[Zane]

I purchased a bumper from Slee without a rear tire carrier when he was running a real sweet deal on them over the winter. My intention from the beginning was to build my own rear swing out tire carrier to save $1000+ bucks. I have to say I have a ton of work ahead of me to even come close to the quality that Slee provides, but hey, a 1000 bucks is a 1000 bucks, plus this is going to be a fun project.

I will be ordering my spindle from 4x4 Labs as Slee no longer seems to sell his Spindle Kit. I will be cutting and bending the main 2x3 square tube at the marks seen in the picture to mirror the contour of the bumper. I also am using 2" tubing for the loop that will be the main support for the tire. I'm using 2" only because that is what I am using for my outriggers on my sliders....

I will keep this thread updated as progress is made on this project.

Zane

[1loudLX]

Good luck with the project. One idea I had for a rear carrier on the slee bumper if you tow a trailer, would be to make it as "compact" as possible and have it mounted off to one side. That would give you better access to the cargo area when towing a trailer.

And why not mount it off to the left side? That way when you run to the store and parrallel park out front you can get in the back easier from the street, just an idea from city dweller over here.

[UltraFJ]

Yet another cool project Zane. Looking forward to seeing it's progress.

[spressomon]

Originally Posted by 1loudLX

Good luck with the project. One idea I had for a rear carrier on the slee bumper if you tow a trailer, would be to make it as "compact" as possible and have it mounted off to one side. That would give you better access to the cargo area when towing a trailer.

And why not mount it off to the left side? That way when you run to the store and parrallel park out front you can get in the back easier from the street, just an idea from city dweller over here.

Same thought. One of these days I'm going to carve into my Slee rear bumper. Tuck it in another 2-3" by cutting the rear frame support, raise it about 3/4" because my body lift allows that now and go to dual swing outs.

Thinking about a different trailer where the shorter dual swing outs would be necessary. And the ability to carry a couple fuel cans is motivation too!

[Zane]

Originally Posted by 1loudLX

And why not mount it off to the left side? That way when you run to the store and parrallel park out front you can get in the back easier from the street, just an idea from city dweller over here.

Loud,

Good point, but I'm looking at it a bit differently. If I have it swing out with the pivot on the drivers side, I would have to walk around the carrier or around the front of the truck to drop the gate. Having it pivot on the passenger side allows me to unlatch it and push it out of my way. Either way has its advantages...

VERY good points made regarding trailers! Need to think about that a bit more.

Zane

[pint]

Zane, nice build. Keep up the good work!

[Zane]

So I started this project back up over the weekend. I cut, bent and welded up the main 2x3 tube for the carrier arm as well as notched it for the 3" dia. spindle I ordered from 4x4 labs. Wow, this spindle is huge and well worth the money spent.

I spent quite a bit of time measuring the exact place to drill the 48mm hole for the spindle shaft in my rear bumper. that made me a bit nervous, but it turned out that my measure 6 times before I drill factor worked out perfectly!

I then cut and grinded the the spindle shaft at the correct angles so that I can weld the base of the shaft to the bottom plate of the bumper.

Next steps are to tack weld it all together and start working on the tire mounting system to the tubing. Attached are some pictures. Enjoy.

[Zane]

a few more.

[Zane]

a few more:

[bwbski26]

looks great

[3pits]

I am a 40 and 62 guy, and a former blacksmith/welding shop owner, I got to say your work looks great!!!

[macneill]

That's a hot setup. You've got mad skillz!

Looking forward to the final.

[Zane]

so I have cut and welded in the main steel plate that attached across the two tubes. I have also welded in supports to strengthen the plate. One going horizontally across the top and one vertically through the middle down to the main 2"x3" tube at the bottom of the carrier. I am now working on an adjustable mount for the tire. In the pictures you will see that I need to cut square tube to size that sleeves into the other square tube to size. I also need to make and weld in the plate with the studs in it to attach the tire to. I also will be putting in a small 45 degree angle support from the bottom of the square tube to plate.

figured I would provide a quick update.

Zane

[pint]

Yeah, I'm going weld one up just like this tomorrow morning while I drink my coffee! Again I say, you guys that can weld just suck! I am sooooo jealous. Seriously, keep up the great work!

[Zane]

I'm waiting on a few gussets and a wheel plate from 4x4 labs to finish up my rear carrier. I figured I might as well buy a few pre fabricated pieces from Luke to make my life a little easier. I was worried that the wheel plate that i was needing to make was going to be hard to get the lug pattern exactly correct so I called him up and he sells the individual peaces from his bumper builds. He is now making bumpers for 100's and has the 5 lug bot pattern plate. I also purchased two nice looking gussets to add to the hoops. Pricing was great! Once i get them I will weld them in and post an update.

I spent a little bit of time last night playing in the garage. I felt I made the main plate that spans across the two hoops to tall, so I drilled some round holes to reduce the weight as well as add some style to the carrier. with both the horizontal and vertical supports that I added behind the main plate there is more than enough support for the tire even with the holes drilled out.

