Bolt on-together Rear Tire Carrier

[mattman555]

I'm planning on going on a semi-mild 4x4 trip for a week in Feb-2015 called AZ Run put on by a local Arizona 4x4 group (nissan4wheelers.com) Its their 15 year!

I don't need to replace my stock bumpers, yet, but I wanted to get my spare from underneath my '96 TLC. Some of my options are, put the tire in the TLC or put it on the roof. I wasn't too wild with either option.

So after some looking around I decided to create a simple bolt on / together tire carrier.

My plan is simple - Many feet of 2" Strut, lots of nut & bolts, locktite, and 2 cut to fit 90 angles.
Using the 4 bolt holes on my rear stock bumper I plan to assembly it similar to the pic I posted.

I haven't started to buy the parts yet but I do plan to buy the following tire carrier. It's rated for 500lbs.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IAVOU5C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#productDetails

Edit 02/28 -- I didn't go with this carrier as it didn't have enough depth for the spare. I pulled carrier off a 95 Nissan Pathfinder. Cost was $8

One question I have before I buy all these parts... How stout is the mount point on the rear stock bumper? Of course I'm talking about where the 4 bolt holes are.

 

[inkpot]

To answer your question, those holes are very stout. They are often used for mounting a trailer hitch. Please post pix. John

 

[DWHeigher]

How do you get into the back of the vehicle?

 

[mattman555]

Thank you for confirming Inkpot that is what I thought too and thanks for your help last year with the quick repairs. I really appreciate it

DW - Though the pic doesn't show it clearly I plan to make this a drop down tire carrier. It'll be a pain to work around but I only plan to use it when I 4x4 and not full time. Eventually I'll get a real rear bumper with swing outs.

 

[DWHeigher]

Nice. Let's see some photos when it is done.

 

[Aggiesdm]

I'm intrigued. Please post pics as it progresses. What will you use as a hinge? Just fab up something with a pin, or will you buy a legit, heavy duty hinge for it? Curious.

 

[Pippylongsausage]

I like this idea. You could also use the hitch which would make it super easy to remove.

 

[Aggiesdm]

I like this idea. You could also use the hitch which would make it super easy to remove.

True, I thought about that too, but its not as rigid as it could be with the 4 bolt mount. I've had plenty of hitch inserts that had good strength, but they seem to move around too much for my liking. Maybe the OP will go that way...lets wait and watch?

 

[Pippylongsausage]

Check this out. You could make it swing out.
http://www.pickupspecialties.com/Tire_gate/tiregate_hitch_gate.html

 

[mattman555]

Thanks for all the posts!

I've seen the pre-made "hitch" style tire carriers, but at $300-$800 each, I'd be better off to buy a new bumper.

This is the main model I'm building from, of course as you've seen from the attached design pics, mine should be more stout -
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041388UG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'll be putting it together this weekend and will post up some pics.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

If you needs are only occasional why not just put it inside? That would be free.

 

[retrofive]

If you needs are only occasional why not just put it inside? That would be free.

I've slept on mine in the back.

 

[mattman555]

Hey all thanks for the comments. I'm going on a 6 day trip with some friends and I'll need the space for all our stuff. So this is in part why I am moving it to the carrier.

Here are some PICs from this weekends build up. I'm waiting on the tire carrier (URL on post #1) to finish this up. So the straps are only for testing.

Rear 1

• mattman555
• Jan 25, 2015

Rear 2

• mattman555
• Jan 25, 2015

rear 3

• mattman555
• Jan 25, 2015

rear 4

• mattman555
• Jan 25, 2015

rear 5

• mattman555
• Jan 25, 2015

rear 6

• mattman555
• Jan 25, 2015

rear 7

• mattman555
• Jan 25, 2015

rear 8

• mattman555
• Jan 25, 2015

rear 9

• mattman555
• Jan 25, 2015

 

[rc51kid]

What will hold it in the up position?

 

[heckler]

Not my cup of tea.

I normally don't make negative comments, but I have a few concerns. I am worried about the all thread running across the bottom. Seems like that might be a point a failure. Second is the ratchet strap and third is the steel itself. I would really consider strapping it to the top of the truck or just raise the stock location.

 

[B Point]

I like it...maybe beef up the pivot points and a hefty pin at the top. Heavier gauge steel, too. I would like it with a grate on the back so my dogs could use it as a ramp and I wouldn't have to lift them every time.

 

[4G63 POWER]

Are you storing your stuff under the vehicle?

 

[mattman555]

Thank you for all the comments, especially the creative ones! So keep them coming.

Keep this in mind, I'm still testing and drafting this up. I created this post to get and give ideas. If you want to take my draft work and make it better, more power to you! However if you make a production run out of it don't forget where you got the idea

A couple replies --

Hold it in position -- From post #13 PIC 1 - there are two Black Grade 10.9 bolts there its just hard to see in the pic. I plan to make them a bit larger.

Store stuff under the vehicle? -- I wanted to get my spare from underneath my '96 TLC. Don't want to spend big $$ on a bumper right now, Don't like the roof and I don't want it in the TLC. Main reason for doing this is I'm going on a 4x4 trip and didn't want it dragging on the ground and I just like creating things up.

Beef Up Pivot Points - The pics don't do it justice. The pics seem so show a bend in the all thread but in fact is it very straight. I'm using 7/16" all thread and its double nutted which made it stout. I stood on both ends of it (I weigh 240 lbs) and it didn't budge.

Overall strength - As far as the Channel strut I'm using SuperStrut which has a 2000 lbs pull out rating. Before I put on the tire I put one foot in the middle of the all thread, hung on to the superstrut and leaned back -- it did very well. My spare only weighs 73lbs. Another benefit of channel strut is its ability to be adjusted and configured differently quite quickly.

Dog Ramp - Funny I was thinking the same thing, in fact I stood on mine while it was on the ground and walked right up it.

Not liking the Racket Straps -- You may not like them, however you may want to read before you comment -- From Post#13
"I'm waiting on the tire carrier (URL on post #1) to finish this up. So the straps are only for testing."

 

[DetroitStyle]

As a part time/temp/rarely used solution, I think you will be fine as long as you keep an eye on it. We've all bent metal by hand and you know it goes from strong to fatigued and breaking very quickly. Meaning... once a weak spot materializes, all of the stress will go there and it's going to break. For an emergency backup, it should be very easy to hook a strap to the spare and through the hatch to an anchor point inside the truck. If the carrier breaks, it would keep the spare from bouncing down the highway and hitting/killing somebody until you can pull over.

The only other thing I would recommend is some Loc-Tite on the threads. The shake rattle and roll of the road/trail can cause those nuts to get loose quickly.

 

[mattman555]

Now, if I could weld well enough I would make what I would call a "Double C Cup" as my mount. See the attached PIC it has the Double C and current 90 Degree mount I made up.