Custom use of empty spare tire well?

[Kaprice]

My searches only came up with years-old thread and rather than resurrecting one I hope it's okay to start a fresh one.

If we add a bumper mod that holds the spare, has anyone done anything cool with the newly available space where the spare used to be?

The old threads had these ideas:

* Build a hinged tray to hold Rotopax with water or gas
* Put an air tank there.
* Someone suggested a battery pack could go there.
* One guy built a hot water shower system using a heat exchanger and a tank in the spare space.

I was thinking it would be cool to set up a fresh water system with a pump to support a slide out kitchen out the back.

Has anyone actually implemented something down there?

 

[hajismash1133]

I have the same plan as you. RV water tank and a pump feeding a sink and an external hookup for a propane hot water heater. I think I can even fit a VW Van propane tank down there. But I’m waiting on the bumper before I start to piece it all together.

4wheeler magazine had Evolution Off-road do a water tank and pump setup that was pretty sick. And I wish I could find someone to do that same clean swing out tire carrier. They said it was a one-off and won’t do another one.

 

[nglayton]

Fuel tank.

In my 1st Gen I had a fuel tank. I should have never sold that truck with out pulling the tank. I never been able to find one since.

None of the T4R vendors seem to think we need extra fuel.....

 

[4Reak Show]

I always thought it would be neat to build a little box or platform for whatever you put under there and still use the spare lowering winch system. Could just use it for basic, non emergency storage like camping/cooking gear, maybe a folded tent or a little stove etc in a light aluminum or wooden box you could raise and lower when setting up camp. Thought it would be a waste to not at least utilize the already engineered, fab'd and mounted lowering device.

Seems like moving the spare gains a fair amount of real estate.

 

[Kaprice]

...for basic, non emergency storage like camping/cooking gear, maybe a folded tent or a little stove etc in a light aluminum or wooden box you could raise and lower when setting up camp.

I don't think it's very practical to use that space for things you want easy access to. That seems like it would get quite old fast.

But, gas or water tanks would hardly ever need to be accessed if you added in and out valves.

An air or propane tank would only need to be accessed for refilling. Though the thought of having a potentially explosive tank of protein down there does feel a bit unsettling. It would certainly need some strong, protective skids.

 

[DesertCanyons]

Exra Fuel tank in spare location

Fuel tank.

In my 1st Gen I had a fuel tank. I should have never sold that truck with out pulling the tank. I never been able to find one since.

None of the T4R vendors seem to think we need extra fuel.....

Jeep thought this was a good place to put the main fuel tank for the Grand Cherokee from about 1994 to 2004, or thereabouts. Eventually Jeep realized it was a hazard in rear end collisions and did a recall to surround the tank with a skid plate and solid steel bumper, if the GC didn't have them already.
If you go this route somehow, make sure you put a thick skid plate under it and behind it. Then it would be a good idea.
:flamethrwoer2:

 

[RAD4Runner]

I would put a water tank in there with option to pressurize with a Schrader valve.

 

[Kaprice]

I would put a water tank in there with option to pressurize with a Schrader valve.

Interesting thought. I found this thread that suggests it was once in common use but discarded. Probably a reason for that. But the thread has a couple of alternative ideas.

Anyone used on board air to pressurize a water tank? - Expedition Portal

Anyone know how much space we actually have down there? And the dimensions? Is it round? Square? For example, I wonder if one of these would fit.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/todd--polyethylene-water-holding-tanks--P011_334_003_504

 

[Kaprice]

Might be some usable ideas in this article:

DIY 4x4 Drinking Water Tank, Pump, Filter and Treat | The Road Chose Me

 

[nglayton]

Jeep thought this was a good place to put the main fuel tank for the Grand Cherokee from about 1994 to 2004, or thereabouts. Eventually Jeep realized it was a hazard in rear end collisions and did a recall to surround the tank with a skid plate and solid steel bumper, if the GC didn't have them already.
If you go this route somehow, make sure you put a thick skid plate under it and behind it. Then it would be a good idea.
:flamethrwoer2:

This is probably why no vendor cares to touch it. I had over 225k miles on mine with no issues. But then again, I don't drive like a dumb@$$ and was always watching for those that do. Does anyone remember the Pinto? There are still 1000's of vehicles on the road with rear area tanks.

