tmxmotorsports
SILVER Star
Have a 33 on the truck now with no issues I'll be really pissed if I do this rig is leaving heading to AZ in the next week or two.
DIY 60 series 4x4Labs rear swing out bumper in your driveway guide. You got this (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter dbbowen
- Start date
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tmxmotorsports
SILVER Star
I like the bumper there can be improvements for sure.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2011
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- Redding, California
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- trail-tailor.com
Its basic physics. Weight to deflection ratios.
tmxmotorsports
SILVER Star
Believe me I get it.
- Thread starter
- #45
@TRAIL TAILOR Im going to add an edit to the part about doing the arms to put this extra preload into it. I wish i did it on mine. If it sags, i think 4x4labs sells just one arm so i can always redo it with the preload you suggested in. I hope it isnt too bad but at least theres a fix. Thanks for the heads up on this!
- Thread starter
- #46
Gas struts -
for the gas struts its really simple. Youll need a 5/16 -18 tap and a 17/64 or "F" drill bit and a center punch.
On the bumper side, measure 2 and 1/4 inch from the spindle and kinda position your center punch on the flat before it starts to roll. Knock you center punch, drill it with a pilot hole, then drill it with the 17/64, then tap it. Put some anti seize onto the ball stud and tighten it in.
On the arms, flip them so they are upside down. Measure 12 inches from the spindle cover on the side of the tube OPPOSITE of the little notch in the spindle cover. So the side closest to the truck when installed on the bumper. Space it in from the edge so when the ball stud is threaded in it wont hit the wall of the tube but offset of the center line. Drill. Tap. Install ball stud.
Here is a good view of how the offset looks once installed
Here it is fully installed. I plan on removing the sticker from my gas strut so it looks nicer, and i didnt realize the spindle cover didnt cover the whole top so ive got to go back and paint the top haha.
for the gas struts its really simple. Youll need a 5/16 -18 tap and a 17/64 or "F" drill bit and a center punch.
On the bumper side, measure 2 and 1/4 inch from the spindle and kinda position your center punch on the flat before it starts to roll. Knock you center punch, drill it with a pilot hole, then drill it with the 17/64, then tap it. Put some anti seize onto the ball stud and tighten it in.
On the arms, flip them so they are upside down. Measure 12 inches from the spindle cover on the side of the tube OPPOSITE of the little notch in the spindle cover. So the side closest to the truck when installed on the bumper. Space it in from the edge so when the ball stud is threaded in it wont hit the wall of the tube but offset of the center line. Drill. Tap. Install ball stud.
Here is a good view of how the offset looks once installed
Here it is fully installed. I plan on removing the sticker from my gas strut so it looks nicer, and i didnt realize the spindle cover didnt cover the whole top so ive got to go back and paint the top haha.
- Thread starter
- #47
Tire Carrier -
I had some contamination issues on this with my tig welder. Might be swapping back over to Mig now that i have gas for it. Anyways, heres how to do the Tire carrier.
The parts involved are here
Here is how it should look when you are done. I used this one photo pretty much to figure out how to do the whole thing.
Youll first start with the bottom bracket that clamps to your swing out arm on your bumper. Either bolt it to the swing out arm or clamp it to your work table. The long upright tubing has a mitered cut on each end and they are the exact same angle. Center the upright on the clamp bracket (in this photo i broke the tacks and scooted it over a little bit) and check it for square. Also check that it is even on the bracket and not crooked. Tack it in place.
Then take the small flat piece of steel and trim it to fit the top end of the upright and weld it into place. This will make it so no moisture gets inside the tube. Go ahead and fully weld this and grind it smooth. You dont want weld protruding past the walls of the upright tube.
Once the top cap is welded on, angle the gussets so the right angle corner meets the intersection of the upright and the bottom bracket. Then tilt the gusset so it crosses over both the bottom bracket and the upright at the long ends. Theres only one way this fits without gaps so youll see when youre doing it. Tack the gussetts into place.
This next part will be assembling the upper clamp area. This will allow the tire to be spaced in and out in relation to the tire carrier and your truck to account for different width tires, different wheel offsets, etc.
