R50 Pathfinder spare tire location questions!

[carnal_c30]

Hey guys!,

I'm just wondering if anyone can clarify to me the reasons behind how some R50 pathfinders have the spare tire on the rear and others have it underneath. I'm interested to know when, which packages this came on etc etc.I read somewhere that the spare mounted on the rear was part of an offroad package which I dont know is true. If this is true, does the rear mounted spare really increase ground clearance or departure angles?

Reason why I ask, is I'm thinking of purchasing another R50 for ehhmmm more heavy duty trail use seeing I will be working on ranches and farms soon and my current QX4 is just too damned clean and pretty to be letting it swim in mud and have a muddy dude in an out all day. Once in awhile offroading and getting filthy for the QX4 is cool but months and monthes of constant dirt duty every day wont make me happy.

[Pwnin O'Brien]

The rear mounted spare tires on an R50 is rare. I have only ever seen a few. I'm not sure if it is part of an off-roading package or if this has anything to do with it, but I've only ever seen the rear mounted spare tires on XE's.

I would think the best place to put the spare would be on the roof, all that hardware for mounting it on the rear would probably be pretty heavy. Plus, I'm sure the rear mounting hardware would rust easily.

Just my $.02

[screwinitupagain]

The rear spare tire is not "rare" they are all over the place from the 96-99 R50's on both XE & SE models. Example:http://greensboro.craigslist.o....htmlhttp://charlotte.craigslist.or....htmlhttp://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/1333038121.htmlAnd that was just froma simple craigslist search from around me. Like I said, not that rare.

As for how the swing-away works if you take off the right panel in the rear cargo area you will see an open area & that leads to the rear quarter panel but you'll also see where the bracing could go. I wouldn't add one that doesn't have one from the factory, I'd just do a rear bumper with a swing-away, but you can if you want to. Don't listen to everyone that'll tell you it wouldn't be structurally sound because from 96-99 that portion of the body was uniform no matter if it was XE, SE or LE, it would just have a bit of support which you could weld in there fairly easily.

I always throw my spare on top in the roof rack but I am going to build a rear swing-away tire carrier for my rear bumper so I can carry 2 spares. You can also fit a stock tire/wheel in the rear cargo area if its on its side & you don't have a ton of stereo stuff back there.

[screwinitupagain]

BTW there was no "offroad" backage offered here in the US. There was the Chilcoot edition offered in CA but I don't think that counts. Some XE's have ther rear spare tire carrier, some have flares, some SE's have the rear tire carrier, some have it under the rear, which helps with departure angle in the rear some but you also have to worry about f*cking sh*t up back there when its not there (cause when it is there you can slide down it sometimes) but you can always put the hitch back there for protection

[Pwnin O'Brien]

Yeah, I guess they aren't. I was thinking more of the 99-04 R50's as being rare.

[SixGuns]

Dude, if the R50 is strictly for bouncing around in the mud on a farm...why wouldn't you just buy a mid-80's shortbed Chevy or Ford (Chevy stayed with the solid front end longer...) and you'd have something for like 1/2 the price that will go twice as many muddy places as the R50, ranch-wise. I dunno, just a thought. Gonna have to mod the R50, plus, how much of a pain in the a** is it going to be tossing tools, hay, and calves in the back along with everything else that winds up in the bed of a truck on a farm....dude, a pickup is the way to go.

[Qxxx4]

i think the spare tire on rear door is a bad idea. Its very common with SUV's but when its mounted under the vehicle, its quite easy to access due to the drop down chain. Only issue is your spare gets rediculously dirty and that chain should be oiled once in a while.

The rear hatch of the R50 already has rust issues, these tires/harnesses for the tire just cause more issues. Not to mention opening a door sideways with all that weight on it is bad news. My parents 03 Land Rover discovery has an 18" spare on the door, i cringe every time I open the door sideways, its got so much weight for those brackets and the dealer already had to fix an issue where water leaked inside the vehicle

i love it when the spares are rocked on top of the roof, looks awesome for an off road setup

[screwinitupagain]

Not to mention opening a door sideways with all that weight on it is bad news.

