Thread: Anyone ever do the bonnet mount spare tyre on a Disco?

Originally Posted by stealth

I did one for a mate at his request. I had concerns over the tyre being too heavy and the bonnet too flimsy but he wanted it anyway. I re-inforced the bonnet with two stepped layers of chequer plate to distribute the weight. It looked pretty tidy but then he went and sold the Disco before he got a chance to try it out. (He did pay me though. Eventually!!) If you search you might find a thread on it on this forum as I think I posted some pictures of it. It did make the bonnet heavy to lift and I had concerns about the stress to the hinges. I intended to add some extra load sharing points depending on how it performed but that never eventuated either. The obstruction issues are a factor to consider.

Haha well I guess there is a resounding consensus on this...I don't think I've ever seen a question answered so definitely

I knew someone must have attempted this somewhere along the line. I can see that it really wouldn't be practical, plus the weight issues, and the bonnet strength issues, but man it would look cool if it worked!

Plenty enough reasons for me to put that idea to bed though, I'll just strap a second spare to my roof rack. I'm interested to see the results of the above efforts though, I wonder how it was to lift up. It's definitely heavy enough without a spare wheel on it too...oh god, that would be way too heavy!

Originally Posted by Young Angus

Haha well I guess there is a resounding consensus on this...I don't think I've ever seen a question answered so definitely

I knew someone must have attempted this somewhere along the line. I can see that it really wouldn't be practical, plus the weight issues, and the bonnet strength issues, but man it would look cool if it worked!

Plenty enough reasons for me to put that idea to bed though, I'll just strap a second spare to my roof rack. I'm interested to see the results of the above efforts though, I wonder how it was to lift up. It's definitely heavy enough without a spare wheel on it too...oh god, that would be way too heavy!

I tried to find the photos but the ones I had stored were on an iPad stolen by a gypsy on a train in Italy a couple of years ago. I tried finding then on here but with the new forum update I can't find my older posts. I'm pretty sure I posted them here.
Yes the bonnet was heavier but not all that much worse than wrestling an old series 2 with a spare on the bonnet. On my mates Disco he stood on the bull bar so he could lift the bonnet rather than stand on the ground and push it up. Sort of what I used to do with my old series. I still think the concept would have worked if only required for highway use, but would have eventually failed with excessive off road or corrugation driving.