Start by putting 2 thin washers on top of the upright.
Then run your bolts through the "Ears " of the clamp
Place the smaller square tube on top of the washers you placed on the top of the upright and then put the ears over the tube. Let the bolts rest directly on the horizontal smaller tube. Those washers you placed earlier will give you some spacing. Clamp the ears to the upright like shown in the photo below and tack them into place.
Next take the "clover" aka the thing the lug nuts go through and center the smaller square tube to it and tack it into place.
Youve got some options here. The smaller tube has one end that is a flat cut, and the other end that is angled. If you want your tire to sit vertically when mounted, use the flat side to weld to your clover. *note. if you plan to use the hi lift holder on the tire carrier, and you use the flat side, youll want to cut the angle off of the square tubing and make both sides flat. The hi lift holder welds to the opposite side of the clover, so if you dont cut the angle off, the hi lift will be angled.
If you want your tire to sit angled, use the angled side, but pay close attention to the direction of the angle. The angle should follow your angle of your hatch on your truck. If you weld it on upside down, it will tilt AWAY from your truck. I would place it in the tire carrier you just tacked together and double check the angle before tacking it on.
Here are some examples of flat vs angled on other land cruisers. I used the angled side on mine
Angled
Flat
Once its all done you can assemble it all and check the fitment of everything and then fully weld it. * if you are planning on doing the Hi Lift carrier, do this last. I havent done it on mine yet, but you need to see the angle you want to weld it on. In the first completed photo on this post you can see how its welded to the back of the smaller square tube opposite of the clover. Make sure you press in the wheel stud before welding it to the square tubing.
*Some notes on this that I had to deal with so you dont have to....
be very careful with your finish welds. ESPECIALLY on the upper clamps and the clover. weld small 4-5 inch sections and then walk away. Let it completely cool and then start again. I put too much heat into mine and warped the flat steel. I was able to bend the clamp ears and kind of pull the warpage out of the clover by clamping it to my table and heating the living daylights out of it then running another hot mig bead over the first welds.... but you can easily avoid this by only welding small sections at a time and managing the heat input into the metal. I got a little excited and just went full send on mine.
Lastly press in your wheel studs and paint it
I had some contamination issues on this with my tig welder. Might be swapping back over to Mig now that i have gas for it. Anyways, heres how to do the Tire carrier.
The parts involved are here
Here is how it should look when you are done. I used this one photo pretty much to figure out how to do the whole thing.
Youll first start with the bottom bracket that clamps to your swing out arm on your bumper. Either bolt it to the swing out arm or clamp it to your work table. The long upright tubing has a mitered cut on each end and they are the exact same angle. Center the upright on the clamp bracket (in this photo i broke the tacks and scooted it over a little bit) and check it for square. Also check that it is even on the bracket and not crooked. Tack it in place.
Then take the small flat piece of steel and trim it to fit the top end of the upright and weld it into place. This will make it so no moisture gets inside the tube. Go ahead and fully weld this and grind it smooth. You dont want weld protruding past the walls of the upright tube.
Once the top cap is welded on, angle the gussets so the right angle corner meets the intersection of the upright and the bottom bracket. Then tilt the gusset so it crosses over both the bottom bracket and the upright at the long ends. Theres only one way this fits without gaps so youll see when youre doing it. Tack the gussetts into place.
This next part will be assembling the upper clamp area. This will allow the tire to be spaced in and out in relation to the tire carrier and your truck to account for different width tires, different wheel offsets, etc.
Start by putting 2 thin washers on top of the upright.
Then run your bolts through the "Ears " of the clamp
Place the smaller square tube on top of the washers you placed on the top of the upright and then put the ears over the tube. Let the bolts rest directly on the horizontal smaller tube. Those washers you placed earlier will give you some spacing. Clamp the ears to the upright like shown in the photo below and tack them into place.
Next take the "clover" aka the thing the lug nuts go through and center the smaller square tube to it and tack it into place.
