Fitting a spare wheel to the Bonnet

I'm considering the feasibility of locating a spare wheel on my Jimny Bonnet, similar to Landrover Defenders.

However there are some problems as I see it.

1. Wheels are very heavy, I'm sure the bonnet will need strengthening.
The question is how? I was thinking of a couple of bars running north to south in the engine bay, with a Jimny spare wheel bracket attached. A hole could be cut in the bonnet through which the wheel could sit

2. The wheels are quite 'thick' so I think the wheel will significantly impact forward vision. By siting the wheel through the bonnet I may gain a couple of inches vertically and improve forward vision.

I'm trying to balance the car for weight distribution. However the end result must be very strong to cope with a long and very rough journey.

Any suggestions most welcome.

I'd prefer to put a puncture repair kit in the boot

What you need is this bodyshell...

teafortwo0789 wrote: I'm trying to balance the car for weight distribution.

Mount it behind the seats like a SWB Landrover.

I remember moving the spare from the bonnet to the tub when off roading my series because the other boys reckoned that it was better for weight distribution.


And I dont think the feeble jimny bonnet hinges will take the weight either.

mlines wrote: What you need is this bodyshell...

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I remember seeing that on e'bay, thinking what? why? :huh:

www.flickr.com/photos/65781977@N03/5994954407/

could u do this

teafortwo0789 wrote: I'm considering the feasibility of locating a spare wheel on my Jimny Bonnet, ...... I'm trying to balance the car for weight distribution.

The Jimny feels nose heavy to me, especially when I ran mine without the spare wheel for a week. If your aim is to balance the car for weight distribution I think that taking the spare off the very back of the car to put it over the front wheels is going against your stated aim.
It would like cool though

My bonnet rattles on the catch with the weight of four foglights...

Thank you all.
My problem is I need to carry 2 spare wheels for my Mongol trip 18k miles. I'm considering a 6 point roll cage so I can attach the wheels to the side of the cage. Similar to Martins 'special body'.

That will leave the rear door to store water cans or jerry cans. However I'm seeking to keep the overall weight down, and the roll cage will add a lot of weight ! I don't want to store wheels on the roof as that would raise the centre of gravity too much and inside will eat up too much space. Back to the drawing board..................................

I was going to suggest this, it's amazing what you can find on Google,




but I see you want to carry two, back to that body shell on ebay! (does anyone know who bought it?) seriously though if you're thinking of mounting on either side what about a single loop style roll bar and mount them to either side that way?

I've just had another idea. fit an offset bracket like the one in my photo to make room for the jerry can/s and fit the other to the bonnet. I don't think it's a bad idea, don't know what "Plod" in the UK might think. I liked your idea of strengthening bars accross the engine bay but rather than cut a hole in the bonnet I'd mount the carrier on the bonnet, probably on a spreader plate, and fix it to the bars with heavy duty bonnet pins so you could still open the bonnet (It'd be bl***y heavy though).

I'd look at strengthening the bonnet in some way too and use a pair of strong gas struts to help with lifting it.