Do you remove your Jeep's spare tire while towing?

[RubiBlueJLU]

Do you remove your Jeep's spare tire while towing?

My question is, when you only tow a trailer some of the time (camper, boat, utility, etc.), do you remove the Jeep spare tire for clearance issues?
You know:
The trailer jack hitting the spare.
Sharp, abrupt slope changes causing the jack/spare to hit.
Clearance issues with the hitch and the spare tire.
No access to the rear of the Jeep, since you can't open the tailgate.

Also, do you take the spare tire carrier off of the Jeep?

Along with that, where do you put the removed spare?
Back end of the Jeep.
In/on trailer.
Roof top rack.
Leave at home.

I only tow a camper part time. Jack/tire clearance is my main concern.
Just installed an electric jack. Even less clearance now.
Still want that spare on the Jeep when I go out and drive/wheel/ travel.

Thanks

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[driventoadventure]

I do not remove mine for towing my HW277 pop-up trailer (with electric jack). The WD hitch setup I have pushes the connection out far enough that the tongue jack does not interfere with the spare tire at all.

If it's that much of a concern, just get a WD hitch for the sway/weight benefits anyway and make sure the ball is out past your spare tire.

That said, I do want to find a way to mount my bigger tire CLOSER to the gate, but that's more for stability and overall length concerns.

You can also test, by going to a huge parking lot, turning on the backup camera and pulling forward slowly while turning as close as you can to jack-knifing. You should be able to see everything there. Mainly though, as long as the ball is sticking out past the spare tire, you should be fine.

 

[Brad Hearing]

Do you remove your Jeep's spare tire while towing?

Thanks

I remove all my tires when towing just to be safe

 

[LukeDagny]

I don't remove my spare, and like driventoadventure, none of my trailers interfere with the spare.

 

[GATORB8]

When I built my trailer, I specifically elongated the tongue to allow for a full jack knife. But I have pulled a rental with similar issues (short A frame tongues).

If you can get away with relocating the tongue jack, that'd be my first to do.

 

[morph860]

I towed a boat trailer with my JLU for the first time earlier this week. The hitch I used (Bulletproof) had 2 mounting holes on the shank. I used the one that made the ball a little further away from the tire and it gave me plenty of clearance.

 

[Heimkehr]

No, the spare tire remains in place on my JLU. That said, any trailer that fouls regular operation of the tow vehicle (e.g., making contact with the spare during regular and recurring turns) might be a design defect worthy of additional investigation, if not outright replacement.

 

[RubiBlueJLU]

When I built my trailer, I specifically elongated the tongue to allow for a full jack knife. But I have pulled a rental with similar issues (short A frame tongues).
…….

I am not worried about a jack-knife situation. It the “sharp approach angle” driveway that pivots the Jeep/trailer into a vertical “V” formation. Jack to spare.

I do use a WDH. Don’t want to extend the ball out and move the pivot point.

As far as trailer design flaw - “most” trailers are built to be towed by a pickup truck, an SUV, or a car. They typically don’t have a spare tire hanging off the back.

BTW, my son has the same issue with his Bronco. He has used an extended (long shank) WDH setup and it has worked okay. Last trip he used the standard WDH setup and pulled the spare off. It made the Bronco squat less, before the WDH is attached, and handled better, in his opinion.

I know there are lots of “fixes” out there.
Just wondered what everyone is doing.

 

[Husky Man]

If you’re pulling it with a wrangler, the tongue weight should be light enough that you can use a swing away tongue jack instead of the vertical A Frame mounted tongue jack.

Depending on the trailer, that alone might get you enough clearance, to open your tailgate, and would eliminate your concern about clearance on sharp slope changes.

My enclosed trailer has a “V Nose “ front that gives a bit more interior space, but gives less clearance when opening the tailgate, a longer drawbar solved that.

Also, when space permits, jackknifing a bit allows easier access to the cargo area of the Jeep without straddling the trailer tongue


Doug

 

[GATORB8]

I am not worried about a jack-knife situation. It the “sharp approach angle” driveway that pivots the Jeep/trailer into a vertical “V” formation. Jack to spare.

I do use a WDH. Don’t want to extend the ball out and move the pivot point.

