CUT
>>When stopping distance is critical, having the spare mounted on the nose
could mean the difference between collapsing the entire front nose sheet
metal or simply tapping bumpers...  

RESPONSE:
Possibly.  But cars and most trucks would sit too low to contact the front
mounted spare tire.  I'm  not real impressed with any Type 2's bumper's
ability to absorb any sort of impact.  Besides, Muir said in his idiot's
manual that having a spare tire up front was almost like having an engine
there to protect you in a frontal impact....  he he he.  

CUT:
>>When the Vanagons first came out in 1980 I read
information from VW that having the spare mounted in the floor space in that
area of the frame added to the front end crash-worthiness of the design.

RESPONSE:
Interesting thought.  Spare would certainly protect the gas tank to some
extent.  Or be an object to be pushed into the gas tank.  Hard to say without
wrecking a few and checking the damage. 

CUT:
>>If this causes the tire to stick out beyond your front bumper, it could
be illegal in your state.

RESPONSE:
Not illegal in my state.  But those fake HID "blue" bulbs sure as heck are!

CUT:
While a PITA to access, having the spare under the front floor IMO is a great
place to store it ! If you maintain excellent tires why do we need "instant"
access to the spare anyway?

RESPONSE:
Haven't changed a lot of flats.  But had a few in military vehicles and work
trucks with the spare mounted underneath.  It's lots of fun on a dark, rainy
night when you're stuck in mud 18 inches deep trying to get that spare
released from underneath your car as your vehicle teeters on some pot-metal
jack.

I mostly wanted to know if anyone had tried this and whether they had cooling
problems.  Not sure how much extra cooling capacity is built into a properly
functioning vanagon system, especially compared to the american trucks and
vans that seem to have no problem with mounting a tire out front. I assume no
one on the list has tried this.    

Captain Ray Nemo
IXOYE
West Virginian Ambassador to Vanagon.com

Please update your address books with the new address.

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