Spare Tire Mod

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djjazzy said:
@LeftieBiker
Be sure to get us a picture of your false floor. Can't wait to see how yours came out.

I will, although it may have to wait until next week. Plus I'd like to actually finish it first, with the hinged left side and hopefully *some* kind of anchor...
 
After I made the hinged left panel of my false floor, I realized that if I didn't have that hinged portion, I wouldn't have been able to get the floor into the cargo area. So having that left panel hinged was needed. Also it makes it easy to remove the false floor when necessary to put on that spare tire. Had a close call just today on the freeway travelling at 60 mph, ran over something, :eek: and it hit somewhere under the car, Thought for sure I was gonna get a flat. Pulled off the freeway to inspect and listen for leaks. Nothing found so I continued to work at 5:30am.
So far no flat, no tire damage.
 
I took a look in the trunk area today and it looks like there are some options to secure the wheel / jack.

In the first photo, the black circle is a plug that covers a hole in the floor panel. I suspect this would be to pass wiring. You could remove the plug and fashion a secure point using a plate below and above the hole while using nuts and bolts to sandwich the the plates above and below the opening. This could then a base for a longer bolt that you can run into the wheel lug hole in the spare.



In the next photo, you have the tie down point for the supplied EVSE. This looks to be a secure tie-down point and you can probably "share" this to secure a cable or something to keep the wheel down. Think leash.



In the last photo, this is the cubby on the left. you see a hole already in the inside body panel -- this could yet be another tie down point for a "leash".



Any one of these suggestions could give you the ability to tie down without drilling any holes or making the leasing people angry.


Disclaimer: I'm not an engineer and haven't calculated if these points are strong enough for the potential forces. But it should be better than nothing.
 
I think we have a winner with that rubber plug. A spare tire hold-down "J bolt" should go through a hole in that. Failing that, a carriage bolt can be run through it to a steel flat strap with one or more holes in it, all mounted through the plug hole. It may also be possible to run that "leash" along the floor from the EVSE bag hook on the right to the hole where the jack should be, joining them at the J bolt or carriage bolt. So far, so good. Thanks for the photos!
 
ttime4four said:
In the first photo, the black circle is a plug that covers a hole in the floor panel. I suspect this would be to pass wiring. You could remove the plug and fashion a secure point using a plate below and above the hole while using nuts and bolts to sandwich the the plates above and below the opening. This could then a base for a longer bolt that you can run into the wheel lug hole in the spare.




I gonna look into using that hole some how as a main anchor point for a base plate. Base plate will then have a couple bolts that go through the lug holes of the spare tire.
Secure spare to those bolts with wing nuts. :cool: That will should hold down the tire fairly well. As for the jack & lug wrench, I'll see if I can store it in the left rear cubby.
 
After lifting off the original bottom cargo liner, I removed the plug.

zcsJvRH.jpg


Here is the area where I locate my spare under the false cargo floor I built. I don't center the tire, to give me storage space for the EVSE which I take out daily using that hinged panel. The spare tire lightening holes line up
perfectly with that OEM plugged hole.

hESFSRr.jpg


Look here from the top looking down

modrvh9.jpg


Need ideas on how best to secure the spare tire using that existing OEM hole, along with the spare tire lightening hole. There's got to be a reason why that OEM hole lines up perfectly with the spare tire lightening hole.
 
Well, no, it could be coincidence. It could also be that the hole is there not for wiring, but for a J bolt for a spare tire. The J bolt would put a lot of stress on a small area, though, so I suggest the carriage bolt and piece of rigid steel strap. I also suggest you use the rubber plug, with the bolt running through a hole in that. You'd end up with an inverted "T", with the strap forming the horizontal section and the bolt, (running through the plug) the vertical. Then a large wing nut and washer could be used to hold the spare to the bolt.
 
ttime4four said:
remove the plug and fashion a secure point using a plate below and above the hole while using nuts and bolts to sandwich the the plates above and below the opening. This could then a base for a longer bolt that you can run into the wheel lug hole in the spare.

I may be able to use a carriage bolt with a 6" square plate on the bottom side, sandwiched to the upper side also with a plate with a lock nut and washer, then have the remainder of the existing carriage bolt to go through the spare tire lightening hole ( which lines up perfectly center with the OEM hole ) Then secure that down with a custom 3" diameter plate ( ie large washer ) and wing nut.
 
Finally decided on the mounting hardware for the jack and tire.
Just made some modifications, and moved up to a larger single bolt
to hold the tire in place. Leashed the jack to the original EVSE cargo tie down bracket.

Here are some pics:

Removed the cargo liner and plug

SsdqeXG.jpg


Attached a cable leash for the jack to the EVSE tie down bracket

VufgH33.jpg
 
I suggest a wing nut and large washer for the wheel bolt. I picked up a 7" x 3/8" carriage bolt today, along with some steel strap, which I'll double or triple in thickness. I intend to go in through the top only, running the bolt through the rubber plug and into the strap, which I will use to bridge the hole. The plug will then be secured to the bolt with a nut, and the spare will be secured to the bolt with the brass wing nut.
 
^ Agreed - Nicely Done

Some minor improvement suggestions:

As LeftieBiker mentioned, I would go with the wingnut to hold down the tire -- just makes it easier to get off.

I would probably use the void in the wheel to stow the jack (with some type of padding/organizer) to keep it from rattling, etc. I suspect there is already a pre-formed item out there that would fit (find in junk yards along with the wheel/jack). You can also just lash the jack to the wheel.

Again - congrats on getting it secured.
 
It might be more convenient to store the jack and tire iron in the existing tire kit cubby. I found that my Altima jack and tire iron fit well there in my 2012. I believe that someone said that the jack mounting lugs aren't found on the 2013 models but it could be wrapped in a cloth and tucked in there anyway, I would guess.

0gur.jpg

Altima jack and tire iron in cubby. The folding tire iron is on the right side of the opening; it has greater utility than the stock LEAF tire iron.
 
I would have used the mounting holes in the floor to mount a piece of plywood (same shape as the top piece?), and then use several bolts mounted on the plywood bottom to hold the wheel and various other accessories.

I have the Bose package, so it's not something I can try, but would think that would distribute the forces more evenly?
 
I have the Bose package, so it's not something I can try, but would think that would distribute the forces more evenly

You can mount a spare with the subwoofer unit in place, if you remove the three small bolts from it and shift it slightly. I also suggest you pad it.
 
While I'm still planning and buying hardware: does that big rubber plug in the floor look like it will go in and out ok, or will it be junk once removed?
 
Looks Great! I guess you took out those machine screws from your makeshift wing-nut because it would not turn because the screws were hitting the wheel?

I had the same problem on mine but actually it worked out well because with every turn I would move the wheel a little and the wing-nut went by, the tighter it got the more secure the wing-nut was and therefore it won't unscrew by itself which is really important since mine is upside down and outside of the car where I can't check on it regularly.



djjazzy said:
Attached jack to leash

secure8.jpg


Cutout cargo floor for bolt

secure9.jpg


secure10.jpg


Placed tire over bolt

secure11.jpg


secure12.jpg


And secure with nut

secure13.jpg



dgpcolorado said:
......but it could be wrapped in a cloth and tucked in there anyway, I would guess.
Hey good idea! http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=14081&start=10#p320684" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
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