I have to ask....

Xodius · **Posted:** Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:42 am

OK, I get the mags and have seen the KK's on the road but I have yet to find anyone that knows where the spare tire is, lol. It is just one thing that has been nagging me that is all. I am assuming it is under the cargo floor, am I right? I don't go to dealerships, even on Sundays, the one near me has a security guard that acts like a salesmen and drives everyone crazy.

KJ Taz · **Posted:** Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:51 am

Under the rear........................bad place for it if you ask me. Other wise I really like the KK's

corwyyn · **Posted:** Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:16 pm

Yep, it's where the gas tank is on the KJs. They moved the tank over to the drivers side and turned it 90 degrees, then stuffed the spare underneath. I guess someone should come out with a 'spare tire skid' for the KK...

Xodius · **Posted:** Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:21 pm

Wow...a spare tire skid sounds odd to need but it then again why would you put it there on a Jeep? What was that group of engineers thinking?

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:15 pm

Xodius · **Posted:** Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:04 pm

Diggerfreek wrote:

I love it, brand new and has new shoes and is already getting muddy! Great pic.

Inc · **Posted:** Wed Jun 04, 2008 1:54 am

Can you imagine getting a flat in some serious mud and water and having to swap a tire out from under there? No thanks.

corwyyn · **Posted:** Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:13 am

incubusmike wrote:

Can you imagine getting a flat in some serious mud and water and having to swap a tire out from under there? No thanks.

That's pretty much what I was thinking when I first saw the KK, but I'm sure Marty or one of the other fab shops will remedy that soon

rickm · **Posted:** Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:39 am

incubusmike wrote:

Can you imagine getting a flat in some serious mud and water and having to swap a tire out from under there? No thanks.

what I can't imagine is that we're having this discussion again. It's the same one we've already had about 10 times here in the past 6 months.

However, since you mentioned it, I'll repeat what I said before.

I had an 04 Liberty with the tire on the rear. When I had a flat on it, it was a royal pain in the butt to get the tire on and off the back door.

I have an 08 Liberty and have already had a couple of flat tires, thanks to the cheapo Goodyears OEM tires that came with the vehicle.

One of those flats was when I left the gym in the middle of the winter in a pouring rain. I only had on gym shorts and a T-shirt. It was cold, windy and heavy rain.

The 08 Liberty is a breeze to change the tire on, the spare underneath is no problem at all to get on/off. I'll take it any day over the previous year's spare tire location.

However, I'm not as young as I used to be. Maybe if I was about 25 or 30 years younger, I'd like the spare on the rear door so I could muscle the tire on and off. :roll:

Gimme Liberty · **Posted:** Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:51 am

With all due respect...

dog_party · **Posted:** Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:49 am

Gimme Liberty wrote:

With all due respect...

Now that's funny...I don't care who ya are.

lemonboy · **Posted:** Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:31 am

Sorry but this is silly.

The spare is tucked up so high under the rear end that to mess that up would only be accomplishable in the event of trashing a bunch of body work anyway.

If you are in mud deep enough that you literally couldn't get the spare out then guess what: you're stuck anyway, like stuck stuck. And the mud's too deep to change a flat in anyway, snatch it out change on the dry.

It's tucked up and way less obtrusive than the KJ(or wrangler) fuel tanks, better a spare tire than a fuel tank getting popped.

Otherwise, my old pickup had a spare underneath and in 170k mi it never went flat or got banged up and luckily I never got a flat either. That spare was much more exposed than this one to damage.

