DIY/cheap roof spare solution?

[KQL]

Greetings everyone. I have 5 matching wheels/tires with the spare under the bed. I also still have my original steel spare with OEM “AT” rubber on it. I also have the mopar gutter-mount cross bars (got them for a very cheap price, aware of the 150lb limitation)

soon I am heading on a trip to Moab and got the idea to maybe bring my original spare on the roof. Partly just for kicks, but could be a lifesaver in a really unlucky 2 puncture day I suppose.

So I headed over to the Google and was shocked by prices of small flat platforms that I could attach to my crossbars and then the tire to the platform

I’m not going to drop $600 on this idea. But it got me thinking that I don’t really need a rack between the roof rails and tire really. You could almost imagine putting the rails close enough such that the wheel sits on them solidly and then just attach it with ratchet straps.
Now I’m thinking a pair of front-to-back bars under the wheel might help give the roof rails some additional rigidity, and then the spare ratchet strapped to the 4 corners.
Has anyone done something similar or can think of perfect material to use for the crossbars? They’ll be going front to back so closed on the front would be perfect. I don’t think the spare weighs so much as to be a concern, but any additional thoughts or warnings would be welcome. I’d want to get this figured out in the next couple weeks.

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[HooliganActual]

A good tire patch kit would weigh less, be more portable and less likely to damage your roof in the unlikely 2 puncture scenario.

 

[KQL]

I do have a plug kit and compressor of course. It is 90% for the old school over lander look honestly and my kiddo is really into this idea. Would be fun to get the tire up there, but it not being a real need, hard to justify the cost of the mini-platform for up there. I actually already have a roof basket that use on my Subaru, but it’s bigger and generates a good amount of wind noise. Hoping something smaller would be quieter.

 

[Forum Crawler]

I tell people to avoid roof loads, weight up high is no bueno especially when hammering it offroad.

A good spare and a good tire repair kit is all I’ve ever needed in many years and thousands of offroad miles. And don’t forget a HiLift.

 

[Jaxmax]

You are driving with your kid to Moab, perhaps a bit of a drive, then wheeling and are thinking it might be a good idea to have a spare fastened way up there above center of gravity, in the wind, on the four points of contact on the fiberglass rain gutters, if you really think you need to add extra weight and a second spare just ratchet strap it in the bed and save the extra weight of the bars and rack….Jack

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