Youve got some options here. The smaller tube has one end that is a flat cut, and the other end that is angled. If you want your tire to sit vertically when mounted, use the flat side to weld to your clover. *note. if you plan to use the hi lift holder on the tire carrier, and you use the flat side, youll want to cut the angle off of the square tubing and make both sides flat. The hi lift holder welds to the opposite side of the clover, so if you dont cut the angle off, the hi lift will be angled.
If you want your tire to sit angled, use the angled side, but pay close attention to the direction of the angle. The angle should follow your angle of your hatch on your truck. If you weld it on upside down, it will tilt AWAY from your truck. I would place it in the tire carrier you just tacked together and double check the angle before tacking it on.
Here are some examples of flat vs angled on other land cruisers. I used the angled side on mine
Angled
Flat
Once its all done you can assemble it all and check the fitment of everything and then fully weld it. * if you are planning on doing the Hi Lift carrier, do this last. I havent done it on mine yet, but you need to see the angle you want to weld it on. In the first completed photo on this post you can see how its welded to the back of the smaller square tube opposite of the clover. Make sure you press in the wheel stud before welding it to the square tubing.
*Some notes on this that I had to deal with so you dont have to....
be very careful with your finish welds. ESPECIALLY on the upper clamps and the clover. weld small 4-5 inch sections and then walk away. Let it completely cool and then start again. I put too much heat into mine and warped the flat steel. I was able to bend the clamp ears and kind of pull the warpage out of the clover by clamping it to my table and heating the living daylights out of it then running another hot mig bead over the first welds.... but you can easily avoid this by only welding small sections at a time and managing the heat input into the metal. I got a little excited and just went full send on mine.
Lastly press in your wheel studs and paint it
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Optrel welding hood. Very nice. I invested in one when I worked as a Tig welder on inconel bleed air ducts. Had a co worker airbrush it for me.
tmxmotorsports
SILVER Star
Have the same helmet got as a gift from a customer it is a nice helmet.
- Thread starter
- #50
Dude that paint job is so awesome! I never thought of getting my welding hood painted. Didn’t even know that was a thing! I originally got mine for TIG but I use it for everything now!
It’s hard to go back to my old miller helmet that came with my Mig welder after using this Optrel helmet. You can’t see anything!
tmxmotorsports
SILVER Star
I'm getting old and gotta use readers under my helmet my sight ain't what it use to be still get the job done also don't fabricate near as much as I use to.
Yeah the dude did a great job. On the top is a letter for letter translation in Elder Futhark of my name, and on the left side is "TIL VALHALLA". Granted letter for letter isn't a true, accurate translation, but it's more easily translated.
Same on the Lincoln hood I have. It's a good backup, but the Optrel is FAR better for visibility when I'm welding.
always overbuild. We get about 1/16~1/8" deflection on a 33" long arm with a 35" tire using 2 1/2" x 1/4 wall square. I tried 2" x 3/16 back in the mid nineties
but settled on heavier after a couple issues
- Thread starter
- #54
I learned tig with the cheap miller helmet that came with my mig welder and when i switched to the optrel it was like turning on the lights and being able to actually see haha
RevISK
SILVER Star
Stop spending my money
- Thread starter
- #56
Assembled tire carrier
I also made a license plate bracket for the passenger side swing arm to use when there isnt any attachments on that side. Im not planning to use any of the baskets or ladder or anythign during normal daily driving so i can keep visibility, so this will hold the license plate. I shaped the bottom of it to match the brackets of the accessories. Figured if i wanted to use this same spot even with the accessories it would still work.
I still need to transfer over my back up camera and license plate lights to this one but the bracket is finished at least
I also made a license plate bracket for the passenger side swing arm to use when there isnt any attachments on that side. Im not planning to use any of the baskets or ladder or anythign during normal daily driving so i can keep visibility, so this will hold the license plate. I shaped the bottom of it to match the brackets of the accessories. Figured if i wanted to use this same spot even with the accessories it would still work.
I still need to transfer over my back up camera and license plate lights to this one but the bracket is finished at least
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- Thread starter
- #57
Ladder-
The ladder is something you want to do with 2 people. One holding the lower 2 uprights and one holding the first horizontal rung. Its best to do this while its bolted to the assembled bumper.
