BAL Hide a spare on a Hybrid

[Ron045]

I'm putting this thread here in the Hybrid forum because this was my experience today installing the BAL Hide a spare on my Shamrock 23IKSS.

There are other threads on the Tech, Repair and Modifications forums of successful installs. This one is more of a warning. Think and measure.

I ordered this item without really thinking about how or where I would install it. After it arrived I looked under the trailer and saw there was only 1 area I could install this and it was going to be a challenging install because of "stuff" in the way.

The unit could not go aft of the axles because of the fresh, black and grey tanks. The first open area forward of the axle had slide out stuff in the way. The next area looked ok. The next forward area had the steps and the motor for the other slide out and the last area had the A frame.

The pictures should be in order for you to follow. I had to do a few mods.
1) There was a square rod for the dinette sofa slide out in the way to mount the Pivot Bracket A on the outside of the I beam frame. So I mounted it on the inside of the frame. As a result, I had to cut down the poles by 4 inches.

2) The pivot brackets could really only go one place because of wiring that went through the A frame with an installed bushing. The cross beam was in the way of the tire. So I had to drill two holes in the mounting plate and offset the tire. The package came with two bolts to mount the tire. I will be buying a 3rd bolt that happens to line up with another hole.

What probably should have been an hour install, took me all day. I had the unit clamped in place and would move it around a bit and just look and think before I started drilling.

My Wife actually accused me of napping. That's actually not a bad idea for next time.

Have Fun!
Ron

[Ron045]

More Pics

[Velosprout]

Nice job, but why? I have no problem on the spare tire in the back, (with a Valterra sewer hose holder mounted behind the tire, on top of the bumper with fabricated brackets.) Did you have limited parking space length?

[Ron045]

This is why... But this story is for another thread.

With the tire and the Bikes installed it made viewing my tail lights difficult.
I did not really like the bikes offset on the rear.
I moved 50 lbs off the rear and more toward the center point.

Thanks for asking.
Ron

[rockfordroo]

I moved my spare under with a BAL Hide-a-spare, but I also put LED's on my platform rack (shown on my pickup in these pics):

[Ron045]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

I moved my spare under with a BAL Hide-a-spare, but I also put LED's on my platform rack (shown on my pickup in these pics):

Yes... I remember this from another Post RockfordRoo. I am considering the same thing. My only thoughts were do I try to tie them into the tail lights or just run 4 wire from the junction box and make a 4 pin connector in the rear to easily plug and unplug?

I'm fearful of my junction box. I looked at it once. It's a squirls nest in there. Hard to believe that was a factory job. I would have expected it to be cleaner.

Thanks!
Ron

[rockfordroo]

I wired into the J-box. Wasn't a real hard thing, but you need to make sure you know which wire is which. As I recall, they didn't necessarily follow the standard wire colors.

I pulled the umbilical cord back under the trailer to the J-box, then checked for continuity from the appropriate umbilical pin to the different colored wires until I got the proper wire. Here's the pin positions and their function. You want to use the lower left pic.



Here's the trailer end by itself:



Not sure why this post won't let you blow them up.

[bikendan]

If I couldn't put my bikes in my truck, I would only consider an A-frame mount bike system.

1. My bikes are too valuable to put them on the rear, where I can't see them while driving.
2. I can leave the spare on the rear without having to do some mod to move it.
3. My truck has the ability to handle the extra tongue weight.
4. I don't have to weld and brace bumper supports.

[Ron045]

Originally Posted by bikendan

If I couldn't put my bikes in my truck, I would only consider an A-frame mount bike system.

1. My bikes are too valuable to put them on the rear, where I can't see them while driving.
2. I can leave the spare on the rear without having to do some mod to move it.
3. My truck has the ability to handle the extra tongue weight.
4. I don't have to weld and brace bumper supports.

Bikendan... If you see from some other posts of mine, you will see I am using a A frame bike mount along with this rear end method, to balance the load.

I don't have valuable bikes... Just Wal-Mart specials.
Thanks
Ron

[bikendan]

Ron, I was just responding to the concept of putting bikes on the rear and moving the spare, not necessarily what you did.

I like the front rack setup you bought.

[Ron045]

Thanks... I will go to the CAT scales later this week and see what my differences we're from last season when we put the bikes in the trailer.

My thinking it a will be heavier only by bike racks themselves and hitches. I'm also hoping the 2 in front and 2 in back will balance the load.