M101A1 spare tire solutions or bracket?

[oddave715]

What's everyone doing for a spare for your M101A1s? That is for those who aren't towing with an M37! I remember seeing years ago when a lot were being surplused that there was a lot with spare tire carriers mounted on the front outside of the bed. Are these available anywhere or do y'all have other methods of carrying the big spare?

 

[juanprado]

Use the spare tire carrier, plate, and wing nut set up for the bed carrier in a m37. Mounts on front of bed usually but does make it tongue heavy. GoldnEagle has some extra rims with tires I believe.

 

[Evil Dr. Porkchop]

Use the spare tire carrier, plate, and wing nut set up for the bed carrier in a m37. Mounts on front of bed usually but does make it tongue heavy. GoldnEagle has some extra rims with tires I believe.

That's a common way the military did it. One trailer I had used a couple m37 shackle pins welded to the top of the mount to take the weight of the tire, the angled part on the bottom was straghtened to bolt to the frame. I've got another mount off another trailer built almost the same. The tongue weight isn't too terrible since there isn't a surge brake but it's not the easiest to lift.

 

[DeadParrot]

Here is what I did to mine while I had the bed off. The spare was tossed in the bed when it was sold as surplus. Think the guard unit took the opportunity to dispose of a used tire. IIRC, the spare tire is a 60's issue. The ones on the trailer were new with molding nibs still on the road tread. The cable lift is a Chevy PU unit from the local pull-a-part salvage yard. The rest is made from metal from a local scrap yard. Didn't trust the cable lift to support the heavy trailer tire but it does make it much easier to lift into place and lower when needed.

Did something similar for my M1101. The original tire won't fit but the civilian tire just fits.

 

[just me]

The M37 bed mount works fine with the addition of an "L" bracket bolted at the bottom.
That is where I got the bed mount for my truck. From an M101 trailer.

 

[antennaclimber]

I mounted mine up under the front with a cable lift. I agree with Dead Parrot and have a ratchet strap holding it in place for added security.

 

[big block 88]

That is very nicely done. Only thing on those spare tire winches is keep her well oiled to stop corrosion.

 

[MarkM]

I used one of the M37 setups but mounted the tire inside.

Mark

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

That is very nicely done. Only thing on those spare tire winches is keep her well oiled to stop corrosion.

Heavy axle grease is my preference. Lots of it.

 

[oddave715]

Is there any reasonable priced m37 style spare tire brackets available?

 

[Storm 51]

M101A1 Spare Tire Bracket

Here is what I did with my spare tire.




It makes the tongue a little heavier, but the spare was mounted to the front of the bed when I got the trailer, so it was already heavy anyway. I wanted to keep the rear anti-tilt leg and I wanted to put a tool rack on the tailgate. I also wanted gates in the front just like the rear.

So, I moved the spare tire forward and hinged the mounting bracket so that when the spare was removed, the bracket could be folded flat, thus allowing the front gates to be opened. I cut a piece of plywood to fit inside the angle iron bracket so there would be a solid place to stand when loading or unloading the front of the trailer.

Not the most elegant solution, but it gave me almost all of the features I wanted. I also added two padded handles to the yoke to help with lifting. You can see one of them in the third top picture.

The pictures below show some details of the hinge arrangement.



Sorry for the cluttered pictures. but the trailer has become a storage feature of the garage. It happens.