I've written about this elsewhere, but I use my Pioneer 1000-5LE for playing around and plowing a driveway, but also on long-distance backcountry rides in remote So. Utah. I'm rarely with another vehicle, so flat tires are a big concern. Yes, I have plugs, patches, tire-ject, and inflators, but sometimes only a spare tire will do.
I went cheap on my spare setup because I don't tote a spare that often. There's nothing wrong with cheap, but it did lead to other issues. So I'm going to try to leave the brands out of this post because I really did poor-boy this gear (like damaged, secondary purchases) and the brands have better products. Also, I would like to hear what does and does not work for others but please recognize that I went for the cheap easy way to add a spare for a ride, not the best way to do it.
First, I bought a hitch mount spare carrier. It came with a steel bolt-on stabilizer that connects at the ROPS, but I won't use it because I will be putting the hitch mount on and off quite a bit. First impression, this is pretty easy way to carry a spare and it will be fine with a coupler-cinch or a ratchet strap to hold the mount still. With a hitch extender I can travel with the tailgate down. This hitch mount also has the benefit of not killing my departure angle - shouldn't be plowing behind me.
Second, bought a tire. Was a good price and I just need a spare. Went with a stock-size 27x9-14 and confirmed that it works as a spare for the rear (which is 27x11-14). The spare has to work front or rear whatever your setup.
Third, I bought a wheel. This is where you really should pay attention on your setup. The tire was the right size 14x7 with 4/137 bolt pattern and a 5-2 offset. The issue with the one I bought is that the holes for the lug nuts were incredibly small, like for spline-drive lug nuts. The problem is my stock tires are not spline-drive and my lugnut wrench will not fit. I don't want to change all of my wheels to a spline.
So my $22 fix was to buy a handful of 60mm extended aluminum lugnuts (still the standard 19mm hex). I have four to mount to the hitch and four more in my tool kit to get me home just in case.
I'm fine with my spare setup, but you do need to test the setup at home before any real-world field trial.
Happy trails,
StewB
I went cheap on my spare setup because I don't tote a spare that often. There's nothing wrong with cheap, but it did lead to other issues. So I'm going to try to leave the brands out of this post because I really did poor-boy this gear (like damaged, secondary purchases) and the brands have better products. Also, I would like to hear what does and does not work for others but please recognize that I went for the cheap easy way to add a spare for a ride, not the best way to do it.
First, I bought a hitch mount spare carrier. It came with a steel bolt-on stabilizer that connects at the ROPS, but I won't use it because I will be putting the hitch mount on and off quite a bit. First impression, this is pretty easy way to carry a spare and it will be fine with a coupler-cinch or a ratchet strap to hold the mount still. With a hitch extender I can travel with the tailgate down. This hitch mount also has the benefit of not killing my departure angle - shouldn't be plowing behind me.
Second, bought a tire. Was a good price and I just need a spare. Went with a stock-size 27x9-14 and confirmed that it works as a spare for the rear (which is 27x11-14). The spare has to work front or rear whatever your setup.
Third, I bought a wheel. This is where you really should pay attention on your setup. The tire was the right size 14x7 with 4/137 bolt pattern and a 5-2 offset. The issue with the one I bought is that the holes for the lug nuts were incredibly small, like for spline-drive lug nuts. The problem is my stock tires are not spline-drive and my lugnut wrench will not fit. I don't want to change all of my wheels to a spline.
So my $22 fix was to buy a handful of 60mm extended aluminum lugnuts (still the standard 19mm hex). I have four to mount to the hitch and four more in my tool kit to get me home just in case.
I'm fine with my spare setup, but you do need to test the setup at home before any real-world field trial.
Happy trails,
StewB
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