Using Rear Footwell Space for Spare Tire Storage (Design Ideas)

[zipn]

I think I want to stuff a spare tire in there, sitting vertically, with the different cover that includes hump .This would let you keep the jack and tire tools under there too.


I'm not a fan of hanging the spare behind the tailgate. Asking for major repair after a small rear ender. as well as a candidate for theft...and it gets in the way all the time too.

I'll gladly give up some cargo space in the bed.

 

[AZFox]

I'm not a fan of hanging the spare behind the tailgate. Asking for major repair after a small rear ender. as well as a candidate for theft...and it gets in the way all the time too.

I'll gladly give up some cargo space in the bed.

Your solution beats hanging the spare off the back by a mile.

FWIW, moving the wight of the spare tire+wheel to mid-truck (and lower) improves balance.

Your Zipn SpareHump could come in a smaller model that holds a space saver spare.

 

[zipn]

Your solution beats hanging the spare off the back by a mile.

FWIW, moving the wight of the spare tire+wheel to mid-truck (and lower) improves balance.

Your Zipn SpareHump could come in a smaller model that holds a space saver spare.

Thanks. If they don't offer it, and no one else does, I'll probably try to rig something up should I actually wind up with a Slate.

I will be cross shopping the Ford EV as well as the Bolt EV and New entry level Kia/Hyundai or a gently used Kia/Hyundai with the majority of the factory warranty remaining is a very compelling option for the $25K range. I love the idea of a plastic body, simple EV for low-to-mid 20s. We'll see.

 

[AZFox]

Thanks. If they don't offer it, and no one else does, I'll probably try to rig something up should I actually wind up with a Slate.

A lockable flat one that goes all the way across would be useful for someone who wants lockable storage -- for tools or whatever -- aside from the frunk.

Either way you thought up a solution for the spare-behind-the-tailgate dilemma, which is pretty cool.

Spare behind the tailgate seems like kind of a parachute on a pickup.

 

[zipn]

No idea of the space available but it would be cool if the top of the zipn hump matched the top of the wheel wells (and would make a nice ledge for 4' x 8' sheets that lay in the bed (similar to the Maverick layout where the sheets lay on the top of the wheel wells + the gate is designed to drop down part way and make a level rear shelf).

Revised concept of "Zipn Hump" cover for Slate bed:

Ribbed (you know why )

 

[KevinRS]

One possibility would just be to make it rectangular, at that tire covering height, going all the way across. Then you'd have the spare plus more enclosed locked storage space. One thing I haven't seen is what that footwell space actually looks like. Combining the "turn that dead space to storage" idea with spare storage. One thing I just thought of though would be how hard is it to pull that spare out of the well/box.

 

[zipn]

One possibility would just be to make it rectangular, at that tire covering height, going all the way across. Then you'd have the spare plus more enclosed locked storage space. One thing I haven't seen is what that footwell space actually looks like. Combining the "turn that dead space to storage" idea with spare storage. One thing I just thought of though would be how hard is it to pull that spare out of the well/box.

Something like this? Looks a bit more like Slate with straight sides. Should be easy to home brew with some strategic plastic pieces.

 

[AZFox]

A Zipn Hump or Zipn Box combined with a space-saver spare might be the way to go.

Using a space saver tire would require the Truck having ability to temporarily mount a smaller-diameter tire on the rear axle without hurting anything. Maybe it'd require disabling Traction Control.

 

[AZFox]

Something like this? Looks a bit more like Slate with straight sides. Should be easy to home brew with some strategic plastic pieces.

In my previous post I was thinking of going all the way across and creating storage space on either side of the tire.

The whole top would be flat from wall to wall of the bed.

 

[KevinRS]

That's what I was thinking, more like the toolboxes you see mounted in truck beds, but shorter. Maybe not bed height, wheel well height would preserve the length for that 4x8 sheet fitting.
But bed height would be another option.

 

[AZFox]

It'd be nice if we could see the size and shape of the footwell to make sure a tire would fit down in there.

It might require a narrower tire than the other four.

 

[cadblu]

Love the idea of the ‘zipn hump.’

Now… if somehow that footwell area could be accessed from both sides of the cargo bed… say with hinged doors on both sides….

Could we end up with…. a zipn gear tunnel? 👍🙂

 

[Doctors Do Little]

It'd be nice if we could see the size and shape of the footwell to make sure a tire would fit down in there.

It might require a narrower tire than the other four.

I was thinking same thing. But if it’s a spare only, all good.

A kid I grew up with had a beater VW bug and decided to replace all four wheels/tires with others’ discarded bicycle spares! He’d run them hard for 6-9 months and then replace…

You can’t make up that kind of redneck ingenuity.

 

[zipn]

In my previous post I was thinking of going all the way across and creating storage space on either side of the tire.

The whole top would be flat from wall to wall of the bed.

I like that idea too. Need some dimensions to see what could fit

 

[zipn]

There's no room near the rear axle for a spare under the bed due to the somewhat unique suspension design.

Here's another variant if the spare sits low enough in the bed so the top is below sides. The hump is now a box with a ledge. The ledge would match the height of the flats on top of the wheel wells, and the top of the box would be just below the lip of the bed (to allow for future bed covers). I added "D" rings where the bolts hold the cover down to add some tie-downs to the bed. Lots of space around the spare for tools, jacks, etc.

None of this is to scale. Just concept drawings and not even sure if there's really enough room for a spare to sit in the hole and fit fully down in the bed. Maybe the spare would be so tall as to overlap the rear window some (back to the hump or trapezoid cover if that's the case, but that's okay too).