Every thing we drive is a potential hazard of some kind. If it doesn't explode, man will keep trying until it does!

 

[jahdai42]

Does anyone have access to a blow mould? You could probably blow a toroid shaped water tank the exact shape of a spare tire with a plate to mount to original space. Fill tube, hose attachment nozzle and compressed air attachment.

 

[e60ral]

Does anyone have access to a blow mould? You could probably blow a toroid shaped water tank the exact shape of a spare tire with a plate to mount to original space. Fill tube, hose attachment nozzle and compressed air attachment.

doing a one-off blow molding in a material strong enough to hold that volume of water would cost much more than having someone fabricate a stainless steel tank

 

[Jetboy]

I put a spare tire there. In case I get a flat.

You can probably fit a Prado 150 long range tank there. There's a few options including OEM tanks for them. This one holds 136 liters - or about 36 gallons extra. Not sure how much you want, but that should give you a bit of range. No reason you have to fill it with gasoline though. You could just coat the inside with epoxy and use as a water tank.

There are also OEM options. Parts numbers are here:

 

[nb rob]

seems like a lot of people keep things there, and there are products for that location....

But I always thought that the spare tire was considered as part of the structural component for rear end collisions, and it should always be present. Seems like a tank of fuel would be the opposite in terms of safety.

 

[Discovery]

 

[Heavy_GD]

 

[DesertCanyons]

Fuel tank in spare location

This is probably why no vendor cares to touch it. I had over 225k miles on mine with no issues. But then again, I don't drive like a dumb@$$ and was always watching for those that do. Does anyone remember the Pinto? There are still 1000's of vehicles on the road with rear area tanks.

Every thing we drive is a potential hazard of some kind. If it doesn't explode, man will keep trying until it does!

Rear end collisions are rarely, if ever the fault of the driver who gets rear ended. No matter how well you drive someone can still hit you hard enough to crumple the back end.

Don't forget the 1965 mustang too. Ford thought it would be a good cheap way to build them by dropping the fuel tank into a well in the trunk and screwing it down on the trunk floor. In a rear end collision the tank ruptured and the fuel and/or the tank often popped up into the trunk, a chamber right behind the back seat. This is obviously fatal for anyone trapped, unconscious or slow inside the car.

If you put a fuel tank under the back end make sure it can break free and fall away in a severe impact and that it is well protected from smaller rear end collisions.

 

[bamma]

There is a vendor creating custom tanks for the 200 Land Cruiser on the 200 Series forum of Ih8mud.

Someone with a GX460 inquired about the option for them and the vendor said the 4Runner and GX options are being looked at or developed... It is a separate tank with a separate filling port (standard fill port will be replaced with a port with two holes, so the fill port stays in the factory location.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/auxiliary-fuel-tanks-for-200s.1013044/

If people want this, they should reach out to the vendor to show the demand...

 

[Kaprice]

But I always thought that the spare tire was considered as part of the structural component for rear end collisions, and it should always be present. Seems like a tank of fuel would be the opposite in terms of safety.

I hadn't heard that the spare was important for structural integrity. Certainly a large number of mods have moved the spare to a custom swing out on the back bumper.

But, I agree that a tank of fuel seems like a bad idea.

But drinkable water sounds like a great idea.

 

[RAD4Runner]

Some nice ideas about water storage on this thread.

... I found this thread that suggests it (schrader valve) was once in common use but discarded. Probably a reason for that...

Good point^^^. Yeah, too much pressure may make tank bulge / rupture, but even the cheap Harbor Freight garden sprayer has a relief / manual pressure release valve.

For low-mounted storage we'd either need to push water (pressurize) or pull water out of the tank.

If air-pressurized, it would need pressure relief valve, even as simple as one cannibalized from the Harbor Freight Garden Sprayer

Manually-switched pump maybe the better way to go. Inexpensive, requires simple installation, no need for pressure relief valve and hassle-free afterwards.

AND!!! Because I am deleting my rear wiper and windshield washer (too much trouble than benefit for me), I could re-purpose my windshield washer pump for it!- LOL!