Narrow Spare Wheel- is it feasible?

I was joking, I have changed half a dozen tyres in my time using levers - it's a bugger of a job, and not one I'd like to try at the side of a busy road. Of course, you need a spare anyway to get the flat tyre off. A couple of cans of sealant should cope with a Landy tyre, although I believe it leaves a hell of a mess inside.

And you can't normally get a tyre repaired if you've used the foam on them.

I honestly still don't understand how the spare is breaking the door. I know of a number of Landy's with spares on the Safari door, none a problem.

The only potential issue I can see is opening it and smacking the wheel into the rear side panel, only happens if you don't have a door stay though.

750x16 is about as small as you can go alongside a 265/75r16 , hardly worth the effort JMHO

ps my 110 back door is original , i braced it up a bit when i got it (1987) it has always had a spare wheel on standard LR carrier , its currently carrying 285/75 r16 BFG MT

zeaphod said:

I was joking, I have changed half a dozen tyres in my time using levers - it's a bugger of a job, and not one I'd like to try at the side of a busy road. Of course, you need a spare anyway to get the flat tyre off. A couple of cans of sealant should cope with a Landy tyre, although I believe it leaves a hell of a mess inside.

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No, I wouldn't go at the alloys with tyre levers. But, the idea of repairing it I thought held possibilities.

300bhp/ton said:

And you can't normally get a tyre repaired if you've used the foam on them.

I honestly still don't understand how the spare is breaking the door. I know of a number of Landy's with spares on the Safari door, none a problem.

The only potential issue I can see is opening it and smacking the wheel into the rear side panel, only happens if you don't have a door stay though.

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I think my Landy must have been particularly keen on dissolving itself.
This was my original door when I took it off about seven years ago.

It wasn't worth repairing. The spare was on the standard plate bolted in the centre of it.
Bought a new door and had it professionally painted. Bought a wheel carrier to support the wheel and help protect the door.


This is that new door, just before I started the rebuild two years ago. You can't see all of the corrosion, but it was well past it.

Now that I'm on to my third door I just want it to continue to look shiny!
So, I'm just weighing up the options.
Looks like a lighter spare is not going to be a reality, but it was worth considering!
Appreciate all your thoughts on it though.

But bonnet mounted ? Why not do that? Its not that heavy with a wheel and tyre on, although it would need to come off for any lengthy jobs. My problem is fitting the 235/85 16 on a modular steel on there - the spacers it sits on are not long enough to hold the tyre edge off the bonnet, and the bolts have to be spaced out before they will clamp sufficiently. Any ideas anyone on longer spacers?

Wheel on bonnet makes the bonnet heavy. Reduced visibility. Catches leaves and things and hard to clean. And lifting the wheel up and down is a pain and always risks scratching the paint.

Probably not the answer you'd be looking for but here in France the DIY repair plugs are very popular (every supermarket sell the kits for example), I repaired a G90 on my 200tdi90 about 6 years ago and never had a problem. Didn't need to take the wheel off, just jacked it up, released the pressure, used the kit, 5 mins later inflated with my 12v compressor and off I went.

frog hopper said:

Probably not the answer you'd be looking for but here in France the DIY repair plugs are very popular (every supermarket sell the kits for example), I repaired a G90 on my 200tdi90 about 6 years ago and never had a problem. Didn't need to take the wheel off, just jacked it up, released the pressure, used the kit, 5 mins later inflated with my 12v compressor and off I went.

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Never heard of those, but just googled them.
This sort of thing? LINKY

Yes exactly that. To be honest I was a little bit iffy about doing it at all, it was just one of those things that I had in the back "just in case", after the first 6 months or so I just forgot about it. It was on the back though, so if a front went I'd change them round. Wasn't a problem at test time either though our tests are rather different to UK mot's.

frog hopper said:

Yes exactly that. To be honest I was a little bit iffy about doing it at all, it was just one of those things that I had in the back "just in case", after the first 6 months or so I just forgot about it. It was on the back though, so if a front went I'd change them round. Wasn't a problem at test time either though our tests are rather different to UK mot's.

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I suppose one potential problem is identifying where the puncture is, if there isn't an obvious nail or screw, etc sticking out of the tyre.

Why not start by getting your new rear door galvanized before painting?

Oldfogey said:

Why not start by getting your new rear door galvanized before painting?

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Obviously that is an excellent idea and I wish I had. When I started the rebuild, a few years ago, I bought new doors took the skins off and had the frames plastic coated. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but galvanising would have been better.