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skanemaki Samba Member
Joined: April 12, 2013 Posts: 11
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 3:00 pm Post subject: Swing away spare carrier or gary lee tire mount on ladder? |
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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 Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2007 Posts: 5091 Location: Santa Cruz, Crowdifornia
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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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. _________________ My Soapboxes: Inflation; Handling; Gearing; Decoupling; Swepco |
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Syncromikey Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2012 Posts: 463 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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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 ...
Cheers,
Mike _________________ Love my Westy ...
My build: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=528954 |
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Jon_slider Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2007 Posts: 5091 Location: Santa Cruz, Crowdifornia
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skanemaki Samba Member
Joined: April 12, 2013 Posts: 11
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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Always much appreciated John |
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Borg Samba Member
Joined: October 18, 2012 Posts: 114 Location: Western Washington
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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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 Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2011 Posts: 1994 Location: Riverside, California
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 8:35 pm Post subject: Re: Swing away spare carrier or gary lee tire mount on ladde |
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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.
Ladder tire rack Con: Where's the ladder?
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. _________________ Tim Potts
Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!
'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5 |
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Phishman068 Samba Member
Joined: February 19, 2007 Posts: 1866 Location: Pittsburgh PA (ish)
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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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! _________________ http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=559766&highlight=winter+rust
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482402&highlight=sunroof+syncro
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569774
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6864936#6864936
"Along with the ability to go fast, one looses the desire to hurry." |
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86syncrowesty Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2010 Posts: 115 Location: Colorado Front Range
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Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 7:44 am Post subject: |
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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.
Added the yakima bike mount. _________________ 1986 Vanagon -- Syncro, Westy
2.5L Subaru |
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joseph928 Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2011 Posts: 2114 Location: flagstaff az.
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Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 8:58 am Post subject: Gary Lee |
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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! _________________ 1987 syncro westy tin top sun roof , GW2.3, rear locker, decoupler, Gary Lee tire rack & winch mount, lift, south african grill, big brakes , rhein alloy ,15 BFG AT, Fiamma 10 foot awning ,140 watt rear 85 watt front solar , mppt, truckfridge, automatic fire extinguishing system, tencent oil cooler, And a RMW SS exhaust! - 1971 bug convertible 1776 engine- 2010 Subaru turbo - 1993 Toyota 4x4 truck - 1999 Harley 95 CI, big bore, Andrews cams . Also 80-84- vans. Stock 65 sunroof bug. |
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shagginwagon83 Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016 Posts: 3786 Location: VA/TN
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2020 8:33 am Post subject: Re: Swing away spare carrier or gary lee tire mount on ladder? |
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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. _________________ Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan |
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