On the Ford our spare is on the back door......right under the stylist AC unit.

On the GMC our spare is under the bed. I'll soon move it to the back door as we need the room. I match the front size as anything bigger will rub. It's not sporty, I guess, but sleeping in the van and being comfortable is our main thing. We're gonna sleep in the van as long as we're able.
We have AAA, just upgraded it to tow us home from most anywhere. It costs more but I don't like to be stranded. Also the reason for hauling a full size spare, a real jack, small tool box and a few other "safety" items.

The interior on my 85 will be simple so I will have room to mount it back inside (it was on the right rear door and yep, the door was dented!)

Dodge did mount the spare under the van beginning in 98 when the gas tank was moved to the drivers' side. Feel like moving your gas tank?

I agree with Doc, a donut is only suitable for a nearly empty half ton van , and a gamble at that. A smaller regular tire would be better, but only if you don't make it more than 2 inches smaller in diameter to not cook your diff. A 2 " smaller wheel probably still won't fit in the van. Also make sure the weight rating of the tire is up to the task. Many smaller tires are not.

I mounted mine underneath, but I made extra damn double super sure there is no way it will fall off and get all up under the van, that would be epically bad.

The back door is a tried and true method, as has the least risky compromises. It sounds like your mind is pretty much made up to do that anyway.

i didnt mean actually using a donut tire, i meant using a smaller sized passenger tire that is more compact than a bulky truck tire. such as a 195/50 or a 205/60 car tire. if course its just meant to get you off the highway, not to make it the last 200 miles to where ever...

Smaller regular car tires have the wrong weight rating for any van.....Run flats may be an expensive choice if you want to dispense with a spare, but experience has taught me your spare should be equal to what you run....

Loco Motion ran into a tire problem in oHIGHo after the natz, and ended up costing 2 days in a motel waiting for the proper size to arrive.... When I re did the rubber on the 78 I bought 5 new ones at once....no issues especially in the middle of no where ( or oHIGHo on a Sunday afternoon )...

If you are a cruise nighter, no spare is an option, if you are a vanner be prepared !!!

My Ford is under the bed,My Dodge is under the Van

Thanks for all the advice fellas. Still undecided on what exactly to do... but it's looking more and more like it's going to be mounted on the rear... the spare's gotta be full size... crud. Looks like I need to invest an extra $100 into a new wheel... and god forbid I decide to get the Cragars I'm wanting... hahaha! Never know though, once I build out my last bench, I'll take my buddies full soze spare as a test and see if we can make it fit somehow. I recently saw someone who worked it out by mounting it in the rear right... might be able to make a custom cover type thing for it so it looks clean. Bramble On!

I like this idea:


Dodges 3 did a similar thing:

That's pretty cool. Wonder how easy that whole assembly comes off... is it on a seperate reese hitch? Just thinking, when I'm not travelling with passengers I could tak the whole mount off and stick the spare inside on the floor... pretty cool.

I've just decided to mount mine on the door. I want the storage underneath. I've got a 94' Ford E-250. I'm going to put a fire pit/grill on the winch-system, so I can keep that outside, instead of inside.

I won't match the rims, but I'm gonna put my van club's name and logo on a cover - "Sons of Vanarchy!" - so it will still look cool.

Anyone know a good brand for a door rack????