Spare Wheel Carrier

[David_from_Ashby]

Hello All

I have a Compass Corona 524 which houses the spare wheel neatly in the front locker. Now having tried different loading conditions have found that the van tows much more stably with a nose weight in the region of 75kg. With the spare wheel in the front locker the nose weight is up nearer 90kg, and with a dumpy gas bottle for the Cadac in there as well the nose weight is pushng the max of 100kg. That is OK for my car (Honda CR/V) but it is not as stable as when it is at 75kg. On recent trips I have resorted to putting the spare wheel in the van over the axle, which works well for stability but is somewhat inconvenient.

I read many criticisms of the Alko spare wheel carrier but am wondering what peoples thoughts are on the alternatives? I notice that Pyramid do one and also a company near Manchester advertise in the Caravan Club magazine, both around the £40 mark where the Alko is nearer £80.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Before buying one David check whether this will reduce the ground clearance of the caravan. If it does and you should damage the chasis maybe your warrenty/insurance could be void for not having a recognised fitting as approved by the manufacturer of the caravan.

 

[foshy]

Hello,

When I looked into the spare wheel carriers the Alko item seemed to be better made, hence the price difference I guess. The Alko unit has two tubes that support the wheel on both sides whereas the others I looked at just had one bar or tube. On the Alko unit these two tubes slide in and out of a smaller tube that enables you to stow or recover the wheel. The issue with these is that after some time the sliding does not work so well. As the unit sits behind the wheels it is subject to all the road dirt and in winter the road salt and it is this dirt that slowly clogs the unit up. The best way to cure this is to grease the unit and do this every 6 months or so to ensure it works well, however grease & oil attracts even more dirt! In my mind the Alko unit was the more stable looking unit and as Colin points out you could invalidate a warranty if you fit something "not approved". On my van (an Abbey) I have not lost any ground clearance with this wheel carrier and gained the extra space in the front locker to fill up with other stuff!

Overall I am happy with the Alko carrier.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Wilkinsons do a teflon spray for bike lube and that dries and does not pick up grit etc

Its excellent on the steady legs and jockey wheel as well

 

[Billy_bear]

your compass will be on a bpw chassis so i dont think the alco carrier will fit. i have the omega 482 with the bpw carrier and there ar no sliding parts to sieze up hope this helps bill

 

[WatsonJohnG]

I copied this from another website

"BPW chassis are pre-drilled exactly the same as an ALKO chassis so the ALKO carrier is a direct fit."