Inc · **Posted:** Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:16 pm

I didn't mean to hit a sore spot but I guess I did. Will an oversized spare fit under there? I mean what would you do if you were to get a lift and bigger tires? I still would never want my spare under there. Easier access the better IMHO. I don't want to kneel or lay in the mud to get to that spare and change a tire, even if I am not stuck. I think that is pretty much the only to way to get the tire out isn't it? It DOES look tucked up enough to be pretty much out of the way of rocks or anything though, and if you were hung up on it, you would mess up the body as someone stated earlier.

lemonboy · **Posted:** Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:47 pm

Dunno about a larger size. I'm gonna say that a 35" tire would prolly not fit so hot…but then it'll be a while before anyone is running those anyway given that fitting those at the corners is a lot harder. :shock:

As for kneeling, you simply don't have to, it lowers (there's a crank in the rear cargo area, probably the biggest hassle if you have a full load of crap and get a flat) and then you simply drag the tire out from underneath. There's less lifting and fighting than with a rear door or roof mount.

Inc · **Posted:** Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:54 pm

lemonboy wrote:

Dunno about a larger size. I'm gonna say that a 35" tire would prolly not fit so hot…but then it'll be a while before anyone is running those anyway given that fitting those at the corners is a lot harder. :shock:

As for kneeling, you simply don't have to, it lowers (there's a crank in the rear cargo area, probably the biggest hassle if you have a full load of crap and get a flat) and then you simply drag the tire out from underneath. There's less lifting and fighting than with a rear door or roof mount.

The crank idea is kinda cool, except for he downside you mentioned. Sounds easier than the old style of mounts that are out there. How much space is around the tire when mounted? It doesn't look like much from what I can tell in the pic above..

rickm · **Posted:** Thu Jun 05, 2008 6:51 pm

lemonboy wrote:

As for kneeling, you simply don't have to, it lowers (there's a crank in the rear cargo area, probably the biggest hassle if you have a full load of crap and get a flat) and then you simply drag the tire out from underneath. There's less lifting and fighting than with a rear door or roof mount.

Thank you! Geeze.... LOL. I've done it on my 04 KJ and my 08 KK and the KK is a LOT easier than trying to strongarm that big ole heavy tire up there on the rear door, then hold it with one arm while you're trying to get a couple of lug nuts started with the hand on the other arm. I mean it ain't all that bad, but it's still a LOT more difficult than the KK.

On the KK, you just crank the tire all the way down, bend over, and pull the tire out from under the vehicle. It's no big deal, and a lot easier than the KJ setup.

Actually, now that I think about it... hummmm... if someone wanted to make a little rod with a hook on the end, you could just reach under the rear of the KK with the rod, hook the cable that holds the tire and pull it out.... no bending over or squatting involved. Ok, if someone makes that and patents it, remember, it was my idea! :lol:

Or maybe I should make em, patent em, and sell them to all the KK owners that think the spare is a PITA.

lemonboy · **Posted:** Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:34 am

rickm wrote:

Or maybe I should make em, patent em, and sell them to all the KJ owners that think the spare on a KK is a PITA.

Fixed that for ya. Make sure to sell those things to folks before they see how the deal works.

didn't crawl under to see how much xtra room there is last night as it rained yesterday and my driveway was full of wet crap from the tree. [/excuse]

Sartori · **Posted:** Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:36 pm

"no bending over or squatting involved. "

Until you go to actually change the tire and put the jack underneath....

Xodius · **Posted:** Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:11 pm

I can't believe some people think it is hard to remove and replace the tire on the back of the KJ. I have taken it off and back on numerous times, not because I had a flat but for other reasons and never had a issue with it. Perhaps I am just tougher than others

and then again perhaps it is just the country boy in me.

Inc · **Posted:** Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:23 pm

Xodius wrote:

I can't believe some people think it is hard to remove and replace the tire on the back of the KJ. I have taken it off and back on numerous times, not because I had a flat but for other reasons and never had a issue with it. Perhaps I am just tougher than others

and then again perhaps it is just the country boy in me.

I agree, never had a problem with my spare location or the removal of it. Even with the heavy trxus tire and steel rock crawler wheel. But the new KK system sounds like it was made so even a soccer mom could do it and not have to heft a tire on and off the rear of the jeep.

I have to ask....

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