As some of you know, I tried an Aluminess swing away spare tire carrier and while it worked perfectly, I did not like the way it looked. I took it off and put the spare back underneath.

This time I used a door mounted carrier from The Sprinter Store. I talked to them a couple of times before ordering about how it worked and had they had any problems with it – they were glad to speak to me and the answers I received reassured me that this carrier would work. I do travel on dirt roads and other places some would not take a camper like the Sprinter.

The carrier came with all the necessary bolts, nuts, etc. and easy to follow instructions. One of the instructions was to level the carrier before drilling holes. I did that and it is not quite square with the door so if I were to do it again, I would make it square. It doesn’t really matter as once the tire is mounted you can’t see any of the rack.

Didn’t take long to do at all. I had to have my neighbor help me lift the tire to place it on the carrier – the spare weighs about 120 pounds.

I have never been bothered about drilling holes into my vehicles. If you do make a mistake or change your mind it is pretty easy to fix.

Now I have the entire tire storage area underneath the Sprinter available to use as a basement. My initial idea is to mount a large plate with raised sides ( \_______/) on the spare tire rack and store a pelican case with items like chains, tow rope, etc. I might even store a couple of 2 gallon diesel cans there. Total weight can’t be over about 120 pounds so I need to find someone to fabricate a light weight plate.

Having spent time in travel trailers, Class A’s, Class B’s and many Eurovans I knew that storage for a extended trip would be a challenge. Not the everyday things like dishes and food but clothes, toiletries, and nice to have things like a hammer, duct tape, rope, chairs, etc.

That is why when we built the Sprinter we added a “back porch.” We carry extra things in coolers as their size prevents you from overloading them and with their built in handles, they are easy to load and unload. One cooler is full of camping gear, citronella candles, a rubber mallet, extension cord, etc. and the other we use for ice and things we want cold like water, juice, etc. That also provides a back up ice source for cocktail time!

We also put a drain in which drains directly to the ground just in case we need an emergency place to shower. I tell people I use it after fording rivers to drain the water out of the bus. We don’t anticipate every using it but it is there just in case.

The last thing we load between the chairs and the door is our mat that goes outside the sliding door when we are camped.

Presley stays in his crate when we are away from the bus. He gets a lot less excited there and doesn’t set off the alarm.