Date:         Mon, 6 Mar 2006 17:47:28 -0800
Reply-To:     Doug F <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Doug F <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Subject:      Re: FRONT TIRE MOUNT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I refuse to be forced to run a spare rear carrier on the back of my syncro
just to run larger tires. As soon as the next round of $ and time go into
the syncro the VC is getting either welded solid or replaced with a solid
shaft and a de-coupler installed.

I will run a standard steel wheel 195 tire in the spare well under the van
with it's low CG and less weight.
With the decoupler I believe you can run a smaller dia tire on any corner
with no ill effect.
Also allows you to TOW the darn thing.

Rant - hate the VC design and wish they left things in a manual mode like
the early decoupler equipped syncros first had.
The VC in my 87 is currently out and does not kick in at all. When I first
got the van it scrubbed in parking lots and now it doesn't even work. JUNK
that is expensive to fix only to have it go out AGAIN!

Bye Bye VC!

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Overmyer" <S.OVERMYER@UWS.EDU.AU>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 5:31 PM
Subject: Re: FRONT TIRE MOUNT




Date:    Mon, 6 Mar 2006 13:12:03 EST
From:    JordanVw@AOL.COM
Subject: Re: FRONT TIRE MOUNT

bad idea for a watercooled van....but i have seen spares mounted on the
fron= t=20 of aircooled vanagons before.
anyway,  best option is a rear swing out carrier.. they are available..
not=20 cheap, but they are available.

Chris


Absolutely bad idea on the WBX...you do not want to restrict the air
flow to the radiator. I am fairly sure in the manual that came with my
'92, there was a specific paragraph to that effect.

I have been thinking of ways to carry my 5th 15" alloy wheel when
travelling....normally I leave it at home for short trips and just have
the original spare in it's place under the front of the van. I have
lower profile tyres on the 15" rims so the diameter has remained the
same should I ever need to use the spare. On longer trips the 15" spare
alloy sometimes just sits on the floor where a middle seat would
otherwise be...which can be a nuisance...my dog Iggy Pup doesn't like it
much either :-)

The rear swing out carriers look nice but are expensive and I have seen
several 16" syncros where the OEM fitted rear carrier has caused fatigue
cracks at the attachment points in the back of the vans. Not that most
of us with 2WD vans will possibly get the same problems that may occur
with a 16" syncro however I still have a real issue with drilling into
the rear of my bodywork and possibly speeding up corrosion in that
area...

What I have thought about doing, was to get a rear bicycle carrier....do
you have the ones in the US that attach under the tow ball of the tow
bar ?
Anyway we do in Oz and there are some cheap crappy ones and there are
good ones that not only are very strong, but also have a pin in them
that can be released and folded down to allow access to the rear hatch
of a van or even the boot (trunk to most of you) of a sedan. Some even
lift right out once the pins are removed.
Some of these bike racks are so designed that the use of them does not
preclude the towing of a trailer either.

Now if I were to cut one of these bike racks down, weld on a plate with
nuts & splines to attach the spare alloy, I could have a rear mounted
spare, independent of the bodywork that could still swing down or remove
to access the rear hatch or check oil and coolant level.
Because the rack would be cut down to a shorter height than originally
designed for bicycles, the greater weight of the wheel would not create
such a moment around the attachment point and would sit snugly just
above the bumper.

I would still need to re-mount the rear number plate and light when I
used this arrangement but that's not much effort and an additional
number plate light could just plug into the trailer plug.

It'd be a damn sight cheaper than the swing away carrier...albeit not as
cool ;-)
Anyone see why this would be a bad idea ? (other than it might not
aesthetically appeal to some)

Cheers,
Steve O
NSW Australia
'92 Transporter WBX Kombi
'00 Transporter Double Cab
'03 Transporter Double Cab (work truck)
'78 Land Rover 109 Series 3 soft top ute (ex-Aust.Army)