Spare wheel carrier.

[whitehawk]

Love my Surf more each day, except.........(imho) what a long winded, antiquated system the under body spare wheel carrier is. Had thought about converting to a rear door swingaway system but just a first look shows that nunber plate, reversing lights etc will need relocating. Probably a load more involved as well. Is it really worth the hassle and expense? Any comments welcome.

Ken.

[Guest]

Love my Surf more each day, except.........(imho) what a long winded, antiquated system the under body spare wheel carrier is. Had thought about converting to a rear door swingaway system but just a first look shows that nunber plate, reversing lights etc will need relocating. Probably a load more involved as well. Is it really worth the hassle and expense? Any comments welcome.

Ken.

I got a new number plate holder off ebay for a tenner, took off the spare wheel carrier, filled the holes and sprayed temporarily until the weather improves. Probably cost about £50 all in including paint and an underslung carrier. More if you get it professionally painted.

Definately worth it for me.

Cheers

[europa88]

Love my Surf more each day, except.........(imho) what a long winded, antiquated system the under body spare wheel carrier is. Had thought about converting to a rear door swingaway system but just a first look shows that nunber plate, reversing lights etc will need relocating. Probably a load more involved as well. Is it really worth the hassle and expense? Any comments welcome.

Ken.

Rusty has done this recently.
Iv'e seen the results and it's pretty good!
mind you he did It to a uk 4-runner.

Cheers

Neil

[da SLUG man]

wow... how often do you get the spare out??

i usually keep mine in the boot, tied down with a ratchet strap.

remember with a rear mounted, you've gotta move it out the way every time you open the rear door.

[Guest]

I got a new number plate holder off ebay for a tenner, took off the spare wheel carrier, filled the holes and sprayed temporarily until the weather improves. Probably cost about £50 all in including paint and an underslung carrier. More if you get it professionally painted.

Definately worth it for me.

Cheers

Doh!.

Thought you wanted to change from rear mounted spare like I did.

Obviously I lost the skill of reading some time today.

Cheers

[whitehawk]

Thx for the feedback folks, I know it`s not often you need the spare but i just feel a bit uneasy that all that is holding it up is a wire cable. I know it`s quite a chunky cable but although it`s in good nick at the moment, surely it must degrade in time wot with salt spray etc. ( I know - don`t be such a lazy b**tard and hose the underneath regularly!)

Ken

[JimL]

To quote yourself... 'if it aint broke, dont fix it'

Its not a wire cable its a chain

[rusty]

Thx for the feedback folks, I know it`s not often you need the spare but i just feel a bit uneasy that all that is holding it up is a wire cable. I know it`s quite a chunky cable but although it`s in good nick at the moment, surely it must degrade in time wot with salt spray etc. ( I know - don`t be such a lazy b**tard and hose the underneath regularly!)

Ken

Here's mine

[whitehawk]

Rusty`s does look good but maybe on further reflection i`ll just leave well alone. You know the routine - when you get a new motor, you want to fiddle with it and think you can improve things. The trouble is, as it`s a surf, there`s not really much to improve on. I think that in 30 yrs of driving this must be the first pre-owned vehicle i have had that i can`t really find fault with.

Ken.

[Andy W]

To quote yourself... 'if it aint broke, dont fix it'

Its not a wire cable its a chain

Mines a wire cable as I found out one wet evening at Dublin docks !!

Andy

[Guest]

Rusty`s does look good but maybe on further reflection i`ll just leave well alone. You know the routine - when you get a new motor, you want to fiddle with it and think you can improve things. The trouble is, as it`s a surf, there`s not really much to improve on. I think that in 30 yrs of driving this must be the first pre-owned vehicle i have had that i can`t really find fault with.

Ken.

I am moving mine underneath cos I get fed up having to swing the tyre away every time I want to get in the back. I guess in the end it's what suits the person using it both from a looks and ease of use point of view.

Plus I am sure the wire cable will hold up for a very long time - amazing how strong that stuff is.

Cheers