What the hell are you talking about? Are you talking about an R50 with a stoc k swing-away? If so, the rear hatch opens like the rest do. You swing the rear tire carrier to the side & out of the way & then open the rear hatch up.

[carnal_c30]

thing is is I'll be out there 4 days a week, then after that I have to drive 300 miles back to LA where I work the other 3 days. If it was strictly ranch then for sure I would get a old domestic pickup but I don't trust them reliably to make that trip 600 miles every week.I was thinking a toyota or nissan pickup but the resale values on them are so high I wouldnt be able to get a 1992 for the price of a 1998 Pathfinder 4wd. And the farming/Ranch work is more citrus/grapes/almonds so there isnt too much carrying stuff around

thanks for the suggestion, I'm definitely open to new ideas. In a perfect world I'd pick myself up a dodge diesel hahaha but thats a bit out of my price range. I also considered a D21 Pathfinder but they dont handle the same way on the freeway and they are even more underpowered than the R50 VG33e Pathfinders.

Dude, if the R50 is strictly for bouncing around in the mud on a farm...why wouldn't you just buy a mid-80's shortbed Chevy or Ford (Chevy stayed with the solid front end longer...) and you'd have something for like 1/2 the price that will go twice as many muddy places as the R50, ranch-wise. I dunno, just a thought. Gonna have to mod the R50, plus, how much of a pain in the a** is it going to be tossing tools, hay, and calves in the back along with everything else that winds up in the bed of a truck on a farm....dude, a pickup is the way to go.

[screwinitupagain]

I also considered a D21 Pathfinder but they dont handle the same way on the freeway

Its actually a WD21 when its a 86-95 Pathfinder frame code. Its a D21 when its a Hardbody frame code & D22 when its a Frontier (1st gen), but close enough.

[K03sport]

why not an Xterra or Frontier with the 3.5VQ? More utility with similar road manners.

What was your budget again?

Also, why not a late 90s/early 2000s Tahoe with the 5.7 Mileage will be about the same and there are 10x more companies out there that can help the Tahoe make more power and get better fuel economy, not to mention other stuff like exhaust, wheels/tires, and creature comfort bits. Not to mention maintenance is worlds cheaper.

I'm not saying the PF is the wrong vehicle, but with the work and commuting, it seems there could be better ones out there to suit your needs better.

[maikan]

Th[QUOTE=Qxxx4] Its very common with SUV's but when its mounted under the vehicle, its quite easy to access due to the drop down chain. Only issue is your spare gets rediculously dirty and that chain should be oiled once in a while.

The really big problem is that you can't drop your tire if you're stuck in the snow or in the mud. Your spare tire is then unusable.

I put mine on top but it's a very good idea to install a swing away too.I think I'm gonna try to find one.

But is there everything to install it alresdy on the truck ?

I have a 99 chillkoot with flare and it would be great to have a second spare tire who look really clean due to factory swing away.

[naladude911]

The 2nd gen R50 did come with a spare tire carrier optional, I've only seen it in Canada though

[carnal_c30]

I'm finding a bit rough but decent R50s around 3-4000 which makes it very tempting. As far as frontiers it's impossible to find a 4wd frontier for that price here in CAXterras are usually out of the price range as well even though I definitely wouldn't mind one. All the vq powered Nissan trucks are out of my price range.

A tahoe might be nice but I don't know about reliabilty and I don't know the first thing about working on them

Something reliable, cheap and decently capable is what I need. Isuzu rodeos are dirt cheap but I have no idea on their reliability

[miamiheat3332]

just get one of these,



10 star out of 5 crash rating

lavish interior, drivers seat is like a plane cockpit.



looks like a good choice to me

on a more serious note



Toyota hilux, probably find one dirt cheap, easy to work on, reliable.