns. :D

Thu Mar 14, 2013 2:43 am

Our aircooled westy joker is converted to dual fuel petrol/lpg so we have a lpg tank fitted in place of the spare wheel.

Thu Mar 14, 2013 5:46 am

Keep in mind, lots of folks consider the spare tire to be an integral part of the safety system for frontal collisions in that it absorbs and dissipates energy.

Thu Mar 14, 2013 6:30 am

ZanaEvyPapa wrote: Keep in mind, lots of folks consider the spare tire to be an integral part of the safety system for frontal collisions in that it absorbs and dissipates energy.

X2... VW liked to use spares in part of the collision protection.

Thu Mar 14, 2013 7:42 am

WM971252 wrote: ZanaEvyPapa wrote: Keep in mind, lots of folks consider the spare tire to be an integral part of the safety system for frontal collisions in that it absorbs and dissipates energy.

X2... VW liked to use spares in part of the collision protection.

I've seen that posted before, but wouldn't a decent skid plate do the same? After all, factory 16" Syncros didn't ship with a spare there...

Thu Mar 14, 2013 8:32 am

whocanduncan wrote: Train Horns. :D

This is what's going in my skid plate, plus the air tank. Likely some spare parts that can get wet too.

Thu Mar 14, 2013 8:59 am

Spare parts and tools in a water-tight, lockable (to the skid plate) container is my plan. I gotta' get on that.

Thu Mar 14, 2013 9:24 am

WINCH :!:

Thu Mar 14, 2013 11:03 pm

I have a gowesty skidplate with a small gas jug strapped to it for fuel for my heater (diesel/kerosene). I'd love to stuff some batteries in there, but it doesn't look large enough for the golf cart 6 volters I have in my trailer. This summer I'll look into either redesigning the skidplate with a hinge, or building a new one with more room above it.

Fri Mar 15, 2013 6:30 am

No, i do not have any pictures of this setup. However, They fit fine and access is acceptable. Obviously if I need to get to them, it means laying on my back, but the idea is that this is where I keep parts I don't use much. They're held in place with a set of ratchet straps and have a safety cable/pad-lock running through them all.

Hinging the skidplate makes for a much less effective skidplate, but more efficient storage place. Hmmm...
This space is too small to fit any reasonable batteries, and if you really take your bus through the rough stuff (why else do you have big tires?) you certainly don't want exposed electrical connections sitting around down there.

As stated, VW made and sold thousands of vanagons without a front spare tire, so they couldn't have thought it to be too big a safety liability.

Fri Mar 15, 2013 9:07 am

Quote: As stated, VW made and sold thousands of vanagons without a front spare tire, so they couldn't have thought it to be too big a safety liability.

Not in the US market.

Quote: After all, factory 16" Syncros didn't ship with a spare there...

16's also weren't marketed in the US.

US DOT and EPA standards were overall considerably more stringent in the years that Vanagons were imported here, it was later that the EU and GB caught up to us in both safety and emissions requirements. You will see many features incorporated into US vehicles from the 70's thru the 80's that were not required for the same class of vehicles in the European markets at the same time. The spare tire is without question considered part of the forward crash structure.

That said, it is not as if the van is unsafe in a forward impact without a spare there, it's still a bomber structure there, but it has even more energy-dissipating capability with a tire in place, and you can bet the bank that the manufacturer evaluated it as such. They also undoubtedly considered the relative degradation of protection offered when the spare is omitted, and when the inflated spare is replaced with an uninflated, damaged tire, because that's why the vehicle carries a spare in the first place.

Quote: WINCH

Mine is already there, since wheel/tire combo is much too big. And there's a lot of room left behind the winch.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=495322

Quote: i was thinking auxiliary batteries maybe? i wonder if hey would fit. maybe with a custom built tray or something...

I'm about to build a hinged belly-plate to enclose the area. I considered mounting my new, larger aux. battery there, but the deal-breaker there is temperature. The regulator in the engine bay results in chronic undercharge of batteries in the cabin due to the higher engine bay temp. With the new battery I am adding a brush set with remote voltage regulator to the alternator, so the regulator can be inside the cabin and sense cabin temp to adjust the charge voltage point, so to benefit from that change both my batteries need to be inside the cabin.

http://www.davebarton.com/AdjustableVoltage.html

So that leaves me considering storage for spare parts, but I carry very few. A compressor and small air tank is a candidate, or maybe a tank for water or extra fuel.

Sun Feb 09, 2014 8:32 pm

Second spare for a really bad day in the back country. It can be stock sized and still run for short distances.

Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:29 am

I put the following things in my 15" steel spare:

-1 Gallon Coolant
-1 Quart Engine Oil
-1 Quart ATF
-ATF Funnel
-12 Shop Rags

It doesn't show in this picture, but everything is placed within a heavy duty trash bag before being stowed away to keep everything clean, and to contain any potential leaks of fluids.