Roof mounted spare tires

Are roof mounted spare tires only for mallcrawlers? (you can choose more than one)

  • Yes - only true mallcrawlers have them

    Votes: 36 59.0%

  • No - they are for real wheelers as well

    Votes: 10 16.4%

  • They are just plain ugly

    Votes: 13 21.3%

  • I have a roof mounted spare tire

    Votes: 6 9.8%

  • I do not have a roof mounted spare tire

    Votes: 27 44.3%
  • Total voters
    61
BigClay

BigClay

Knower of useless ZJ things
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Location
Winston-Salem
Why do so many people hate roof mounted spare tires? Lots of people call them mallcrawlin accesories. Why is this? I have a ZJ and I put all of my gear in the very back, and two friends in the back seats, so where should I put my spare tire? I don't have the $$ for a rear bumper mounted spare tire, so why not put the spare tire on the roof? I am a trail rider, and not much of a rock crawler so being extra top heavy is not that big of a deal to me.

Just wanted to get everyone's opinion on roof mounted spare tires. :driver:
 
why would you want all that weight up there? just asking for a roll over. you dont have to be on rocks to roll.
 
sometimes its a good thing up there, sometimes its not.

Ive heard of the spare punching straight through the roof if you roll it and dont have a cage in, but Ive also heard of the spare saving you from serious damage...

I suppose it all comes down to how well the mount is made.
 
Definitely an item for mall crawlers only. Why? Because when you're on real trails you run into stuff like this:

awww.supermotors.net_getfile_321564_fullsize_dscn4942.jpg


My Bronco barely crawled under it, having a roof mounted spare would have made it impassible.
 
Macdaddy4738 said:
sometimes its a good thing up there, sometimes its not.
Ive heard of the spare punching straight through the roof if you roll it and dont have a cage in, but Ive also heard of the spare saving you from serious damage...
I suppose it all comes down to how well the mount is made.
Click to expand...

punching through the roof an bouncing around inside the car during a roll over. :shaking:
 
If its there for a reason, cool if not ehhhhh... Example, a few KOH rigs had em, nice... Some outback type cross country rigs toss a few up there, super.... Many at the mall have them... wow... Plus I'm sure it doesn't help MPG....
 
when i was on 31's, I kept my spare in a basket on the roof, but when i went to the 35's, i decided to just keep a plug kit, and hope for the best. I'm probably gonna sell the roof basket, as it hasn't held anything in over a year.
I dod not want to sacrifice all of the storage area in the rear of the ZJ, and a roof mounted spare isn't gonna cause any problems at the beach, or at URE, and those are the places the jeeps goes most often.
 
I've been considering putting the 35 on top of the xj just to keep it out of the way. It is only a trail rig but would leave my interior clear for tools/coolers/passengers.
 
I cant imagine lifting a swamper onto the roof of a lifted xj. Unless you had a boom attached to the roof rack with a pulley so you could hoist it up there! That would be the ticket.
 
I'm currently battling the same problem, but w/ a fiberglass roof it's def not going up there. Since i use my tailgate alot and it folds downward, not a fan of swing-out rear mounts.
Besides the topheavy issue (w/ a 4k+ lbs truck., is 50-60 raised up there a big problem? I dunno), I do wonder what a PITA it would be to get that sucler up there. Down should be easy, lol.
When wheeling, I keep mine strapped down in the back, but if the back seats are up it def limits how much else you can fit back there (I typically have 1-2 small tubs of equipment too). The 90% of the time it isn't being trail driven, the spare rides in the stock spot under the bed area (luckily the chain system still works.

I'm thinking of fabbing a mount for it to ride upright against a wall inside, kind of like XJs have for the stockers but beefier. That way the horizontal footprint is alot smaller.
 
depends what its used for . i go to the beach and day trips to the lakes . its good to put a lot of stuff in your jeep but might be a pain on the trail .. i have a cj i dont have one but i think it looks cool loaded with the right stuff jack wheeling tolls ext.
 
I wonder if tires on the roof dry rot faster?
My spare 33 fits in the cargo area of the ZJ. Any bigger and I would have to do something else. I keep telling myself I'm going to build a shelf above the tire so all my stuff stores flat above it in the cargo area, just haven't done it yet.
 
I think they look kinda cool, and serve a great purpose, if you have alot of stuff to carry.They look good with the tire,hi-lift,lights and other stuff, but fact is, alot of trails I have ridden, the roof rack would be in the way, and possibly get ripped off. So for folks that wheel alot on some more difficult trails, it's just not practical..I guess.
 
RHSCTJ said:
I cant imagine lifting a swamper onto the roof of a lifted xj. Unless you had a boom attached to the roof rack with a pulley so you could hoist it up there! That would be the ticket.
Click to expand...


This is the correct answer. Fawk that. The only time you ever see it is with <33" AT tires if that's any indicator...
 
I agree with Mike

Purpose Driven = :huggy:

Just For Looks = :confused:

It's your rig, doesn't matter what others think!

Like I like to say, opinions are like butt holes, everyone has one and lots of them stink!
 
You should just put it in the factory spare tire location. You just need to get a longer bolt for the bigger tire with a piece of plate on the side of the wheel to hold it in there. Keeping the tire vertical in the back gives you a lot of space for gear and what not.:beer:
 
I used to have my spare tire on my roof rack but that was because it would not fit in the stock location, under the vehicle. I was also only running 32s. When you get into bigger tires it is not logical to mount a tire on the roof because, as someone already pointed out, they start getting rather heavy and lifting it to the roof can get a little tricky!
 
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