Front bumper mounted spare tire holder

[prophetdaniel2]

     As I carry two Spares, and have a convenient rear bumper mount, but no under generator mount (second spare lives on the roof ), I have been considering/desiring a spare on the front. Honestly I always thought the ones I have seen make the Dodge van look  much tougher.
    But I just realized that this could drastically reduce the amount of airflow through the radiator. Has anyone had one and run into problems with overheating? If so, did you have to remove the tire, or did you come up with a clever solution?



FULL AHEAD!
-D

[John Eversoll]

Hellllooo Danny boy, I had a tire up front But noticed the rig got very hot on long drives.
I removed the front spare and have not had a problem
John E.   Hope that helps ya...

[prophetdaniel2]

This makes me wish I was a welder!
I have visions of a "ROO GUARD" type bumper/grille for the Clipper/Dodge, which would incorporate bothe an air dam and Jerryt's ram air ducts, as well as a standoff type tire mount. Or maybe just lower positioned....Hmmmmmm...



Personal Q... Where are you stationed out of John? (you probably mentioned this already, but.. )

[John Eversoll]

I was stationed on " Attu"

[prophetdaniel2]

I meant currently living

[John Eversoll]

Sorry,  I am Living in Anaheim Ca.

With gods help I will be in Oregon this time next year
Just outside of Klamath falls Place is called Bananza"
We have 2 acers and our Black and tan coonhounds will just go crazy there.   " me too"  nearest neighbor is about 600  yards away.
I have a place picked out for the Clipper and others to park.
If ya ever come down when we move there you will have a place to stay.
John

[Horst]

Spare tire in front of grille generally not a good idea.

But this reminds me of a mod I have seen on other motorhomes -  and it has been mentioned here before I believe. An old-timer I spoke with several years ago who had it on his old dodge swears by it.

You take pvc pipe (the white water line stuff) and cut two pieces about 1.5 to 2 inches in length (I can't remember the exact length) and you slip them over the hood "bumpers" (you find the pvc diameter that fits snugly over those bumpers (about 1.5 inch diameter I'm guessing).
Now when you "close" your hood, the pvc pieces prevents it from closing all the way, and you have about a 1.5 to 2 inch gap, which allows additional air to just ram into your engine compartment.
You use a very short piece of chain and a two small, high quality caribiners to secure the hood to the frame (usually to the hood latch mechanism) to prevent the hood from flying open and jiggling.

I'm going to be making this set-up for myself soon.

[prophetdaniel2]

I like this idea, but cant help but think that Maybe a simple air scoop installation would accomplish the same or similar outcome?
In fact I think I am going to research this idea a bit more, perhaps incorporated with Jerrt's ( where are you Jerry?) air intake type ram air mod.....

My Clipper roads at about 175-180 degrees at all speeds, what does everyone else's read?
-D

[Horst]

An air-scoop cut into the hood would be cool too - or the low mounted scoops.
I guess the advantage of this mod is that it is on an "as needed basis" - too hot?? - just set it up in 15 seconds and your done. Cold outside?? - no need to install it.
I'm going to set one up today I think (if I can find the time)

[Horst]

OK - so I was just noodling around my plumbing parts box and got LUCKY!
The perfect fit is a 1 inch pvc connector piece - they cost about 40 cents and are
2 and 3/8 inches long. They fit snugly over the hood bumpers.

I have a short bungie to hold down the hood, and I'm setting up my chain/caribiner safety
latch later today - all ready to  - might even post a pic or two.

[Horst]

tried to post them here - no luck
so I posted them here if you want to see it

http://www.harborweb.com/clipper2.html

total cost - less than $5.00

total set-up/install time - 3 minutes - well 4 - I still need to wrap the chain in duct tape

whew! I'm all tuckered out - need a beer now!

I'll report on how it performed next weekend - going camping for a few days - woohoo

[prophetdaniel2]

Simple and sweet! Joust how I like it! Your Grille looks to be of much tougher stock than my broken plastic eyesore. I'd have to attach to the bumper for security.
     Ill attempt the hood mounted scoop in the future, once I find just the right design. I don't want my Clipper to look like I am some kind of tough guy! It will have to blend into the whole picture.
Keep us posted and have a good time Horst!
-D

[JerryT]

Hi All!
Just got back from a short week at Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio with some friends and family. CP is a 6 flags type of amusement park on the shores of lake Erie. They have a marina so you can sail there, hotels so you can drive there. and a campground for RV's . It is soo nice to close the park at 11 and then walk only 1000 feet or so and be home for the night after riding coasters all day. It was 90+ on the way home and I drove the Clipper bare foot (my feet were really sore) all the way home. My temp gauge has no numbers but it rides just above the line that is above the cold mark. If it moves up from there I hear the clutch fan engage and down she comes. I have the 160 stat from the Clipper store and would bet that it is my operating temp. Before my mods the gauge would ride level to up hill+ but not now or at any speed. I popped the aux tranny cooler hose on I-80 on the way over at 75 mph, (it was new in 78 ) I pulled over, and the whole pass side of the cab was red and dripping. The hose was spraying on the front right tire which atomized it pretty good and is what caught my eye, a big white-ish cloud coming out the back, Roxann thought we were on fire.
Anyway, I was able to reach in and re-rout the hose right away as I did not have to let it cool, even after 2+ hours on the highway, which surprised me as the fluid was not burning hot to the touch (yeah). I have the Mopar deep tranny pan that holds about an extra half gallon of fluid and also helps cool, so I was able to drive off like nothing happened (yeah again). I did add my extra quart after I got off the highway just to be safe. To recap, my cooling mods are,
1 a 160 degree thermostat
2 a 3 core radiator
3 a new fan clutch from a 86 W350 Dodge truck
4 a fresh air hose to the air cleaner from the cowl
5 a 3" exhaust pipe starting at the crossover Y with a low back pressure muffler
6 a double power steering pulley/ fan belt to drive the Heavy Duty clutch fan
7 a double air duct from under the front bumper to blow fresh air into the doghouse
8 a set of Magnecore high temp plug wires with DEI heat boots/sleeves
9 a set Mr Gasket copper exhaust manifold gaskets
10 a deep tranny pan
11 I extended the doghouse insulation, skirt style below the floor and added an extra hold down on the pass side and reshaped the floor with a 2x4 and floor jack to insure a tight floor seal.
12 and of course the Clipper factory aux tranny cooler

This is what has worked for me, 440's make a lot of heat and to mitigate that heat from such a small cramped area was important to me. I feel that heat kills with time and it was a choice to do the work now at my leisure or forced repairs latter at who knows where and at what cost.
Anyway you can get rid of heat is a good thing on these rigs!

JerryT

[JerryT]

Horst
Welcome to the early grill club I still got my 78 grill in the attic, cracks and all!
The early ones have a nice look don't they!
JerryT

[Horst]

Nice cooling mods Jerry - I have a few of them.
yeah - the early grilles are the way to go in my opinion - it took me almost 2 years to find a decent one (junk yard cruising)
can't beat that bungie cord and chain look though don't ya think!....ha!! (I will only bust it out when it's hot - so I may not even test it out this weekend)
What I'm looking for now is an air dam - I hear they make quite a difference as well (cooling, handling, etc.) - and some of the early 70s model vans (love shack vans) had them - so I keep looking - been on the hunt for a few years for one of those.
There are a few ACOC members who have them, mostly on 79s and a one or two 80s, typically Chevy platforms - for some reason they are hard to find for the Dodge.
One member made one - but I'm not the greatest sheet metal worker......