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Swing away spare carrier or gary lee tire mount on ladder?
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skanemaki
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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 3:00 pm    Post subject: Swing away spare carrier or gary lee tire mount on ladder? Reply with quote

Need a ladder for the back of my van and wondering if getting the tire mount on the Gary lee ladder is worth it or not. Seems more of a nuisance since it pretty much blocks the whole base of the ladder (gets rid of the whole point of having a ladder) and would be heavy lifting the back hatch. However it does save money as you don't need to buy a swing out spare tire carrier + ladder. What are your experiences pros and cons?
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Jon_slider
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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 3:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The ladder hangs on the rear door.

If you add a spare tire, that increases the load on your hatch hinges, unevenly, and bouncing up and down. Over time, your door may not be the same. Just a guess, never tried hanging a spare on the door, in any form.

if you need a ladder, as you said, putting a tire on it, defeats the purpose

now back to your tire carrier options..

1. Van Cafe sells a carrier that fits under the front of the van, for less than $100.. not best offroad, as it hangs down..

2. You could modify your stock tire clamshell so a 215x75x15 fits in the stock location

3. Rocky Mountain Westy gets my nod on which swing out tire carrier I would buy today. I own a Gary Lee.
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Syncromikey
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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 3:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't forget Burley. I've got his sitting in my garage ready to install ... If his swing out tire rack is anything like his other parts I suspect it'll be Burley as well ... Shocked

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Mike
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Jon_slider
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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 3:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

a thread with pictures of some of the options
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6251264#6251264
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skanemaki
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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 7:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Always much appreciated John
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Borg
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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 8:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a swing-away tire carrier on my '68 Bronco, I don't like having to swing it out of the way every time I want to get into the back of the truck. When I get around to upgrading my Westy's rims I'll modify the stock VW location to take the larger tire.

Steve
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 8:35 pm    Post subject: Re: Swing away spare carrier or gary lee tire mount on ladde Reply with quote

skanemaki wrote:
Seems more of a nuisance since it pretty much blocks the whole base of the ladder (gets rid of the whole point of having a ladder)


Sounds like you answered your own question. Laughing

Ladder tire rack Con: Where's the ladder? Think


I have a swing out tire rack.

Biggest Pro: Being able to swing it out to get the tire out of the way to check oil and coolant.

Biggest Con: Have to have space for the tire rack to swing out to open hatch. But then again, my particular tire rack is pretty bulky nowadays, and needs a lot of room to open. Most don't need as much room as mine. Wink
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Phishman068
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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 10:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I for one wish that I could just "not like swinging it out of the way" to open the trunk! I have a gary lee, and I have also strapped to it a shovel, pick axe, hi lift jack, 5gal gas tank, and sometimes a bike rack.... in addition to a heavy tire/wheel, and I cannot open my hatch. The inconvenience of swinging it out of the way would be a blessing.
Don't get me wrong, I love the look of my Gary Lee rack, and love that it worked well for me. I may soon be moving on to a swing away though.
If I need to open my hatch, It takes a couple of minutes for me to remove the gas tank and tire, then I can pop the hatch.

Gary Lee's products are exceptional and truly impressive in quality. In my case, I just have strapped too much stuff to it!
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86syncrowesty
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PostPosted: Fri May 03, 2013 7:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have the Gary Lee ladder with a gas mount, I have started removing the full gas can when camping as the hatch didn't seem to like the weight. I modified the stock tire location to hold a larger tire but would consider the Burley unit if I needed to move it, but prefer the stock location over anything else.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Added the yakima bike mount.
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joseph928
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PostPosted: Fri May 03, 2013 8:58 am    Post subject: Gary Lee Reply with quote

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.
Love my Gary Lee rack, can open hatch in 10 sec. I can put the screen on love the fresh air. They are very well built . My ladder, I keep on the top rack, easy to get to. Extra gas is good , tire in back good, more ground clearance up front is good . Life is good! Very Happy
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shagginwagon83
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 14, 2020 8:33 am    Post subject: Re: Swing away spare carrier or gary lee tire mount on ladder? Reply with quote

Reviving this thread. Shane with LiveTheVanLife went with a 'gary lee' like approach - noting he wants to keep his syncro lighter.

I do like the idea of being able to open the hatch very easily with the Gary lee design. But as noted above, the idea of that weight bouncing on your hatch.
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