The spare location on Vanagons is totally miserable. If you are caught
in the rain, on a muddy road, or in a snow storm or even snowy wet roads
- it's misery to get that tire out from under there.  No good solution
unless  you get one of those spare tire racks that mount to the rear of
the van in front of the hatch.

John

On 9/11/2013 5:21 PM, J Stewart wrote:
> How big is the spare? Mine would not fit either, its a 195 14 size tire on a 14" VW alloy. I was able to modify the stock carrier so it fit. I removed the stock carrier and bars. Took my angle grinder and trimmed off the area straight across the back of the carrier right at the hinges. I used two U shaped hanger to drop it down about an inch and a half and the spare fits perfectly. Got tired of running around town with no spare and throwing it up on the roof for long trips. Jeff Jeff Stewart ----- Original Message -----
>> Spare in front of radiator not a good idea. You will need the fan full
>> tome for cooling. Unless you have a Syncro just get a smaller spare
>> that fits.
>> Dennis,
>>  From my phone.
>> ________________________________
>> From: Pat Patterson<mailto:SESRating@AOL.COM>
>> Sent: ‎9/‎11/‎2013 12:34 AM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM<mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Subject: looking for a front reciever
>> Where can I find a front receiver for my vanagon. I put up to 4 bikes
>> on
>> the back (5 once) and tow a trailer sometimes. My spare is too big to
>> fit
>> under and I would like to mount it on the front to keep some weight on
>> the
>> front wheels in case I lose some weight on my diet. I seen a couple
>> photos
>> and would like to keep my front bumper to reduce costs but am not
>> ruling
>> out a new front bumper with a 2 inch reciever.
>> Pat
>> In SC just south of Charlotte NC
>