First youll want to bolt the swing arm clamp to the swing arm and build up starting from the bottom. The next 2 images are images I took because i was by myself and couldnt hold the 3 pieces and take a photo.
For the bottom uprights youll notice that there are mitered cuts on the ends. You want to positon the bottom uprights so they face outward from each other... but also point away from the truck. The outer ends of the uprights should be at the outer corners of the swing arm clamp. and if you measure across the top of the uprights outside of the tube to outside of the tubes... it should measure to be 14 inches across.
I tacked these in this photo just to get a photo.
Notice in the photo below that the bottom uprights are angled out and away from the truck.
Here is where the second person comes in. what will determine the angle the lower uprights are pointed away from the truck is the horizontal rung. If the angle is off... the horizontal rung will not be flat. In this step youll need to have the person holding the uprights to mess with the angle of the uprights until the horizontal upright is flat left to right and front to back. If you are doing this alone.... this will take a while and be very fatiguing on your hands. With 2 people it is much easier. A short magnetic bubble level is your best friend here. You may notice that you need to grind a small bit out of the center section to get it to sit perfectly flat. Once you got it where you think its pretty flush with the center section. Tack all of these 3 pieces. Make the tacks easily removable just in case.
Next youll take the Large long hoop and test fit it to the lower uprights, if you were able to get the spacing correct on the lowers, the long upper should basically almost sit inside of the lower uprights if that makes any sense. If they dont line up well, youll need to break your tacks and start over. If they line up pretty well, refer to this photo again for the angle you need to tilt it back. The closer you have the ladder to your rear hatch, the less foot room youll have when climbing up it. But it will look better if its closer. This is kind of up to you where you want to keep it. When you tack it, if you use one tack on each you can kind of bend it a little to adjust. When finish welding the upper run to the lower rungs, turn down your welder a little bit and be careful not to blow through this joint, especially on the outer facing side.
After its tacked and you have your angle where you want it to be. Open the swing arm all the way and then make sure you can open and close your upper hatch with no interference with the ladder.
For the next rung youll want to take a grinder and do grind out some of the outer ends with a flap disc so it locks into the hoops a little better. Technically you can just wedge it in there and weld the gap but your welds will look bad. Just grind the outers into a "C" shape and it will reduce the gaps. It doesnt have to be perfect. Keep in mind, when you are doing this, youll want to grind the tops more than the bottom because the hoop is angled. Do a little bit at a time and test fit it.
I didnt get any photos but there are 2 sleeves you will need to weld into the holes on the lower rung. Just slide them through, weld each side, and grind smooth with a flap disc. If you get some weld in the center of the hole, just use a 1/2 inch drill bit to make the hole round again.
All thats left is fully welding everything up. Youll want more heat on the uprights that attach to the clamp and the square tube horzontal rung. Less for the tube to tube connections.
This next part is up to you. I thought it would look nice to smoothen the weld between lower and upper uprights, and to me... I kind of wish i just left it as welds. Its tough to get the grinder in the corners so if i was to do this again, i probably would have just left it alone.
The ladder is something you want to do with 2 people. One holding the lower 2 uprights and one holding the first horizontal rung. Its best to do this while its bolted to the assembled bumper.
First youll want to bolt the swing arm clamp to the swing arm and build up starting from the bottom. The next 2 images are images I took because i was by myself and couldnt hold the 3 pieces and take a photo.
For the bottom uprights youll notice that there are mitered cuts on the ends. You want to positon the bottom uprights so they face outward from each other... but also point away from the truck. The outer ends of the uprights should be at the outer corners of the swing arm clamp. and if you measure across the top of the uprights outside of the tube to outside of the tubes... it should measure to be 14 inches across.
I tacked these in this photo just to get a photo.
Notice in the photo below that the bottom uprights are angled out and away from the truck.
Here is where the second person comes in. what will determine the angle the lower uprights are pointed away from the truck is the horizontal rung. If the angle is off... the horizontal rung will not be flat. In this step youll need to have the person holding the uprights to mess with the angle of the uprights until the horizontal upright is flat left to right and front to back. If you are doing this alone.... this will take a while and be very fatiguing on your hands. With 2 people it is much easier. A short magnetic bubble level is your best friend here. You may notice that you need to grind a small bit out of the center section to get it to sit perfectly flat. Once you got it where you think its pretty flush with the center section. Tack all of these 3 pieces. Make the tacks easily removable just in case.
