 | Home > Wheels & Tyres > How essential is a rear wheel carrier?! |
 
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| grafty99 Member Since: 15 Aug 2012 Location: North Devon Posts: 4786   
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I have a 285 tyre on an 18 inch rim hanging on my back door. Currently 4 years with the larger wheels /tyres and no problems even with the roads washboard tracks locally
 2002 90 Td5 Station Wagon
1990 Vogue SE Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 Td5 90 Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic50767.html Tdi 110 Thread https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic69562.html RRC Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic54492.html Instagram http://www.instagram.com/george_grafton |
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31st Aug 2020 7:28am |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1845 
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This is the key point here. My car is a '94 MY, with the steel frame/alu skin. I could find pictures - they might be on my rebuild thread - of my back door, where the internal steel frame had cracked in many places due to the weight of the spare wheel over the years, and that damage was done with a standard 16' steel wheel, and the Michelin 7.50s, nothing more extreme or heavy. I'd suggest that putting a spare on that, then it is a case of not if, but when the door will suffer. An alternative to a carrier - depending on what "style" of car you have might be to brace the frame with a chequer plate internal door 'card', maybe even with the wheel carrier bolted through to that? I now have a wheel carrier, and one of Robert's ('hairymonsterman' on ebay) galved steel frame and skin doors. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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31st Aug 2020 7:39am |
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| DSC-off Member Since: 16 Oct 2014 Location: North East Posts: 1428 
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I'm currently touring Scotland with the spare wheel inside on the floor.
Just before setting off I found the top hinge was badly worn and causing the door to rattle. 2015 model, only 26,000 miles, mainly road use and standard wheel/tyre. My plan is to continue replacing the standard hinges.  |
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31st Aug 2020 8:11am |
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| sako243 Member Since: 08 Jul 2014 Location: Wales Posts: 1223  
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I do have a wheel carrier but then my 110 tends to get more abuse than most on here.
Oh and it's 26 years old and still on all the original doors and hinges unlike a fair few on here... Ed 82 Hotspur Sandringham 6x6 95 Defender 110 300Tdi |
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31st Aug 2020 8:17am |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1845
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How have you managed that Ed? Has the carrier been on for a while, so saving the door?
Another factor that's occurred to me might be the amount of winter salt on the roads up here, but 26 years on the OE door and hinges is good going! Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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31st Aug 2020 8:27am |
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| sako243 Member Since: 08 Jul 2014 Location: Wales Posts: 1223
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I think a fair chunk of it is down to the fact it's a 300Tdi. I reckon the 300Tdis were perhaps some of the last decently built Defenders. I was shocked when I saw a brand spanking new 2.2 Puma being driven out of the Guildford dealership some years back and utility wagon panels in my 110 had less ripples and were straighter! Bearing in mind my sides came from an 88" Series 3 so late 80's era and had just come back from some heavy off-roading in France where they got driven through all manner of scratchy tracks and pushed branches out of the way. I'm in no way saying they're pristine but they looked straighter than a brand new one. Similar thing for the hinges - most people I know who've got Tdi vehicles their hinges have outlasted every other manufacturer.
They may still be original (at least what's left) but they're getting fairly rotten. I did patch up the passenger side ones a few years back, mainly just cleaning up joints and re-welding them where they'd come apart. The driver's sides bottoms are pretty non-existent now so I do have some repair sections I need to weld in but the skins and vast majority of the framework is still in reasonable condition. The spare wheel carrier has been on since pretty much the day I bought the vehicle (some 12 years and 180,000 miles ago). I think I can count the times I've washed it on one hand  - one of those was a proper valet because I was asked to be the bridal vehicle for a friend's wedding. I do dunk it in rivers fairly often though... The lack of greasing on the spare wheel carrier has slowly killed it - it was an original Mantec one but only cost ~£50 back in the day. One side effect of not greasing it is that it "locks" in position wherever it is so that's quite nice.
