[gudentyte]

A spare tire on the roof? That sure will kill your gas mileage.

Yes. And yes. Both preparedness and peace of mind come with a price.

I'm thinking of getting the Thule Motion Cargo box and putting it there. And of course that would only be for long trips, I won't be carrying it around all the time.

Personally, I would never entertain the idea of having a spare wheel/tire combination bouncing around loose inside of a rooftop aero-coffin.

And what would be your tipping point, trip distance, "decision-maker" be to warrant carrying that full-size spare? No different than motor vehicle collisions, the majority of tire punctures occur within 25 miles from the front door of your home. Best to prepare according to your worst driving scenarios/conditions and not according to the duration or distance of your journey. The f*ck-up fairy could care less about your proximity to home base.

 

[TWAAAAACKS]

Actually I did state there were four holes right here:


SC
Not sure exactly what you did but I looked at your original post and there's no other replies other than mine so probably lost in the "new reply thread" of thousands of our replies and no way I'd of known 4 holes drilled. Was only trying to help lol, no need to be snippy. A problem solved but thanks anyways would've been good..

 

[TWAAAAACKS]

Yes. And yes. Both preparedness and peace of mind come with a price.

View attachment 315715





Personally, I would never entertain the idea of having a spare wheel/tire combination bouncing around loose inside of a rooftop aero-coffin.

And what would be your tipping point, trip distance, "decision-maker" be to warrant carrying that full-size spare? No different than motor vehicle collisions, the majority of tire punctures occur within 25 miles from the front door of your home. Best to prepare according to your worst driving scenarios/conditions and not according to the duration or distance of your journey. The f*ck-up fairy could care less about your proximity to home base.

Yes. And yes. Both preparedness and peace of mind come with a price.

View attachment 315715





Personally, I would never entertain the idea of having a spare wheel/tire combination bouncing around loose inside of a rooftop aero-coffin.

And what would be your tipping point, trip distance, "decision-maker" be to warrant carrying that full-size spare? No different than motor vehicle collisions, the majority of tire punctures occur within 25 miles from the front door of your home. Best to prepare according to your worst driving scenarios/conditions and not according to the duration or distance of your journey. The f*ck-up fairy could care less about your proximity to home base.

How much of a hit did you take on the MPG?
Funny enough I added a Front Runner rack, traction boards and and awning and barely noticed any drop but the moment I add my light bar, I've lost about 2.5-3.5 mpgs and want to know how much more I should expect throwing a tire up top.

 

[MA Subie]

Yes. And yes. Both preparedness and peace of mind come with a price.

It's too bad the rear door doesn't open sideways rather than up. That way, you could put a spare tire on the back.

On my Outbacks, I used to carry a full size spare in the cargo area. But the cargo area in the Crosstrek is less than either of my Outbacks and I don't want to give it the space. So I just have the doughnut and take my chances.

 

[MA Subie]

March 18. Three year anniversary for my 2020 Crosstrek. 28,939 miles on the clock. All is well with her:

 

[Qat]

It's too bad the rear door doesn't open sideways rather than up. That way, you could put a spare tire on the back.

On my Outbacks, I used to carry a full size spare in the cargo area. But the cargo area in the Crosstrek is less than either of my Outbacks and I don't want to give it the space. So I just have the doughnut and take my chances.

There are hitch receiver mount carriers that swing away or tilt. I've considered getting one so I could take a spare when going up on the Forest Service Roads to trailheads. Can't imagine coming down out of the mountains with a donut.

 

[Skatchkins]

View attachment 315704

Put 225/65R17 Falken Wildpeak AT Trail on Sport Wheels on our 2021 Limited and also bought a 17 inch wheel and a fifth tire for a spare.

Pretty happy with them! Ready to do somo rock crawling now!!! Nah, lol, just light off roading.

Shout out to @Discount Tire ! Thank you!

And to @Skatchkins who sold me his wheels! Thank you as well!!

Next projects: Crossbars, either basket or thule cargo box(I know everyone will say no😅) to put the spare tire in, skid plates, rain guards, side moldings, darker window tint and maybe an awning.

