place under the chassis for the spare tire?

[chin_k]

I do not remember anyone mentioned about being able to store the spare under the chassis on the Concourse. I assume the only options are, the back, in front of the bumper, or on the top. I hear there are a lot of room under the chassis, but never really look around there when I work under it. The fact that no one suggested storing the spare there on the Concourse means that it does not have enough room?

[dougm]

The gas tank sits behind the rear axle as well as the black tank and the grey tank, then theres framework that trailwagons added on the rear of the frame in order to put the rear most body mounts on as well as the trailer hitch if you have that option.

[Blue~Go]

I don't think there would be space in a "modern" 21' Chinook, as Doug mentioned (I can't speak to the older 18+ etc.).

On the standard Ford van of the era, it's under the body by the rear bumper, in the center. My campervan had the spare on the rear door, and that space that was originally for the spare was a storage box accessible by a hatch in the floor.

But on the 21' Chinook you have, as mentioned, the fuel tank behind the axle, then behind that the grey tank spans most of the width of the rear, the black tank is on the left, and the generator is on the right.

Up forward you have the propane tank on one side, and the battery/storage/water heater on the other.

There isn't space left under there for something as large as a spare, I don't believe. If there were I bet Chinook would have found something to put there already

[chin_k]

Well, I guess you guys killed the idea fast. Oh well.

[Scott]

I hear there are a lot of room under the chassis ...

To the left of my drive shaft, there's quite a large area, but not enough for the spare. This is my large inflatable kayak.

[Blue~Go]

Good ol' offset driveline. Cool idea keeping your kayak there! Do you keep it in something protective? Ever worry about a strap getting into the driveshaft? (I guess what I'm really wanting to ask is just how you strap it in - knowing you, I'm sure you have it secured well.) Does it get hot at all?

I keep my kayak in the "tire locker" at the moment; but I'm always open to other arrangements.

For the spare, I want it somewhere reasonably accessible. Obviously you always have to take time to jack things up, etc. no matter where the spare is; but I think I'd struggle with it if it were on the roof, or under/inside the frame cavities (since I travel sans forklift ). One nice thing about it on the front is it unloads the rear axle (as compared to stock location) and instead adds some weight to the front axle (which has more to spare, and there are fewer ways to add weight there). Does make the rig a titch longer though. This isn't really a drivability issue as it's only in the very center, but might make a difference if you regularly use a specific ferry that has a certain cutoff.

Always good to ponder options though.

[pdemarest]

Like Chin_nok I've been desperately trying to find a space to relocated my spare tire. Putting it on the front would be easy but then I'd be adding to the length of the rig, which could impact parking. I was rolling around under my RV earlier this week looking for storage space but there's no room for the spare. I was thinking off mounting an air compressor under the rig and there's certainly room for it but then I'd have to be down on the ground to operate it. Not really viable for my age and size (old and fat!).

I have tinkered around with the idea of a spare tire mounted high above the existing "tire locker" by running a piece of angled metal across the back edge of the roof and then having the tire mount attached to that. It would require reinforcing the rear wall somehow - maybe sheets of plywood on both sides to spread the load - but most of the weight would rest on the roof's edge. I'm not an engineer so I'm unsure of how much weight the roof edge could handle and not sure how much wood reinforcement there is at the roof's edge. I just really hate where the spare is now. Its almost as though Chinook finished the coach prototype and then realized that there was no place for the spare so they just hung it off the bumper. (If anyone wants to start up a support group for "Chinook Owners Obsessed With Re-locating Their Spare Tire" please count me in.)

Another idea I had for adding some outside storage is to remove the steps from the rear ladder so I could strap in my pop-up shade canopy and/or my camp chairs inside the ladder rails - both of which are currently taking up the entire rear closet. I don't use the ladder as I don't store anything on the roof. I have looked at the ladder closely and I don't see an obvious way to remove the steps but if anyone out there can shed any light on this please share.

[chin_k]

Paul, I have seen a few people who store chairs and other items on the ladder, without removing it. One local Chinook has a large golf carriers strapped to the ladder, and inside it, there are two folding chairs and other small items.

[pdemarest]

Hi Chin_ook - I hadn't considered one of those golf club containers. I've looked at maybe using a roof top carrier but they aren't rigid enough to stand on end without some addition framework added.

Just finished dealing with my dinette table, which would fall down every time I would try to lower or raise it due to the bolts that hold the gold brackets coming undone. Used some Liquid Nails to keep the brass inserts from coming out of the wall bracket and it seemed to work. As one of the posters on this forum would say, "always something going on".

[Blue~Go]

I hear you on the spare by the back door. It was like a breath of fresh air the first hundred times I went out the back door and it wasn't there. I still appreciate it!

I haven't noticed much impact on parking, but I don't tend to do a lot of parallel in-town parking, and if do go someplace like WalMart, I'm not trying to fit into a single regular spot (I don't want door dings is why). As I mentioned above, while it does add length, it's only a small spot in the middle, which is less of an effect than there would be if it ran fender edge to fender edge. At least for maneuvering, it's often the corners that I'm wondering "will they clear?" But parallel parking you can't make the length go away completely, if you do that.

One thing about the front spare mount: It's not too hard to try it out (all parts can be ordered straight off the shelf and installed in existing holes), and if you don't like it it's possible to use the front hitch for something else (and if you don't use it at all it's very unobtrusive, IMO). It's not nothing, dollar-wise but there's no engineering or hassle.

I installed the hitch and spare carrier during one of my rare stays in an RV park (just happened to be when the parts arrived), and I don't think anyone even noticed (I parked nose in and was quiet about it). Took a couple hours and that's only because I did it the hard way (fish wire) vs. removing the front bumper (was trying to be subtle).

I know I probably sound like a shill for the Front Spare Mount Company, and I don't mean to. It's just SO NICE having it off the back.

*****

As far as mounting it on the roof/corner/rear wall engineering: While I'm no naval architect, I do have a little bit of a feeling for what needs to be done to add heavy stresses to fiberglass structures. I wouldn't be comfortable adding a 75#+ spare tire up on the back like that unless I could remove the shower and do a major wall reinforcement (including something to span around the large cutout for the tire locker door). But maybe I'm being too conservative. It's just the way that the Chinook doesn't really have monocoque type tabbing and etc. to stiffen things and spread loads like I'm used to.

Maybe you could do something up from the bumper/frame, a la Aluminess, but then it's basically back in your way by the door.