This has been debated at great length in TheSamba. It goes back and forth. 

The strongest evidence for the tire being incidental to crash worthiness is that some Vanagon’s (e.g., synchro) did not - apparently - come with a spare tire there.

I think the lack of ANY reference to the tire being in place and that being part of the safety design of the van is also indirect evidence that suggests VW was not relying on this for the safety of the occupants. By the 1990s, I would think such notifications would be prominent in the owners manual.

Nevertheless, if people feel safer knowing that there is a spare tire there, then I think we should leave them be. Live and let live, I say. If someone decided to cut the seatbelts out of their van, I might want to make a comment, but removing the spare tire? None of my business, I say.

…r

> On Apr 3, 2021, at 9:49 AM, Gene P <olgreywoof@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Again,, is there anything to this?  Not an engineer, but if I run head-on into something, there’s a quarter acre of glass two feet in front of my face and a spare tire somewhere down underneath my feet.  How does that tire protect me from anything?  The seat belt keeps my butt in the seat instead of being launched out into traffic.
> 
> Also, were the spare tires in the bottom of trunks or underneath truck beds there to protect us from backing into something?  I think the spare in our vans is where it is because the space was available.
> 
>   My worn penny,
> gp
> 
> From: Stacy Schneider
> Sent: Saturday, April 3, 2021 8:43 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Spare tire location
> 
>        Do we need to remind people that part of the crash worthiness of
> these vehicles is the spare tire?
>        If you’re going to take the spare out you may as well not wear a
> seat belt either.
>       Both of these item are an engineered  safety item of the van.
> 
>                                 My .02
>                                          Stacy