M101A1 Spare Tire Bracket
Here is what I did with my spare tire.
![IMG_9010R.jpg IMG_9010R.jpg](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/data/attachments/488/488838-1c889c55c31846452e2f415f631b817e.jpg)
![IMG_9011R.jpg IMG_9011R.jpg](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/data/attachments/488/488839-0a4d59c0441198dfa96ecc9e42cedba8.jpg)
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.
![IMG_9008R.jpg IMG_9008R.jpg](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/data/attachments/488/488836-10ecfa300241b99825fdda96361cb789.jpg)
![IMG_9009R.jpg IMG_9009R.jpg](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/data/attachments/488/488837-6097e41e796f60a0cf41b105c525afc7.jpg)
![IMG_9013R.jpg IMG_9013R.jpg](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/data/attachments/488/488840-bb02af865616688642c4298a6c2646fd.jpg)
![IMG_9014R.jpg IMG_9014R.jpg](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/data/attachments/488/488841-76fc5a0747ba7b57b35d4a77c98f1a66.jpg)
Sorry for the cluttered pictures. but the trailer has become a storage feature of the garage. It happens.