That's nice Silver.

 

With the tire:

 

As I previously said, but this time squared!
^2


I need to find a basket......

 

So took it for a drive with the tire in. Seems very secure, even bouncing through bumps. Two downsides that I could see with this setup though. One is, visibility out the rear view mirror is now basically zero. I was hoping to be able to see under it a little (thought it might stick up just high enough), but that isn't the case. Number two, i'm now considering whether I should get a headache rack of some kind. I can see that tire coming through my rear window if something ever went wrong back there. Really not good if I have passenger in the back seat at that moment.

Ever since I started this thread, I had already considered that I could continue to keep the spare in the bed under the locked cover most of the time, and the basket would be empty up above (or being used for other things). Then when I needed the bed space or wanted other stuff under the locking bed cover, I could just move the tire up to the basket and screw/lock it down with the tire mount. Bing bang, locked bed space without having to fill up the passenger area with my gear because it won't fit in the bed or having to leave the spare at home like I sometime have to do. So now that I see the two issues I mentioned above, I think this will likely be the long term plan now instead of carrying the spare in the basket full time. Won't have to worry as much about a headache rack either with just the basket there, and visibility is fine without the tire in the basket.

I also realized that I can now put my Yakima cargo bin the I sometime use on the family SUV (for road trips) on this rail system too (or vise versa with the basket on the SUV). So that is a plus. Also, Yakima makes block heads that will let me attach the mountain bikes directly to the cross bars or even to the basket itself. That would be a new way to carry my bikes instead of in the bed like I usually do, again freeing up bed space on those trips. Another plus.

So the cross bars/basket really gives me lots of options overall now. I'd say I am very happy with this setup now that it is installed.

 

On a few vehicles I have owned, the inside rear view mirror fell off..... I like the view out the windshield better that way, so, never reinstalled it. The law says you have to have two rearview mirrors, it doesn't say WHERE They have to be...... (probably varies from state to state.)

I would definitely put a headache rack on there. If the worst were to happen, and you rear-ended someone, that tire coming thru the back would be a rather unpleasant experience. Definitely something to be avoided.

 

Nice sanitary install, but I expected nothing less from you. Great job!

I'm trying to determine if it would be easier to install something on the rack itself that would elimiinate the need for a headache rack. How is the tire attached to the rack now?

 

thats looks unbelievable! i picked up my back rack off craigslist for $100.

as for the mirror laws. its the same here too. gotta have 2, doesnt say which ones.

 

That looks great. You did a good job!

 

Silver,

I can feel your concern about the tire mounting. Did you use the wheel lock for the basket like you posted?

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2642697-post7.html

I can't imagine this being a problem, but anything could happen with such mass. How do you feel about the mounts to the bed? What is the weight/load rating?


As for visibility issue, again I can relate. I moved my POD to driver side. When I do have the bikes (2) mounted, it also obscures rear view mirror. I do default to the side mirrors. Yeah, symetry would be nice, but what I found was access from a side suited in my situation.




Ultimately though, I want to know awesome it was to move the spare up there and out.

I want your basket, oops, did I say that? lol

My spare, in due time, will go on a tailgate rack (e.g., tiregate?). I hope to fab my own though.

Again, snazzy setup!

 

Yes, I used that spare tire mount. It is very sturdy unit, could be used for lots of applications besides just the basket. It definetly will not be an issue.

The mounts to the bed are pretty good. Stainless hardware, two bolts per mount. Yakima doesn't publush weight ratings because it depends on the roof that the mounts are attached to. But when I talked to them about how I was installing it, they said somewhere in excess of 150lbs would be conservative. So the basket weighs a little over 20 lbs, the tire mount weighs about 7-10 lbs, and the tire weighs about 85 lbs. So i'm easily within the weight limited they said. I also talked to the guys at Rack Attack in Denver and they said this setup was plenty strong for what I was doing (and they deal with racks all the time). I'm sure it is fine, but you never know what will happen if you get in an accident or something like that. So I think my plan to just leave it in the bed and use the basket when I need to will work out just fine.

Thanks for the compliments. It is a pretty cool setup overall as I mentioned all the things I can now do with it. Start watching your local craigslist if you want a basket like this one. You'll probably find a deal eventually.