Spare tire on 2553

[partimcmpr]

I would be interested in hearing where people are mounting their spare tire on their 2553. The obvious location is the rear bumper, but would block the rear storage door.

Thanks in advance for your posts.

David
(Will add bio/info soon!)

[SanDimasJoe]

Hi David,
I also have a T2553 with a spare tire. My spare tire holder is one that can swing down enough so that the cargo door can be opened. It is held in the upright position with a sliding bolt much like the bolt that holds your trailer hitch receiver onto the hitch attached to your TV. The spare tire holder was installed by the dealer at Butler RV in PA. Hope this helps.

Joe

[partimcmpr]

Joe,
Thanks for the reply. I will check into it.

Later,
David

[Sunline Fan]

The only thing about the hinged spare tire carriers is they are very wobbly. I had one on my 2251 and the thing wobbled like crazy. In some cases, you have no option though.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure the carrier is mounted to one side of the bumper, preferably the right to ensure a clear view of the license plate. Mounting it in the center of the bumper will put a lot of stress on the bumper mount welds, and they could break, causing you to lose your tire and bumper.

Jon

[SanDimasJoe]

Jon,
The problem with that is the door for the cargo storage is too wide and the spare tire carrier can't be located to the one side or the other. But you are correct, it does wobble. However you can always lift the bed to access the storage area.

Joe

[PTHutch]

Hi David,

Not sure how big the rear storage door is on the 2553, but our 280SR also has a rear storage door.

I mount the spare tire on the side so the U-Bolts span the I-Beam that connects to the bumper and I can open the rear storage without any interference from the spare tire.
Here’s a picture:


I'm surprised the rear storage door on the 2553 is larger than what's on the 280SR, it's got to be huge.

I also have a spare tire carrier that swings down and ours doesn’t wobble at all, as Jon indicated. Ours is extremely stable. But where it’s positions I don’t have to swing it down it at all.

I did see on a Sunnybrook a bumper mounted spare tire holder that swung to the side and provided full access to their rear storage. But I have not been able to find one since.

You could always look to see if you could mount the spare tire under the A-Frame. I've seen this done before using U-Bolts.

Hope this helps some.
Hutch

[partimcmpr]

Thanks to all who posted. I will have to look into what mounts are available and take some measurements to see what works.

Later,
David

[Trailblazer]

We have a 2753 unit with the same setup as you described with the rear access hatch and a spare tire mount. Our spare tire mount was installed in the middle of the bumper with a swing down mount to allow us access to the storage door. Our mount is very tight and does not bounce around at all. I have consider moving the mount to one side but haven't yet.

[precorguy]

we have a 2553 and the tire is mounted right in the middle of the bumper and does't bounch either --- the bolt is quite big and there is no play when installed.

although it is a bit of a pain having it in the middle of the bumper, i don't find it horrible --- i wish they had done side to side storage under the bed, but they didn't -- so it is what it is!

[SanDimasJoe]

Hutch,
I see from your picture how your spare tire is mounted. I can move the spare tire mount to the side, but a portion of the tire will stick out on the starboard side of the trailer. Has this ever presented a problem to you?

Joe

[PTHutch]

Originally Posted by SanDimasJoe

I can move the spare tire mount to the side, but a portion of the tire will stick out on the starboard side of the trailer. Has this ever presented a problem to you?

Hi Joe,

Not at all, I've never had a problem. The spare does stick out a little on the door side, but it doesn't stick out any further than the awning arms.

Hutch

[SanDimasJoe]

Hutch,
Thanks. I'll give it a try. Going camping next week at Carpenteria State Beach. That's just below Santa Barbara. You've been a great help.

Joe

[Hematite]

Originally Posted by Sunline Fan

The only thing about the hinged spare tire carriers is they are very wobbly. I had one on my 2251 and the thing wobbled like crazy. In some cases, you have no option though.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure the carrier is mounted to one side of the bumper, preferably the right to ensure a clear view of the license plate. Mounting it in the center of the bumper will put a lot of stress on the bumper mount welds, and they could break, causing you to lose your tire and bumper.

Jon

Jon,

I looked at my back bumper with the spare mounted in the center. If I was to move the spare to one side, then that side would be taking more stress on the welds. If I leave it in the center both sides take the stress equally. Only if I moved it so one clamp would straddle the mount, like Hutch, would there be an improvement. I looked at the Sunline book and the bumper is rated for a 100lb max load. The tire and mount are 40-45lbs? I don't understand why there is a concern for the welds breaking unless they are defective in the first place? Maybe I missed something?

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by Hematite

I looked at my back bumper with the spare mounted in the center. If I was to move the spare to one side, then that side would be taking more stress on the welds. If I leave it in the center both sides take the stress equally. Only if I moved it so one clamp would straddle the mount, like Hutch, would there be an improvement. I looked at the Sunline book and the bumper is rated for a 100lb max load. The tire and mount are 40-45lbs? I don't understand why there is a concern for the welds breaking unless they are defective in the first place? Maybe I missed something?