Next youll take the Large long hoop and test fit it to the lower uprights, if you were able to get the spacing correct on the lowers, the long upper should basically almost sit inside of the lower uprights if that makes any sense. If they dont line up well, youll need to break your tacks and start over. If they line up pretty well, refer to this photo again for the angle you need to tilt it back. The closer you have the ladder to your rear hatch, the less foot room youll have when climbing up it. But it will look better if its closer. This is kind of up to you where you want to keep it. When you tack it, if you use one tack on each you can kind of bend it a little to adjust. When finish welding the upper run to the lower rungs, turn down your welder a little bit and be careful not to blow through this joint, especially on the outer facing side.
After its tacked and you have your angle where you want it to be. Open the swing arm all the way and then make sure you can open and close your upper hatch with no interference with the ladder.
For the next rung youll want to take a grinder and do grind out some of the outer ends with a flap disc so it locks into the hoops a little better. Technically you can just wedge it in there and weld the gap but your welds will look bad. Just grind the outers into a "C" shape and it will reduce the gaps. It doesnt have to be perfect. Keep in mind, when you are doing this, youll want to grind the tops more than the bottom because the hoop is angled. Do a little bit at a time and test fit it.
I didnt get any photos but there are 2 sleeves you will need to weld into the holes on the lower rung. Just slide them through, weld each side, and grind smooth with a flap disc. If you get some weld in the center of the hole, just use a 1/2 inch drill bit to make the hole round again.
All thats left is fully welding everything up. Youll want more heat on the uprights that attach to the clamp and the square tube horzontal rung. Less for the tube to tube connections.
This next part is up to you. I thought it would look nice to smoothen the weld between lower and upper uprights, and to me... I kind of wish i just left it as welds. Its tough to get the grinder in the corners so if i was to do this again, i probably would have just left it alone.
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- Thread starter
- #58
Bike Rack Extension -
This one is pretty easy to do. Its literally 3 parts. The swing arm clamp, a long square tube with end caps, and a hitch receiver piece. Its all 1/4 inch thick wall tubing so you want to crank that welder up and get it nice and hot. This one was quick to do but is so freaking awesome
On this one you just clamp the clamp to your swing arm and line up the mitered cuts of the long tubing to the edge of the clamp. Then align the receiver tube to be facing straight back. Line the long tubing up so its as close to the center of the vehicle as possible. Then weld the caps to the end of the long tube and then weld your gussets on. Its suuuuuuper simple.
*The gusset that is welded to the long square tube from the clamp that attaches to the swing arm is supposed to be welded to the BOTTOM of the long tube and the face of the clamp like the below photo. Youll notice i didnt do it like that in my photos. I am going to add extra gusseting to mine, but i moved the long tube further over on the clamp than Luke at 4x4 labs does to get the bike more centered on the truck. The below photos of the painted extension are how its SUPPOSED to be done if you dont want to do extra modifications like I am doing.
The below photos are just how I did mine.
Here it is installed on the truck
I added an extra gussett on the bottom of mine here
This one is pretty easy to do. Its literally 3 parts. The swing arm clamp, a long square tube with end caps, and a hitch receiver piece. Its all 1/4 inch thick wall tubing so you want to crank that welder up and get it nice and hot. This one was quick to do but is so freaking awesome
On this one you just clamp the clamp to your swing arm and line up the mitered cuts of the long tubing to the edge of the clamp. Then align the receiver tube to be facing straight back. Line the long tubing up so its as close to the center of the vehicle as possible. Then weld the caps to the end of the long tube and then weld your gussets on. Its suuuuuuper simple.
*The gusset that is welded to the long square tube from the clamp that attaches to the swing arm is supposed to be welded to the BOTTOM of the long tube and the face of the clamp like the below photo. Youll notice i didnt do it like that in my photos. I am going to add extra gusseting to mine, but i moved the long tube further over on the clamp than Luke at 4x4 labs does to get the bike more centered on the truck. The below photos of the painted extension are how its SUPPOSED to be done if you dont want to do extra modifications like I am doing.
