So.... Anyone with a roof rack and / or a spare tire mounted up top drive into a parking garage or some low clearance area and get screwed?

the more I look at costs and even fabricating my own rear bumper, since everyone is stingy and wont give me designs =) the more I think i should just go ahead and mount the tire up top...

but theres a catch... even if I take the tire off the roof, and had a roof rack, would that or the lights catch?

the other alternative is to make a bracket that used the rails from the factory and mount the tire when i go offroad then unmount when im not using it offroad...

 

I only had to park in a low roof garage one time for our local hospital.
I had to take the CB antenna off the bumper, but the rack made it through, just barely.

The guard there said I had about 2" before my Hella 500s would have scraped in one area.

I avoid parking garages for the most part.

 

When I have my safari basket on, I can't get into anything under 7' (at least not comfortably/safely). Technically, my rig isn't quite 7' tall, but I don't want to get that close. Doesn't matter if the spare is up top or not.

IMO, if you are going to cough up the cash to make your own rear bumper, or to have one made, have a tire mount be part of the design. I don't imagine in would be that much more in the grand scheme of things.

 

My truck doesn't fit in the Seattle airport garage. I found that out the hard way once, driving through the garage and hitting my Hella's on the pipes and other obstacles on the ceiling! I have a folding knuckle for my antenna that is mounted on the basket, so it can be folded over.