Front mounted spare

[PetenAli]

Hi All,

I was driving up the M5 yesterday (Sat 11 Sept) between 8.00 and 9.00 and overtook a white RHD Syncro doing a nice steady 60 mph. It was on a J plate and I think it was a Reimo conversion. It looked very nice. When I got past and looked in my mirror I saw that it had a spare mounted on the front bars. I'm currently working out where to put the spare on our Syncro (I would like a rear mounted system but just can't afford it at the moment and also want to carry 2 bikes). I'm even thinking about tubing all four wheels and carrying my bead breaker and Viair compressor with spare tubes and no spare wheel. This Syncro looked really solid and was going well. I thought that the set up on the front looked good but just thought that it must affect the cooling sooo much. It must have blocked 2/3s of the cooling air to the rad. If the owner reads this I'd be very grateful to know how the system works.

I've also seen a Tristar systen that goes where the standard spare goes ( i.e. under the front suspension) but also acts as a skid plate. This doesn't look too hard to weld up. Can anyone point me in the direction of a plan for one of these??

Thanks,

Pete

[rollercoaster]

Hi, I like the under front spare wheel,
think theres been fairly recent conversations on here about this with a plan posted up,
but if you would like to get mine copied it looks quite simple and I am not too far from you.
Of course it depends a lot on your wheel size..
You will have to wait for me to get the van back from its engine transplant,
which is taking a lot longer than I expected.

Tim

[Aidan]

syncro front drop down carrier is still available from VW, not cheap but probably as cheap as making your own unless you are Hotpod
the hinge points are often on late syncro subframes even if fitted with bash plate, if not can be made using the 2wd ones with a bit of modification, that's how I did mine; note you will want 205 hinge wires and they again are available from VW and you can't fit anything bigger than 205R14C even deflated without modifying the chassis imho

[Mark.T]

Hi Pete,

sounds like it was me that you passed on the M5 on Saturday on the way to vanfest. Must have been asleep as i didn`t notice any vans passing me !! If the tempertaure guage is accurate it doesn`t appear to be affecting the cooling. I`ll try and take some close ups tomorrow and post them on the forum

regards

Mark

[PetenAli]

Hi Pete,

sounds like it was me that you passed on the M5 on Saturday on the way to Vanfest. Must have been asleep as i didn`t notice any vans passing me !! If the tempertaure guage is accurate it doesn`t appear to be affecting the cooling. I`ll try and take some close ups tomorrow and post them on the forum

regards

Mark

Hi Mark,

Don't worry, you weren't asleep. I was sat in a horrible Vauxhall hire car on my way to work in the Midlands over the weekend. Hope you had a good time at Vanfest. it would be very helpful to see some pics and tie them in with what others are suggesting.

Thanks also for other replies. This is one useful forum with loads of knowledge.

Pete

[PetenAli]

Hi, I like the under front spare wheel,
think theres been fairly recent conversations on here about this with a plan posted up,
but if you would like to get mine copied it looks quite simple and I am not too far from you.
Of course it depends a lot on your wheel size..
You will have to wait for me to get the van back from its engine transplant,
which is taking a lot longer than I expected.

Tim

Thanks Tim. Did yours come from Syncrospares? It looks like one I enquired about but you'd got there first! There seem to be a few Syncros down this way.

I'd like to see your arrangement for a spare when you get the bus back. All things are possible at the moment! I'll have look round the forum for plans as well

Pete

[hotpod]

hi pete,
just realised that you are down my way. my workshop is at the forge at canonstown on the a30.
i was underneath keenos tristar the other day and was looking at the very basic construction of the tristar dropdown carrier. i had a thought that i might copy his one. i will have a go if you are interested ( and if you are running 14s )

mark.t , is your van bens (the BCE) van from pendeen? if so there has been conversation before about whether or not the front wheel affected cooling and i seem to remember that past owners all said that they have never had any problems with it.
it might have been here

pete, if your wheels are bigger than standard then i think you should stick the spare on the back. i know the swing out racks are expensive but having made mine i think the price is spot on.
i do have some pictures of another simpler rack which i was thinking of for mine. it hinges on the bumper bracket and swings down to the floor when you need to open the back door. very simple and effective ...just not half as good looking as the swing out carrier and we all know that it all about the aesthetics!

[syncropaddy]

I would think that a front mounted spare is not a good idea. Cooling is a big issue with these beloved vehicles of ours and unless you have had a new radiator fitted then as each mile passes the old radiator becomes less efficient so air flow is very important. I know Terry had a front mounted spare without issues so I'd say its a 50 / 50 call.
Not a thing I would do!

[xriss]

i have a rear mounted carrier up in for sale section..might be of interest...cheers all

[hotpod]

looks like xriss might have a solution to your problem.
https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 4#p7536184

i just found the pictures of the bumper mounted dropdown rack i mentioned.

[andisnewsyncro]

i have a rear mounted carrier up in for sale section..might be of interest...cheers all

Is that a modified bike rack? Not being rude just intrigued as I use a Paulchen as a spare carrier. I asked ages ago about front mounted spares, but gave up and coppied an idea I saw a lot in Europe.

[xriss]

no not modded bike rack...purpose built and very strong

[syncropaddy]

i have a rear mounted carrier up in for sale section..might be of interest...cheers all

That looks like a good inexpensive answer .....

i just found the pictures of the bumper mounted dropdown rack i mentioned.

Cant think of anything to say ..... (that isnt offensive)

[syncropaddy]

I've also seen a Tristar systen that goes where the standard spare goes ( i.e. under the front suspension) but also acts as a skid plate. This doesn't look too hard to weld up. Can anyone point me in the direction of a plan for one of these??

Is this what you are looking for......?

[ericos_bob]

I have a front mounted spare too.Running an ej22 subi conversion however the radiator is stock vw. If cooling is affected it must be so minute that it cannot be detected on the temp gauge. I've monitored temps quite carefully having been skeptical myself. I must say with my set up the tire is not mounted so close as to smother the front grill leaving space for air to flow around the tire.