Do you drive a vehicle with a spare tire on the back door? If you regularly drive on rough roads you will notice that it will often begin to damage the back door. Cracks will develop, the back door will become loose, and make a lot of noise. The rear door is simply not equipped for this weight on this terrain. The solution is to put the tire on the roof rack. Here is a way to mount it on top. This will require some welding. You will need a large bolt and nut, some rod, a steel sheet, and some small nuts and bolts.
- Start with a 3mm piece of steel, about 1 foot x 1 foot.
- Drill a hole in the middle, the size of the bolt – 1 inch.
- Weld nut on the bottom of the piece of steel.
- Drill small holes around the perimeter of the steel place.
- Use small nuts and bolts to fasten the newly fashioned base plate to your existing roof rack.
- Drill a 1 inch hole in another piece of 3mm steel, about 4 inches x 8 inches.
- Weld a piece of a bolt or 3/8 rod to the bottom of this piece (1/2 inch long). It will go in one of the small holes of the wheel to help secure the tire in place.
- Weld a handle fashioned from rod to the top of the bolt, for easy removal.
- Weld a link of a chain or a circle of a rod to the top of the plate about an inch from the hole. This is to use a padlock to lock the tire in place.
