How to remove and remove the spare tire on the Lada Largus? - Behind the wheel
On the Lada Largus, the manufacturer has allocated space in the trunk for a spare wheel. Today, many drivers, in order to save money, prefer to install LPG (gas equipment). For this reason, they face a problem: where to put the additional wheel, because a gas cylinder is installed in its place.
Some people design special devices for attaching the spare wheel to Largus with their own hands, but they turn out to be too bulky and look unaesthetic. They can also raise questions from traffic police officers, since license plates or lights are often covered with such mounts. The best solution to the problem would be to install a spare wheel on the Largus rear door.
Advantages and disadvantages of fastenings
The spare wheel bracket located on the rear door has a number of advantages:
- does not spoil the appearance of the car;
- reliable;
- easy to operate and install;
- preserves the ability to use the useful volume of the trunk to the maximum.
The spare wheel mounted on the rear door protects the bumper from possible damage.
Among the shortcomings, it is worth noting the possible sagging of the hinges with all the ensuing consequences - loose closing of the door, distortions, creaks. Car owners also note that the door does not open completely, which makes accessing part of the trunk difficult.
Bracket selection and installation
Brackets for fixing a spare wheel on Largus appeared on the car accessories market not so long ago. There are two types of such fastenings:
- spare tire holder on the rear door: fixed and rotating versions available;
- reinforced spare wheel mount - fixed in the trunk opening and to the bottom of the car, replacing the tow bar.
To install the fastener, you do not need to drill new holes for bolted connections; existing standard places are used. The spare wheel on the back door can become a decoration if you purchase an additional cover. It can be ordered in any color and with any inscription.
If there is a conventional bracket, the fastening gate is opened first, then the tailgate. The reinforced lock has its own characteristics: first the left holder is unscrewed, after which the wheel tilts to the right.
Installing the bracket takes no more than 20 minutes:
- unscrew the upper nuts of the lower and upper hinge of the rear door on the right;
- the bracket is placed on the vacant seats;
- screw the hinge nuts and two fastening bolts into the standard places near the door lock.
The installation is complete, all that remains is to put on the protective cap or cover, if any. Installation of a reinforced holder will take more time, since the bracket is fixed to the bottom of the car. This means that a lift or inspection hole will be needed.
A few days ago, Ford showed under the cover the silhouette of the new Ford Bronco SUV, which should hit the market in 2020. After this, millions of fans of real SUVs literally went crazy because the silhouette of the car clearly indicates that the SUV will again have a spare tire on the tailgate.
Many, of course, won’t understand, but what’s wrong with this? But look at all the modern SUVs and you won't see a spare tire on the back door. Today, spare tires are placed incorrectly by automakers. Why is it wrong? The thing is that on SUVs the spare wheel should, as before, be located on the rear door.
The 2020 Ford Bronco is hidden under a cover. But its silhouette clearly suggests that the American automaker has placed a spare tire on the rear tailgate
Do you think that the spare tire should not hang on the back door? Then explain this to those who owned or still own the first generation Jeep Grand Cherokee (ZJ), where the spare tire was located on top of the trunk (driver's side). This place to store the spare tire in the trunk is very inconvenient.
Also, this wheel arrangement is impractical because it takes up too much space in the trunk. Agree, it's a pretty stupid decision. Especially if you store a full-fledged off-road wheel in the trunk. Now imagine how to place a large off-road wheel with this arrangement in the trunk?
By the way, look at how the owner of a Jeep Cherokee (XJ) SUV, in which the manufacturer also placed a spare tire in the trunk, solved this problem in order to transport a large wheel without sacrificing cargo space.
Jeep later corrected this problem with spare tire storage by moving it under the raised floor in the trunk in the next generation Grand Cherokee (WJ) SUV.
Apparently, the automaker has decided that the value of cargo height is less important than the width of cargo space. On the one hand, this was an interesting decision, since the trunk actually became free of a spare wheel. But there is one problem.
To accommodate the spare tire under the boot floor, engineers had to move the SUV's fuel tank downwards. As a result, the tank ended up in a vulnerable spot:
To solve this problem, some off-road enthusiasts and Grand Cherokee (WJ) owners have repeatedly resorted to removing the metal spare tire storage cylinder, reconstructing the location of the fuel tank. This modification of the car design allows the location of the fuel tank to be raised in order to increase ground clearance and, of course, protect the tank from damage when driving off-road.