As far as trailer design flaw - “most” trailers are built to be towed by a pickup truck, an SUV, or a car. They typically don’t have a spare tire hanging off the back.

BTW, my son has the same issue with his Bronco. He has used an extended (long shank) WDH setup and it has worked okay. Last trip he used the standard WDH setup and pulled the spare off. It made the Bronco squat less, before the WDH is attached, and handled better, in his opinion.

I know there are lots of “fixes” out there.
Just wondered what everyone is doing.

Ah, gotcha.

In addition to the previous answers being applicable (general clearance will help both situations), raising the ball/connection height helps with that some by keeping the connection point from diving as far into the "V". Not necessarily the easiest thing to do correctly.

 

[Heimkehr]

As far as trailer design flaw - “most” trailers are built to be towed by a pickup truck, an SUV, or a car. They typically don’t have a spare tire hanging off the back.

In isolation, that's largely true. That said, the Wrangler's spare tire doesn't protrude that far out. E.g., the spare on my JLU sticks out just 5.5" from the bumper. That shouldn't cause any problems for a trailer that isn't designed in such a way that places it too close to the tow vehicle during regular operation. Those owners with oversized spare tires may have to pivot.

Hitch extenders are a cheap and cheerful solution, but for the collateral reduction in the tongue weight and vertical loading capacity of the receiver hitch. Extenders under 12” long reduce load capacity by 25%, and extenders over 12” reduce load capacity by 50%. Extenders are best reserved for hitch carrier trays, where they do make sense vis-a-vis the Jeep's spare tire.

 

[Mocopo]

Now I realize my trailer is meant for this, but I've been at some pretty extreme angles and find it hard to believe you'd have to worry about the spare tire being in the way before you have to worry about the trailer hitch popping off the ball, assuming you don't have a fully articulating hitch. I will say that I have to have a 2 inch drop in order to be able to get the hitch attached, because of the spare.
Pic is of the bronco towing, but we have zero issues with either vehicle.

 

[GATORB8]

In isolation, that's largely true. That said, the Wrangler's spare tire doesn't protrude that far out. E.g., the spare on my JLU sticks out just 5.5" from the bumper. That shouldn't cause any problems for a trailer that isn't designed in such a way that places it too close to the tow vehicle during regular operation. Those owners with oversized spare tires may have to pivot.

Hitch extenders are a cheap and cheerful solution, but for the collateral reduction in the tongue weight and vertical loading capacity of the receiver hitch. Extenders under 12” long reduce load capacity by 25%, and extenders over 12” reduce load capacity by 50%. Extenders are best reserved for hitch carrier trays, where they do make sense vis-a-vis the Jeep's spare tire.

From my experience/observation, the most likely occurrence of this issue is trailers with a very shallow a-frame coupler installed and a shallow (wide angle) front A-frame tongue. This forces all tongue mounted equipment very close to the coupler. This severly limits both turning and "V" style maneuvers. For example the Rove Lite here:

Either swapping to a coupler which is longer (maybe a collar lock style?), or retrofitting a single beam tongue may be options.

 

[GATORB8]

Now I realize my trailer is meant for this, but I've been at some pretty extreme angles and find it hard to believe you'd have to worry about the spare tire being in the way before you have to worry about the trailer hitch popping off the ball, assuming you don't have a fully articulating hitch. I will say that I have to have a 2 inch drop in order to be able to get the hitch attached, because of the spare.
Pic is of the bronco towing, but we have zero issues with either vehicle.

Well, since we're showing off trailers.

Obviously any manufactured trailer would need several modifications to gain this much, but here's my home build. I've since raised the spare, but I'd assume at least a 45 degree incline would clear. I can 90 degree jack knife it as well.

 

[Mocopo]

Well, since we're showing off trailers.

Obviously any manufactured trailer would need several modifications to gain this much, but here's my home build. I've since raised the spare, but I'd assume at least a 45 degree incline would clear. I can 90 degree jack knife it as well.

I guess the side profile really is the best view for this discussion. Here's my closest photo for that angle. I have way less space than you between my spare and the tongue box on the trailer, but I hand to admit its just not a concern for me. I'm assuming I'm doing some pretty intense stuff to have to worry about that.

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