Interior / Exterior Visual TechThis section contains discussion related to visual modifications of the Toyota FJ Cruiser. Some items might include dash kits, roof rack modifications and other visual modifications.
i just got one of these but i need to modify the adaptor plate to fit. and know i'am reading that it will probably not fit on my 285 wide Nitto TG. WTF? anyone have any luck with it?
I have an older version and it fits with my Nitto TG 285 spare. I didn't need to modify anything. As far as I know the difference between the old and new Spare-Me are color, tensioner, and the rubber bike holders.
I have a Saris spare tire bike rack. It works well but as someone pointed out, the rear door is designed to carry only the spare tires weight. I think when the door is closed it's fine with the weight of 2 bikes but when you open it the hinges take on a lot more weight than they were designed for. The extra weight makes the door lower a little and not close as smoothly. After removing the rack I still feel the door is maybe 1/16" of an inch off in the height it closes. I checked everything and it looks tight but it's just a little different and I think that's because of the extra weight of the bikes while opening and closing the door. I've only used the rack 3 or 4 times so I'm wondering if I should stop or just not open and close the door with the bikes attached so as not to do more permanent damage. As you can see in the picture there is only 1 bike attached and I lowered the weight more by taking off the front tire. The door seems to suffer much less this way.
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2008 Trail Teams Edition MT - TRD Quickshift, TRD CAI,
Hardwire GPS, Sport Pedals, Maplight with Scanguage,
Trail Gear sliders, Weathertech Visors, TWM Shift Knob.
Last edited by JOHNYCQUE : 08-10-2008 at 09:57 PM.
I have a Saris spare tire bike rack. It works well but as someone pointed out, the rear door is designed to carry only the spare tires weight. I think when the door is closed it's fine with the weight of 2 bikes but when you open it the hinges take on a lot more weight than they were designed for. The extra weight makes the door lower a little and not close as smoothly. After removing the rack I still feel the door is maybe 1/16" of an inch off in the height it closes. I checked everything and it looks tight but it's just a little different and I think that's because of the extra weight of the bikes while opening and closing the door. I've only used the rack 3 or 4 times so I'm wondering if I should stop or just not open and close the door with the bikes attached so as not to do more permanent damage. As you can see in the picture there is only 1 bike attached and I lowered the weight more by taking off the front tire. The door seems to suffer much less this way.
Do you have mounting plate A or B? Getting ready to buy one but not sure which plate to get. I know B is longer and am thinking that is what I should go with since I have a 285 tire....
I have a little bit of door sag myself after using the SpareMe for a while... it's seems like when the door opens it lets down the slightest bit, and when it closes it kinda hits the latch and gets pulled up a little. Nothing bad as a result of that, but definitely something I noticed.
Do you have mounting plate A or B? Getting ready to buy one but not sure which plate to get. I know B is longer and am thinking that is what I should go with since I have a 285 tire....
Mounting plate A is the one that works with the standard tires. You can call them though and they will email you instructions on how to measure in case you have some kind of bigger tire. There may also be a PDF file on their website.
__________________
2008 Trail Teams Edition MT - TRD Quickshift, TRD CAI,
Hardwire GPS, Sport Pedals, Maplight with Scanguage,
Trail Gear sliders, Weathertech Visors, TWM Shift Knob.
Last edited by JOHNYCQUE : 08-12-2008 at 11:03 AM.
I have a little bit of door sag myself after using the SpareMe for a while... it's seems like when the door opens it lets down the slightest bit, and when it closes it kinda hits the latch and gets pulled up a little. Nothing bad as a result of that, but definitely something I noticed.
Sounds exactly like what I experienced. Mine has actually gotten better a few days after not carrying the bikes, it no longer hits the latch as much when closing. I think opening the door with 2 bikes on it is what makes the door sag later. I'm just going to avoid opening the door or do it very slowly while holding it up and not letting go. It's a little disappointing that the door isn't stronger. I had a Land Rover that had a lot of problems but things like the doors were over engineered to the point that you could hang anything on them. I guess you can't have everything and expect the price to stay near 30k. At least Toyota's are very dependable even if the build quality isn't rock solid.
__________________
2008 Trail Teams Edition MT - TRD Quickshift, TRD CAI,
Hardwire GPS, Sport Pedals, Maplight with Scanguage,
Trail Gear sliders, Weathertech Visors, TWM Shift Knob.
Last edited by JOHNYCQUE : 08-12-2008 at 11:26 AM.
Mounting plate A is the one that works with the standard tires. You can call them though and they will email you instructions on how to measure in case you have some kind of bigger tire. There may also be a PDF file on their website.
Thanks I went ahead and got the B plate. The distances of each actuallt overlap so I would either be at the max length for plate A or near the shortest length for plate B. Will post my results.
Anyway, I really like the Spare-Me rack (saw 1 today on a Jeep) but it does not have enough flexibility to use with larger tires. The Saris is a quality rack too. Either one if you are only carrying 1 bike 99% of the time like me should serve it's purpose well.
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