Naturally, such a location of the spare wheel under the trunk floor is very inconvenient if you are going to store a full-fledged heavy off-road spare wheel in it.
Not only is it inconvenient and heavy, but also how do you solve the problem of storing a large-diameter spare tire? After all, off-road enthusiasts often install large-diameter wheels on their “tanks.”
In this case, you also need a large spare tire, which, most likely, simply will not fit under the trunk floor. Also remember that in order to get to the spare tire under the floor, you will have to remove everything from the trunk.
In the Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ SUV (1999-2004), the spare tire was located under the raised floor in the trunk
It is worth noting that modern cars, as a rule, are now equipped with fuel tanks that are located in front of the rear axle (mainly access to the fuel tank in modern cars is under the rear seat). As a result, the spare tire located under the floor no longer moves the gas tank, reducing ground clearance. This is especially important for SUVs, for which ground clearance is the main thing when driving off-road.
Although it is worth recognizing that the location of the wheel under the trunk floor still reduces the height of the cargo space and does not allow placing a wheel of a larger diameter there than provided by the manufacturer.
Dimensions
If you are going to transport cargo in the trunk of a Duster, you need to know its dimensions:
- doorway height – 74 cm;
- doorway width – 97.5 cm;
- compartment depth (to the rear seats) – 93 cm;
- height from floor to shelf – 43 cm;
- depth with the rear row of seats folded – up to 188 cm.
Read also: What is runflat technology?
The photo shows all possible internal dimensions of the trunk:
Basic internal dimensions of the trunk
The cargo compartment space in Duster can be used when traveling with large luggage over any distance. This could be a vacation trip to the seashore, for a weekend, to visit relatives outside the city. When planning long trips, it is necessary to take into account the fact that when the luggage compartment is fully loaded, gasoline consumption increases significantly.
Due to the design features of the rear wheel transmission and the presence of a raised floor, the Duster 4x4 has a smaller luggage compartment in volume than its 2x4 counterpart. The definition of volume in a 2x4 design includes only the part located in front of the removable elastic curtain or rigid shelf. The shelf is located at a height of 43 centimeters from the floor level. The curtain can be fixed in one of two different positions.
Trunk equipment
The Renault Duster trunk is equipped with the following elements: a raised floor, a rubber mat-tray, a shelf, niches for storing tools, a niche for a spare tire with a storage system (for the 4x4 version), side overhead shelves, lighting.
In the first version of the SUV, the shelf was made of soft fabric and served purely decorative purposes. The updated version of 2016 added a rigid shelf on which you can store various items.
Now the luggage compartment is equipped with a rigid shelf
If you have a shelf made of soft fabric, watch the video on how you can modify the shelf with your own hands:
The upholstery in the luggage compartment of crossovers is made in dark colors. The luggage compartment can be equipped with a net for securing transported goods, and a shelf for convenient storage of luggage. The sill is protected with a special overlay to preserve the paintwork.
Under the raised floor of the all-wheel drive version, in addition to the spare wheel, there is also an interesting system of storage compartments, which conveniently houses a jack, pump, fire extinguisher, tools, first aid kit, cable, shovel, emergency sign, etc.
Convenient storage under the raised floor
However, to get to the spare tire, you will have to lift the entire floor, which is not always possible. How you can improve the raised floor transformation system, see the following video:
...and also in this interesting video:
On the left there is an open niche in which you can also place various small things or put a canister of water. The right niche is closed by a hatch, under which there is a jack and wheel wrench, but there is enough free space in the niche for something else.
Additional side compartments for storing various items
There is a light in the luggage compartment that turns on automatically when any door is opened.
Rubber mats on the trunk floor of Renault Duster provide additional protection against moisture, dust particles, water splashes, and small and large debris. The floor surface is made in the form of ribs to provide additional stability to the transported loads during movement.
The trunk doors are equipped at the factory with high-quality locks, which subsequently work for a long time and without failure.
The trunk door has soft contours; thanks to high-quality seals, it is securely attached to the body and conveniently opened without additional effort using a closer. To fully close, you just need to lower the door and it will slam itself.
The volume of the trunk allows you to transport quite large items, so you can fit in a refrigerator, a sofa, a washing machine, boards 3 meters long, a stepladder and much more.
Volume matters!
Well, someone uses the trunk in this capacity
