A tire carrier allows to store a larger tire than stock (which is problematic on the non-extended length Transit), provides easier access to the spare tire, and frees up space underneath the van (e.g. to add water tank instead). We opted for the Flatline Van Co Tire Carrier and documented the installation on our Ford Transit below. Hope this helps!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click a product link and buy anything from the merchant (Amazon, eBay, etc.) we will receive a commission fee. The price you pay remains the same, affiliate link or not.
Time
2 or 3 hours
Cost
$1,195 USD
Weight
30 lbs
(carrier only)
Material
| Item | Description | Quantity | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transit Rear Tire Carrier | Flatline Van Co Rear Door Tire Carrier for Ford Transit (2015-present). All necessary hardware included. (Also available: Sprinter Van Rear Door Carrier) | 1 | Flatline Van Co |
| Rust Inhibitor | To prevent corrosion on bare edges after drilling. | 1 | Amazon |
| Blue Loctite | For wheel studs | 1 | Amazon |
Tools
- Ratchet with 13mm Socket
- 9/16 Box Wrench or Socket
- 7/32 Hex Allen Key
- Power Drill with 3/16″ and 27/64″ drill bits
- Deburring Tool (or countersink bit)
- A helping hand!
Good to Know
Door Opening
Be aware that with the Tire Carrier, you loose the ability to open the rear driver door all the way up to the van body (253°). And the magnetic bumpers won’t help anymore, the tire now acts as the bumper:
Hitch Extender
The spare tire extends about 14-16 inches away from the rear door. This means you may need an hitch extender to carry your moto, bikes, etc. We were about to get one, but the moto trial fits neatly without extender after all (using a cheap 500Lb Moto Hitch Rack):
Other Options
Since we published this article, Flatline Van Co released a Driver-Side Rear Door Platform. That’s also an option to consider instead of installing a tire carrier:
They also released a Tire Carrier & Ladder Combo. It could be used instead of the side ladder depending our your roof layout:
Installation
1. Bottom Hinge Bracket (Driver Side)
1.1. Make alignment marks using a fine sharpie (we will use these lines to reinstall the hinge):
1.2. Remove the 3 factory bolts from the bottom hinge with a 13mm socket:
1.3. Ask your helping hand to support the door during the next steps. No need to support the full weight of the door, it’s only to help aligning the brackets and to prevent the door from moving if it’s windy…
1.4. Partially close the hinge, slide the D2 hinge bracket over the hinge and locate it so it doesn’t interfere with the surrounding structure:
1.5. Check the alignment marks and tighten the 3 factory bolts:
1.6. Slowly close the door and check the clearance between the D2 bracket and the surrounding structure. If something’s off, fine-tune the bracket position as needed.
2. Top Hinge Bracket (DRIVer Side)
Repeat the same procedure as Step 1, but for the D1 top hinge bracket:
3. Remove the interior door panel (DRIVER Side)
3.1. The door panel is held by push-pins around the edges. Pull on the edges to disengage them:
4. Drill the exterior hole
4.1. Align the drill template with the edge of the door and edge of sheet metal under the window (or window space) and mark the drill hole:
4.2. Drill a pilot hole (3/16″), then enlarge to final size (27/64″). Make sure to drill through the 2 layers of metal:
4.3. Deburr the hole and smooth the edge with sanding paper:
4.4. Apply rust inhibitor to the bare edges the hole. Isabelle sprayed some Rust-Oleum in a plastic jar and applied it with a brush (it’s less messy this way!):
5. Assemble the wheel bracket to the tire carrier
Attach the wheel bracket to the tire carrier using hardware as shown below:
6. Bolt the Tire Carrier to the Driver Door
6.1. Ask your helper to hold and align the holes of the tire carrier with the brackets:
6.2. Loosely bolt the tire carrier (3/8″ x 1″ flanged hex screws with 3/8″ flanged locknuts) to the top and bottom hinge brackets:
6.3. Insert the hardware (3/8″ x 1.5″ flanged hex screw with 3/8″ sealing washer) into the exterior hole:
7. Install the Internal Door Brace
Align the internal door brace with the exterior bolt (from step 6). Loosely insert the 3/8″ exterior bolt and the 1/4″ flanged button head screw on the side of the door. Make sure the brace is seated flat on both surfaces then tighten:
8. Tighten All Bolts
8.1. Tighten the bolts on the upper bracket:
8.2. Tighten the bolts on the lower bracket:
8.3. Install the lower frame brace, make sure it sits against the door, then tighten:
9. Install the Wheel Studs
9.1. Apply Blue Loctite on the short end of the wheel studs:
9.2. Install the 3 wheel studs into the notched holes (don’t apply too much torque to prevent stripping them):
10. Install the wheel
Grab your spare wheel and slide it over the 3 wheel studs. Use the provided lug nuts and tighten using the provided lug nut key:
For extra bonus style points, we designed and 3D printed lug nut covers:
That’s it!
Not too hard wasn’t it? 🙂
On Second Thought…
First Impressions
Nothing to mention here, so far so good!
Long Term Review
Wait for it!
Did you consider a tire carrier & ladder combo for the rear door? If not, what would be your thoughts on this kind of setup? The main difference being the ladder is on the rear door and integrated with the tire carrier.
Some sites, Rover Vans for example, offer this combo product for cheaper than tire carrier and side ladder separated like Flat Line Vans. Perhaps if you chose the FVL ladder though since you integrated it with the roof rack purchase.
In fact FVC released a Tire Carrier + Ladder combo since we published this article: https://flatlinevanco.com/collections/transit-exterior/products/ford-transit-ladder-tire-carrier?ref=FOR
In the end the correct choice depends on your roof layout I’d say (e.g. where your solar panels are located).
antoine
Did you consider the Rover Vans tire carrier + ladder combo? https://rovervans.com/products/rover-vans-tire-carrier-ladder-combo-for-transit It costs 1780 USD.
The FLV tire carrier is 1295 USD and ladder is 795 USD for a total of 2090 USD.
The main difference between the two is the ladder being on the side of the van versus the rear door. If you didn’t consider this option before, I’d be curious if you have any thought experiments about the combo option. 🙂
Any pro/con thoughts after you’ve had the spare tire holder on for 7 months now? Would you recommend? Any regrets?
Cons: door is heavier and can’t open all the way.
Pro: Frees up space for a Spare Tire Water Tank, which we plan on installing soon.
We’re not really using the van at the moment, so it’s hard to tell if we have any regrets. But time will tell!
What plans do you guys have for the space where the spare would have originally been carried?
We’re still not exactly sure to be honest, but it could be used for a water tank, extra storage, etc… We’ll cross that bridge when we get there!