Hey y'all, this is my first post on these forums so sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong spot.

Recently picked myself up an '04 Blazer ZR2 2-door. There is currently a spare tire carrier on the back, but I want to remove it because of how much of the rear windshield it covers as well as because it makes it a bit of a hassle to get into the trunk as you can't lift the window when the carrier is shut and I'm constantly getting stuff into and out of my trunk. Looking around a bit I found essentially 3 options if you don't want the spare tire on the back: either keep it in the trunk, mount it to the roof, or don't carry a spare period. Carrying it in the trunk seems like it will take up a large amount of the space and I'd be worried about it potentially damaging things in the trunk (I almost always have a couple of fishing rods on me and I wouldn't want the tire to break 'em), and not carrying one seems like a bad idea, so the only other option is to mount it to the roof. I plan on getting a roof basket, securing the tire down and keeping a tire cover over it to protect it as best I can from the elements, and removing the rear carrier altogether.

Has anyone here done this before? How might it affect the ride of the car or the mpg? I'd appreciate any tips or concerns about this mini-project.

Oh and if it matters, it currently runs on P235/75R15 tires, but once I get it fixed up and officially ready to drive I'll be upgrading to 31x10.5R15s.

Thanks in advance!

 

It will probably lower the mpg a little, but these trucks don't get the best to begin with, so probably not enough to notice.

 

I did a road trip with the tire on the roof, only because my cable underneath broke(I have a 4 door). I had the tire and two jery cans. Didnt notice any difference in my mpg.

but since then I've installed a tire carrier on mine, I dont mind losing my window, and dont mind the extra work to open the hatch. I'll be carrying one on the roof and one on the carrier for future road trips.

have you seen the cargo area tire mount for the inside of the back? Mounts where your jack is, so the tire isnt rolling around...

 

Hmmm hump a 100 lb tire +or- 7 feet in the air without doing any damage to the vehicle or swing a tire out of the way to open the back hatch window - think I'd rather do the later

 

I've seen simple adapter plates that allow the tire to be carried lower on the carrier. This link has info on one version of this: Spare Tire Carrier

As someone who has been looking into putting an external carrier on her 4dr, I expect to likely do the same by lowering the tire a bit on the carrier for both to be able to see out the back and so to get the rear glass open.

If nothing else, adding this plate looks so simple to try, you might see if it works for you before doing anything else first.

 

Whoa, awesome link, Christine! I love reading these random but useful S-Series pages.

 

Your only allowed to carry your spare tire on the roof if your name is Darrell, and your brother's name is Darrell.....;-)

 

What about the other brother, Larry?

 

Has anyone ever seen the spare tire mounted on the front? Not the hood but the front bumper or a brush guard?

 

Going for that back country African safari look?