Man, wish I could do everything at once 🤣

View attachment 315704

Put 225/65R17 Falken Wildpeak AT Trail on Sport Wheels on our 2021 Limited and also bought a 17 inch wheel and a fif

And to @Skatchkins who sold me his wheels! Thank you as well!!

Good to meet you, man.

 

[AstroKats]

There are hitch receiver mount carriers that swing away or tilt. I've considered getting one so I could take a spare when going up on the Forest Service Roads to trailheads. Can't imagine coming down out of the mountains with a donut.

Same here but I haven't done any difficult trails.

 

[Scoobydoo2]

Changed my oil today. 134,000…ish km.

 

[claudiovalenti0481]

Yes. And yes. Both preparedness and peace of mind come with a price.

View attachment 315715





Personally, I would never entertain the idea of having a spare wheel/tire combination bouncing around loose inside of a rooftop aero-coffin.

And what would be your tipping point, trip distance, "decision-maker" be to warrant carrying that full-size spare? No different than motor vehicle collisions, the majority of tire punctures occur within 25 miles from the front door of your home. Best to prepare according to your worst driving scenarios/conditions and not according to the duration or distance of your journey. The f*ck-up fairy could care less about your proximity to home base.

Well, thank you for picking my brain because I've been debating about this for weeks now ...

First, about putting the tire on the Cargo box...

The box has tiedowns but from what I've seen in pictures they don't look that rugged. What I'm thinking is crossing straps through the 4 channels the box has where you anchor it to the crossbars. That way I would strap the tire to the crossbars and not the box itself.

I've also considered going with a basket same as your setup, just a different basket, and I do like the look a lot. So I've considered the Thule basket with extensions, but what I don't like about this is I would need to put like a soft bag or something up there for cargo and I don't like that at all, I prefer the hard plastic lockable boxes like the Thule Motion which has a load capacity of 165 pounds. The box itself weights 42 pounds, the spare tire around 50, the crossbars around 10ish including the supports. You can put up to 176 pounds on the rails of the 21 Crosstrek, so that leaves me 176-42-50-10= 74 pounds of stuff I can still put inside the box.

Then a third solution would be a rear hitch spare tire carrier. This solution would really optimize cargo capacity on the roof, but I just can't wrap my head around the idea of loosing my back up camera. And a good hitch tire carrier is absurdly expensive. I haven't discarded this idea at all though.

Now about the tipping point...

I would say a radius 100 miles or depending on the terrrain I'm going to visit.

I live in Phoenix, a regular puncture lets you roll for a while and we always have on screen the tire pressures. So you can either get back home or get to a place where you can fix it, plus If it's a trip, even a short one I carry around my compressor (not when daily driving). Worst case scenario, a tire blowout, I would either have a family member bring me the tire, call my insurance and get towed or hop on an Uber and go home and bring the tire on one of my other cars.

About the terrain, for example we have this lake called Lake Pleasant about 40 miles away and it's a nice fun place to go and hang out, do a bit of off roading, but it has really sharp pointy rocks so for something like this I would definitely take the spare.

Decisions...Decisions...

 

[gudentyte]

How much of a hit did you take on the MPG?

With the rooftop platform (no wind fairing), traction aids and full-size spare, I dropped about 4.7mpg. I've not yet tried adding my jerrycan to the rooftop load/drag-inducing culprits. Probably another 1mpg hit.

 

[gudentyte]

Changed my oil today. 134,000…ish km.

That's a really, really, really long oil change interval!

 

[aba4430]

Replaced PCV valve yesterday on our CT Sport with 27462 miles. Noted some minor oily residue on the top right valve cover area when I did an oil change last month; did not wipe the area down at the time. Checked it again prior to a recent trip to Indiana and it appeared the same. Traveled back to PA for the weekend and drove the car up on 4X ramps yesterday. Removed the bottom cover and did an inspection. The engine was bone dry underneath with no trace of oily residue; the top drivers side is also dry. In any case, snugged the metal banjo bolts on the crossover line that runs front to back on the passenger side top valve cover area as I noticed some gunk on the front fitting. Removed the PCV valve and checked it crudely by shaking it; no rattle. Went and picked up a new valve from the dealership and installed it. Cleaned up the general area and will monitor it during under hood checks.