I drilled these out with a hole saw and a drill press. It seemed to take forever with how thick that plate is, but it turned out really nice. The 4x4 lab gussets I have ordered also have holes drilled in them so I think it will visually pull it all together.

[Taildragon]

Any updates, ZZ?

[Zane]

latest update:

After looking at the spindle and praying like mad that I had everything in place correctly, I welded it into the bumper. It turned out good. I pulled the bumper to be able to get to the back side to weld it in place. To make sure the spindle was straight, I mounted the spindle shaft to the carrier, clamped down the carrier in place on the bumper then tack welded the spindle shaft to the bumper. I then pulled the carrier off of the spindle shaft then welded everything together!

[irongrady]

That last pics looks like a tough spot to make a nice pass..I'm impressed the weld looks as good as it does in there..

[ginericLC]

Zane,

I have the 100 back now. My guess is that you don't need the measurements anymore. It looks good!

[Zane]

After I welded in the spindle shaft, I started working on the nylon pads for the carrier to rest on. My brother in law happened to have a sheet of this stuff in ½ inch so I ripped a section of the sheet with my table saw at 2 ¼ inch wide, then cut them to size and put a 45 degree cut on the leading edge with my miter saw. I then drilled and counter sunk the holes for the stainless steel flat top hex bolts to recess into. Next I determined the location I wanted the pads to sit and then marked my holes for drilling into the bumper. Once holes had been drilled I painted the bare steel with black touch up paint and let dry before final installation of pads.

See pictures:

[Zane]

Next up was determining the location of the latch hook on the bumper, drilling the holes; touch up w/ paint, then installing the grade 8 bolts. In the attached picture I used a scrap piece of the ½ inch nylon behind the latch to bring the latch out from the main 2x3 support. I will be welding in steel to bring out the latch to make sure I get the latch arm pulling the carrier in tight.

[Zane]

Tonight I will be working on the 2 gussets I purchased from 4x4 labs to add to the lft and rt outside edge of the hoop that will provide additional strength. More detail to come once these are welded in place.

[Zane]

Originally Posted by irongrady

That last pics looks like a tough spot to make a nice pass..I'm impressed the weld looks as good as it does in there..

I was surprised at how much room i had to actually work with. Removing the bumper is a must. I had to flip the bumper upside down to do some of the welds.

[Zane]

I worked a little more on the carrier last night. I placed the pad on the face of the bumper for the striker to sit against. Same material that was used for the main 2x3 carrier to rest on the top of the bumper. I also cut, drilled and welded in the mount for the locking latch.

I'm getting really close to finishing this thing up. I now have to weld in the bracket for the tire to mount to, place the gussets and weld in the pin to hold the carrier open so it wont bash into my quarter panel.

[davegonz]

Zane,

Are you using that DeStaco clamp as the primary means of holding the tire closed or just to snub it together? Or are you using a pin as well?

[Zane]

Originally Posted by davegonz

Zane,

Are you using that DeStaco clamp as the primary means of holding the tire closed or just to snub it together? Or are you using a pin as well?

David,

I am using both the clamp you see in the picture above as well as a spring pin that will be welded in place on the spindle that will drop in a hole on the top of the bumper to lock it closed as well as another hole that it will drop into to keep the carrier open when I need to open the rear gate. It will function just likes Slee's set up.

[hoser]

Zane, before you continue, talk to Spresso about installing two spring pins. One by the latch (to keep carrier closed) and one by the hinge (to keep carrier open). It's a matter of preference but I think it would be easier to operate especially if you tow a lot.

[Exiled]

Looking good, Zane!

[e9999]

yup, with a vertical tension clamp it seems that you need something else to stop the fore / aft motion. I see you have a vertical pad in the rear but you might want to make sure the pin holes are not too big and there is no play.

[spressomon]

Originally Posted by hoser

Zane, before you continue, talk to Spresso about installing two spring pins. One by the latch (to keep carrier closed) and one by the hinge (to keep carrier open). It's a matter of preference but I think it would be easier to operate especially if you tow a lot.

Yes...when towing my trailer, which is often, I found just utilizing the pin at the pivot point of the swing arm (stock Slee bumper location) a hassle. So I welded in a piece of steel plate on the swing arm pivot side so that the pin only locks in place when the swing arm is in the open position. Then I welded another duplicate pin assembly onto the latch end of the swing arm to serve as the safety catch when the swing arm is in the closed position.

After Locrwln1 had his bumper latch break on a recent trip to DV I think the "safety pin" is a good idea just in case. Or you could carry a ReadyWelder like Locrwln1 does and weld the broken clamp back together, as he did, to get home .

To keep from scraping the limit bumper across the trailer tongue when its not perfectly level I moved it closer to the swing arm pivot. Mechanically speaking its better to have the "bumper" close to the latch for the best mechanical advantage. However I have not had any issues after relocating it and it is WAY more convenient when the trailer is in tow and I have to swing the tire carrier arm open.

I should have added the second pin assembly before I backed into that Euc tree...might have saved my rear hatch .

It all works very well now for my purposes. Of course if you don't plan to pull a trailer like I do it probably doesn't matter.