Some of you might have seen my previous posts about the trouble I ran into when I upgraded my 14″ rims on my Margay to the 15″ Drifters. They fit perfectly on the axle but the spare tire did not fit. It didnt matter if you propped up the front of the tire to drop the rear. There was only 1/2″ clearance. Some possibilities were to side mount a spare but Pete recommended against that as my trailer frame is 3″ not 4″ and I could be just as much at risk for hitting it depending on the weather conditions. He also said an option was to leave the 14″ spare in place and put a tire cover over it. It will serve its purpose to get me home, but I had just sold my 14″s the day before and I already bought three 15″ Drifters. I spoke to Pete in detail about dropping the spare tire holder a few inches and I got the thumbs up. He mention this is the first he was hearing of this issue and made of mention that the manufacturer of that spare tire holder designs it for 14″ tires only. Here is my modification to give me more space between the keel and tire while still trying to preserve as much clearance below as possible. I preferred the bolt on approach as it is reversible if this doesnt work and I also didnt want to kill any paint on the trailer from the heat of welding. I promised my friend Alan I would post my finished pictures for all other members incase someone else comes across this and needs a direction. Here are a few pictures to give you and idea but I posted 30 or so pictures in an album on my profile to give you further details. I added a new angle so I scored and bent the metal to accommodate the change. I welded the bends to reinforce its strengthI now have 2 3/8″ on the rear and 3 3/8″ on the front. My lowest point to the ground is the rear tire at 9″
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