Has anyone 'tucked' the spare tire carrier?

[BuildStuff]

I have a 1995 Sierra, first gmt400 I've owned. I just finished a bunch of work on the tailgate, rear bumper ( from a Ford E-series Van ) as well as a roll pan behind the bumper. It didn't have a spare tire when I bought so I wasn't aware on how much of the tire is exposed. It appears I can move the carrier up about 2 1/4 inches up towards the bottom side of the bed, with some notching and welding of the support for the winch that raises and lowers the tire itself. My question is, has anyone done this? I have seen some say they put the spare in the bed, maybe use a donut spare. I'm using a full size rim for the year with a 195/50r15 tire that gives me 23" diameter, this gets me past the tire hitting the roll pan issue. I would imagine someone has done something over the years, I couldn't believe how much rim was sticking down, looks like butt.
Edit: 'Tuck' might not be the right word.

 

[sewlow]

There used to be kits made for doing just that. It moves the stock size spare (235/75-15) up & forward to hide the tire better and to clear the rollpan.
IIRC, there was a couple of different manufacturers. Haven't seen one for sale in years, though.

 

[BuildStuff]

I have duals right in the area of the spare as well, 1 goes left and the other right, but I didn't have the whole spare scenario layed out before hand, a slight rework on the tubes may be needed for one side. The more I look at it, it seems fairly straight forward to notch/ re-inforce the carrier brace where it bolts to the frame on the upper mounts, then add spacers on the bottom bolts. I suppose I won't be able to hide it completely, but for the cost of a cutting wheel, some welding and paint, might be worth a shot. Tire hanging down just looks so..unplanned.
That blue truck in the pic sure is nice.

 

[sewlow]

That blue truck in the pic sure is nice.

Thanks!

 

[BuildStuff]

Those look like Impala SS rims, do they have full turn from lock to lock without rubbing? I had a heck of a time finding the right offset for the front wheels (16"), even at that I had to put 1/4 inch spacers up front so the tire wouldn't hit the lower control arm. Then I figured out I had to put different studs on to make sure I has enough thread in the lug nuts...what a pain. I would do it different second time around. Tire guy said the rims 'should fit' when I bought them. My fault really for wanting something other than the size that came with the truck though.

 

[sewlow]

Impala SS wheels. They bolt on. Running 275/55's. Same diameter as the stock 235/75-15's, just w-i-d-e-r. That size doesn't mess with the speedo. Fender lips have been rolled. LCA's trimmed.
The tires do catch the chrome wheel well trim on hard suspension compressions, only because those are a bear to try to roll. They should be, need to be, trimmed down instead. I see the way that that trim has been tweaked, but most don't.

 

[BuildStuff]

Just for anyone who wants to sink their spare tire up towards the bottom side of the bed, I did the modification today, test fit it, I got 2 3/8" upward movement, no issues so far. I do have to make the spacers for the bottom set of mounting bolts, but this isn't difficult.

 

[BuildStuff]

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just seeing if I can get a pic of the modification in here.

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dang it, nope. Anyone know how to get images from flickr into a thread?

 

[BuildStuff]

"YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN POST IN YOUR THREAD IN THIS SECTION!" , I just read this part on the forum main page, sewlow, how did you post in here? Don't get me wrong as I like chatting about all stuff mechanical, but if I can't chat with peeps about stuff, I may have posted in the wrong area. I'm going to try and get some pics in here, I'm picking up my spare today all mounted up, see whats what, if the mod worked good enough or not. I'll give a before and after, if I can figure out how to get pics on this page. I also moved the hole for the rod that you put into the hole in the factory bumper to raise and lower said spare up/down to inside the bed, since I put on a 'smoothy' rear bumper and didn't want a non symmetrical hole to the right of the license plate, thusly, in the bed the hole went with a plastic cover. I used a 90 degree drill attachment from Northern Tool to accomplish the 90 degree turn from said access hole in the bed to match up with the shaft coming out of the tire lift.

 

[sewlow]

"YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN POST IN YOUR THREAD IN THIS SECTION!"
Lol! I dunno! I responded as if it was any other thread! Didn't even notice that caveat.
10,000+ posts = 'special priviledges'? Just a guess. Who knows? Weird.
But I do feel 'special' now! Lol!