The hinges are getting to the point where I need to either rebuild or replace them - they do have a fair bit of slop but the build quality of "new" ones has put me off and I absolutely detest the look of all the after market ones. I do have an idea for a very secure hinge that would be a bolt in replacement but sorting out the new workshop is taking priority. Once a fair bit of that's in place I can move the mill in there and have a crack at it. Despite living in Wales it does see it's fair chunk of Scottish salt as I probably spent a month of the year these days up in the Highlands deer stalking from late September through to February. Although thinking about it it's maybe 4 trips up and back and once we're up there the vast majority of the time is spent off-road on estate roads which don't get salted. I know it's not the "done" way for wading but it was done for photographic effects and we'd already been through the crossing on the way up the hill but gives you an impression of how much abuse a spare wheel might take on the rear.  Click image to enlarge The ultimate point is - I don't see a downside to having a wheel carrier apart from the initial outlay. Ed 82 Hotspur Sandringham 6x6 95 Defender 110 300Tdi |
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31st Aug 2020 9:16am |
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| Swine&Small Member Since: 20 Mar 2017 Location: Norfolk Posts: 1223
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I have a Nakatanenga, Does the job and looks great too. Small bought it for me
1983 Series 3 Pick up in Marine Blue
1967 Morris Traveller 1966 Morris Convertible 2012 VW T5 Camper Quod Abundat Non Obstat. |
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31st Aug 2020 9:52am |
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| Scotm Member Since: 28 Feb 2014 Location: Aberdeenshire Posts: 666  
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Wheel carriers don't have to be expensive.
I have fitted the britpart copy of the mantec one on two landrovers both for over 5 years. No corrosion showing. Only tweaks needed was a tighten up at the piston and adding some lock nuts. Keep it coated in ACF-50. Cheapest place I could find them last time I looked was https://www.island-4x4.co.uk/spare-wheel-c...-4342.html |
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31st Aug 2020 12:30pm |
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| Thon Member Since: 22 Nov 2015 Location: Salisbury Plain Posts: 696
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I carry mine in the rear load bed on top of the wheel box on the nearside (step wheel boxed 110) with it strapped to the internal roll cage. Rear carrier dispensed with because it gets in the way of the Alko hitch locking mechanism for the 'van plus it makes the door weigh a ton, particularly when it's parked on a side slope, even with the nakatanenga strut. Going to investigate putting it on the load bed floor once I have the measurements for the preferred long-term tyres. I'd quite like to convert to a drop tailgate and lifting upper section but don't know if it's possible on a Puma.
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31st Aug 2020 12:50pm |
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| MarcusM Member Since: 29 Jan 2020 Location: Nottingham Posts: 101 
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Great info guys thanks - and Scotm will take a look at that link- seems like a decent price there Keswick green 2007 Defender 90 TD5
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3rd Sep 2020 9:20pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17443 
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Entirely possible, the hardest part is finding a decent catflap and associated parts. |
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3rd Sep 2020 9:44pm |
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| Harry.O Member Since: 25 Jul 2014 Location: Warwickshire Posts: 716 
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I've also got the same carrier, it's been on for 4 years and no complaints yet. Alongside an oversized spare tyre I regularly hang a bike rack from it and carry 2 mountain bikes with no issues. 2005 Td5 110 Hardtop 1989 300Tdi 90 Soft top 1992 200Tdi 90 Truck cab with Land Cruiser axles |
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4th Sep 2020 10:15am |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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I've got the same one too, and I'm really impressed with it so far.
The fact that you hang lots of other stuff from it is also encouraging as I'm currently making a bracket to bolt a hi-lift to mine. Darren 110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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4th Sep 2020 10:17am |
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| DiyYin Member Since: 05 Sep 2020 Location: Scotland Posts: 7
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I have a Mantec one. Keep it lubed up otherwise it will start to make these awful screechy noises when you try and close it.
My driveway is up a slope and closing the rear door before the wheel carrier took some amount of force, must have been the bending moment around the hinges, it's easier now. |
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9th Sep 2020 10:22am |
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