You bring up a very good point. Putting the carrier in the center should put equal stress on both welds, but it also twists the bumper and could put more stress on than if the carrier were right next to a weld with minimal twisting. I'm just speaking from experience because our 2653 had the tire in the center and the bouncing of it (on wonderful MI roads) caused our welds to break. It never broke all the way, but we found it was very close to falling off when we got home. We never had anything besides the tire mounted on the bumper, ever.

Sorry, I don't know the weight of a spare tire and carrier. I'm guessing you're close.

Jon

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by Sunline Fan

You bring up a very good point. Putting the carrier in the center should put equal stress on both welds, but it also twists the bumper and could put more stress on than if the carrier were right next to a weld with minimal twisting. I'm just speaking from experience because our 2653 had the tire in the center and the bouncing of it (on wonderful MI roads) caused our welds to break. It never broke all the way, but we found it was very close to falling off when we got home. We never had anything besides the tire mounted on the bumper, ever.

There's an option here, guys. Right now, I have my rear bumper off so that I can install skid wheels on the TT. Looking at the bumper, at least in '99, Sunline intentionally under welded the bracket to the bumper. The bracket is a square piece of metal that connects to the bumper stock, and instead of welding it on all 4 sides, it is only welded on two. It would be very easy to get the other two sides welded, and even to add an extra support bracket under the bumper that connects to the frame. You could easily increase the weight carrying capability of the factory bumper by several hundred pounds.

Remember that Sunline rated the bumpers at 100# so that we owners would not hang too much stuff on the bumper. It was an attempt to make sure that we didn't shift too much weight to the rear of the trailer thus removing weight from the tongue.

One dealer even told me that Sunline had told him that it was intentional that the bumper would break if overloaded.

Now, like JohnB with his negotiation with Sunline to add an extended bumper and cargo box on the rear of his 2499, you would have to be fully conscious of any extra weight you put back there, but if you just wanted to strengthen the bumper a bit for your spare tire, I would have to believe that adding some welds to the bumper mounting and maybe even adding a support bracket under the bumper would not compromise the loading balance of your unit. And it would give you great piece of mind about the ability of the bumper to safely and securely carry that spare tire.

[Hematite]

Jon,
When you mentioned the roads in Michigan, I realized where you were coming from, literally. I have been to Detroit and the roads around there are simply atrocius! I've never encountered roads that were more rough. Those roads could break welds a lot bigger than those on the bumper! No matter where I end up mounting the spare bracket, I'm going to pay attention to the bumper welds!

Steve,
Nice suggestion on beefing up the bumper welds! When the fellow delivered my trailer to my house, he backed it in the driveway. The skids got pretty twisted up. They are way past straightening without cutting them off first straightening and re-welding them. I have been thinking of skid wheels, instead. Are you using the Paktron wheels? What size wheel?

Thanks,
Rick

[Al in PA]

Rick:

I had the 5" poly wheels installed on my 2553. They have worked well so far. My dealer told me the steel replacement wheels are interchangeable in the event that the poly would not hold up.

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by Hematite

Steve,
Nice suggestion on beefing up the bumper welds! When the fellow delivered my trailer to my house, he backed it in the driveway. The skids got pretty twisted up. They are way past straightening without cutting them off first straightening and re-welding them. I have been thinking of skid wheels, instead. Are you using the Paktron wheels? What size wheel?

I bought 1000# rated swivel casters from Northern Tool. They are 5" by 2"wide and have zerk fittings on the wheel axle and on the swivel. The wheel is solid metal.

I am getting some 1/4" steel plate stock to make up the mounting plates and then will fabricate and install them, hopefully by the end of the week.

On the bumper issue, I would be very comfortable installing support brackets that connect between the bumper and the frame, and beefing up those welds as I mentioned previously.

I would not suggest doing this to increase the carrying capacity of the bumper but rather to simply insure that the bumper would safely and securely carry the spare tire. It's more a peace of mind thing, really.

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by Steve Collins

Sunline intentionally under welded the bracket to the bumper. Remember that Sunline rated the bumpers at 100# so that we owners would not hang too much stuff on the bumper. It was an attempt to make sure that we didn't shift too much weight to the rear of the trailer thus removing weight from the tongue.

Steve, that is really true. They didn't want anyone mounting hitches on there for pulling second trailers and stuff. When our bumper broke, my dad reinforced it with large L brackets bolted directly to the frame and bumper. He did no welding on it. That thing wasn't going anywhere.

Jon

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by Hematite

Jon,
When you mentioned the roads in Michigan, I realized where you were coming from, literally. I have been to Detroit and the roads around there are simply atrocius! I've never encountered roads that were more rough. Those roads could break welds a lot bigger than those on the bumper! No matter where I end up mounting the spare bracket, I'm going to pay attention to the bumper welds!

Rick,

You can say that again!!! The worst part is when you're coming in on 75 from Ohio, I guess just from the state difference. Ohio used to keep 75 really nice just over the border, but it's not like that as much anymore.

Jon