Has anyone ever tried or even seen a side mounted spare?

I've been thinking about possibly investing in a spare tire mount. The ones that have seen are either mounted in the bed or behind the tailgate. I was thinking about brushing off my welding skills and making one off of the right rear panel; keeping the wieght in the back and to the right. While not blocking access to the tailgate or taking up bed space for hauling things.

Has anyone ever seen anything like that? Kind of want to see if I could get any ideas before I go out and get a welder and merial.

 

Possible issues (that may be non issues):
How would that affect the balance of the truck?
Would it get hung up on a trail?

 

Jeep CJ-5 is the likely muse.

 

like on the outside of the box, 50s step side style? cause if so I feel like your just gonna hit that on shit on the trails

 

Check out Dr Weld's thread.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/spare-tire-mount.578590/
He may have some other ideas too.

 

There was another person on here, I forget who, who mounted his spare on a similar design to the side cargo rail. Ended up creasing the bedside sheet metal and doing a bunch of damage over time.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/a-warning-about-bed-rail-tire-carriers.285889/

I'd be worried about putting that much excess strain on the bedsides...

 

No way I'd put any real weight on the crappy beds of these trucks. Most of the older pickups that had side mounted spares were stepsides with an indention in the fender where the tire fit so they wouldn't get ripped off when you brush up against something (ex. early 1950s Chevy stepside pickups). They also had real steel beds. Same with most military vehicles that had side mounted tires, ex. Dodge M-37 series- side mounted tires that projected out like on the Jeep were not very popular for obvious reasons.

 

I knew it was a prominent member around here, just couldn't remember who.

 

That side mounted spare was the first thing folks took off their jeeps when I was a kid. After that was the steps on the sides.

 

What about mounting on the front bed rail? A member on here makes a solid product. I’m not sure if he’s been tagged

 

@DrWeld ?

 

I'm having a hard time thinking of a worse spot to mount the spare. Windshield maybe??

 

Yeaaaaah! That mount is sick.

 

On old FJ40s, but never a Tacoma...

 

The Landy Defender wins the competition.

 

Basically this down here. I would photoshop but my PC is in the middle of some work atm.

Yes! I could probably get away with extending it a bit higher

 

I was thinking of the mount attaching to the frame

 

Problem I have with that (though that is my next choice if make/buy a mount) is the bed space it takes up. I use my full bed pretty regularly hauling large items.

 

Yeah, I was thinking that too. Granted the plan is to make a mock up and see just how far it sticks out. I'm only running 245 75 16s atm, I will most likely be getting 235 85 16s in the future. So super wide tires wouldn't be much of a concern imo