I've seen a few of these tire holders now - I think they are very flimsy and
I wouldn't dare go off roading with a tire in this holder as it would
certainly suffer some damage.  At a minimum, I would install a piece of
sheet metal to keep foreign objects from damaging the tire.  Also, what good
is a spare if it is down to 10PSI?  If you are going to go for a big tire,
why not just get a rear spare tire carrier and be down with it.  Keep the
original clam shell there for better protection of the vital bits up front.

David Marshall

Fast Forward Automotive Inc.
4356 Quesnel-Hixon Road
Quesnel BC Canada  V2J 6Z3

http://www.fastforward.ca    mailto:sales@fastforward.ca
Phone: (250) 992 7775        FAX: (250) 992 1160

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-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
Of Kim Brennan
Sent: July 8, 2004 5:01 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Another "upgrade" completed

So, in the never ending tale of "upgrades" to my Vanagon fleet...

After I had upgraded my wheels and tires (to 215/75R15 tires on  15"
wheels) I could not put the spare tire in the original tire carrier.
While there are all sorts of ways to approach this, I decided to go fo
the VolkCafe spare tire carrier (which replaces the original one).

It's a pretty straight forward install. Pop off a couple of retaining
clips on the old, pull the "wire" forms that form the hinge, Drop the
old carrier out of the way. Then install the new (using bolts instead
of the wire forms).

As they suggest, I deflated my spare down (they suggest 10psi, I didn't
measure). That way it shouldn't rub against the steering linkage. This
also means I'll be carrying a tire pump in the future (probably should
anyway).

Since I have the fiberglass bumpers with my front air dam still intact,
you can't see the tire (if you don't have the air dam, you will be able
to see the tire.

This also means that when I next go driving off road with Derek Drew,
I'll have to pull the spare out and put it someplace safe. My old
carrier was a bit dented up after Syncro de Mayo Este (good thing my
spare wasn't in there.) :)