 

[TWAAAAACKS]

With the rooftop platform (no wind fairing), traction aids and full-size spare, I dropped about 4.7mpg. I've not yet tried adding my jerrycan to the rooftop load/drag-inducing culprits. Probably another 1mpg hit.

Thanks for the info. Definitely gonna try and get a tire swing in the back then.

 

[MA Subie]

Replaced PCV valve yesterday on our CT Sport with 27462 miles.

Wow. That's quite premature. But probably not worth the trouble to get it covered under the factory warranty?

 

[TimnTrish17]

Thanks for the info. Definitely going to try and get a tire swing in the back then.

Thanks for the info. Definitely gonna try and get a tire swing in the back then.

I'm actually about to do the same thing. I'm not too fond of the fact my spare is on my roof. It's a ***** to get one down when you need it. Plus I rather have things accessible, or open space for further storage.
Like my room for my awning and other camping items that take up space.
getting a rear swing arm with a tire carrier just seems more convenient than anything. plus I can add accessories on the carrier, like a folding table and whatnot.
There are a few I have found, this one is 45 degree tilt, does really swing but is a cheaper option then most.

Rigid Armor Spare Tire Hitch Carrier - Subaru Crosstrek 2013-2022

Custom Engineered by Rigid Armor the Subaru Crosstrek Spare Tire Carrier designed to maintain structure strength when hitting the trails or rough terrain, this carrier will now be release with a additional 2” hitch insert, in order to not loose the stock hitch carries a wobble free hitch insert...

offbeatoverland.com

This one is decent but not cheap

UltraSwing™ Multi-Fit Spare Tire Hitch Mount | RiGd Supply

The UltraSwing™ Multi-Fit spare tire hitch mount is a swing-out tire carrier designed for mid-size trucks and SUVs including Tacoma, Lexus GX, and Subaru.

www.rigdsupply.com

 

[gudentyte]

Be mindful of the additional weight (hitch+tire carrier+spare tire+Trasharoo+Hi-Lift+jerry can+camp table, etc.) that you'll be cantilevering out past your rear wheels.

At 65lbs, the RiGD Supply UltraSwing is simply too damned heavy. At 35lbs, the Rigid Armor 45-degree, drop-down tire carrier seems to be a better proposition, in my view. With a drop-down tire carrier, you also won't need as much "swept-area" clearance behind your Crosstrek in order to open the rear lift gate as you would with a swing-out tire carrier.

A horizontal swing-out "anything" contraption, impeding access to your cargo area, in a vehicle regularly used in multi-scenario service (urban commutes/errands/parking, camping, road trips, ferry crossings, emergency vet hospital visits at 2:00am, etc.) will become old, very fast.

Yes, a roof-mounted spare tire is a bugger to manhandle. But it's not an everyday or multiple-times-per-day, pain-in-the-(pick a part of your anatomy) event. Personally, I prefer my pain in short, infrequent installments.

Absolutely, you will get better fuel economy with a hitch-mount spare tire carrier than with a roof-mount spare tire carrier, once you exceed 0 mph.

Life is comprised of decisions. Most are wrong.

 

[MA Subie]

Yes, a roof-mounted spare tire is a bugger to manhandle. But it's not an everyday or multiple-times-per-day, pain-in-the-(pick a part of your anatomy) event. Personally, I prefer my pain in short, infrequent installments.

Unless that "short infrequent installment" of pain extends to a back injury.

 

[Discount Tire]

@claudiovalenti0481 Thanks for the shout out! Thank you for your business, we appreciate your support. The Subi looks rugged!

 

[dpc166]

Got gas for my car the other day. Only 4 weeks between fill-ups after 2 trips up to Allentown for work in below freezing and really windy conditions. Still managed 77 mpg on the tank. Now that those trips are out of the way, I probably won't need gas for the next 3 months.