Spare wheel carrier for a motor vehicle

摘要

A motor vehicle (10) has a tailgate (12) which is rotatable about a tailgate pivot axis (25) by means of a lower hinge between a vertical, closed position and a horizontal, open position. A spare wheel (11) is mounted in a vertical position behind the tailgate (12) when the tailgate is in the vertical position by means of a spare wheel carrier (13) and a hinge means (22) supporting the carrier (13) on the vehicle body structure. The hinge means (22) are arranged so that the spare wheel (11) is moved between the vertical position and a horizontal position below the tailgate (12) under the motion of the tailgate. The hinge means (22) has a pivot axis (25) which is forward of the tailgate pivot axis (A) in such a way that the spare wheel carrier (13) moves relative to the tailgate (12) towards the front of the vehicle when the tailgate (12) is moved to the open position. Hence, the spare wheel (11) does not extend significantly beyond the tailgate (12) when the tailgate is horizontal.