The below photos are just how I did mine.
Here it is installed on the truck
I added an extra gussett on the bottom of mine here
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- Thread starter
- #59
Bike rack extension part 2
The bike rack extension looks super simple because it is, but its one of the coolest attachments there is for the bumper. Especially if you ride bikes. Heres some photos of it installed.
This gets the bike up nice and high away from the ground. I wheeled moab some with my bike on the back of my truck and slammed my bike rack into the ground many times. This fixes that. And also lets it swing away.
Nice and high up
When it was installed in the stock receiver hitch. Much lower to the ground
Swung open
Just a note, i have my passenger swing arm stop set to let the passenger side open further to allow use of the ladder attachment. I am thinking of drilling and tapping a hole to put a bolt to stop the swing arm less open for when im not using the ladder so it doesnt open as wide. Then when i need to use the ladder i can just remove the bolt and the arm is going be able to swing wider. This gives me a similar opening angle to the driver side with the bolt in, and then also a wider opening with the bolt out.
I also have this basket thing from harbor freight that I use occasionally. Works a treat on the bike rack extension
The bike rack extension looks super simple because it is, but its one of the coolest attachments there is for the bumper. Especially if you ride bikes. Heres some photos of it installed.
This gets the bike up nice and high away from the ground. I wheeled moab some with my bike on the back of my truck and slammed my bike rack into the ground many times. This fixes that. And also lets it swing away.
Nice and high up
When it was installed in the stock receiver hitch. Much lower to the ground
Swung open
Just a note, i have my passenger swing arm stop set to let the passenger side open further to allow use of the ladder attachment. I am thinking of drilling and tapping a hole to put a bolt to stop the swing arm less open for when im not using the ladder so it doesnt open as wide. Then when i need to use the ladder i can just remove the bolt and the arm is going be able to swing wider. This gives me a similar opening angle to the driver side with the bolt in, and then also a wider opening with the bolt out.
I also have this basket thing from harbor freight that I use occasionally. Works a treat on the bike rack extension
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- Thread starter
- #60
Ladder mount basket-
For the ladder mount basket you can either go with the 3 can carrier or the single can carrier. I chose to run the single can on my ladder because this will be my camping with my daughter setup. We only go out on 1 night trips as of right now, so having 3 cans is a little overkill. Ill just be running 1 NATO water can in the carrier for short camping trips.
I am mounting the 3 can carrier on its own stand in the next post. The 3 can carrier is the perfect size to fit a yeti 35 cooler, and is what will be living in there. That is the wheeling setup for carrying adult beverages while wheeling and not camping.
If you choose to mount the 3 can carrier to the ladder mount, the install is similar to the single can, you will just be supplied with two extra gussets to support the basket.
I also plan on making a post about mounting the fold down table to the ladder, but you can really mount it anywhere, the spare tire, the 3 can, the 2 can, the ladder. Wherever. Im doing mine on my ladder.
Also, in these photos youll see im using an angle finder to check level. I ran over my short bubble level shortly before doing these baskets, so this is all I had. A short torpedo bubble level with magnetic base like this one... would work a lot better here.
This is what comes in the kit for the single can carrier.
So youll first want to mount the clamp onto the crossbar of the ladder. Then the C chanel with the angled cut gets tacked to the clamp. If you choose to mount the 3 can carrier here instead of the single can carrier, the two extra gussets will go on top of this here.
Next find the open seam of the larger hoop, and line them up and weld them together
This next one isnt necessary, but I did it to reduce sharp angles. Take the hard point off of the dimple died bottom plate with a flap disc. Notice in the photo the upper corner in the left is how it comes. On the right i rounded the corner.
Next, youll kinda do a test fit without tacking on the ground to see how it all goes together. The "D" hoop goes on the bottom and is attached to the angle iron. Then there are the vertical tube holders, and the solid ring tubing goes on top
Tack the angle iron to the ladder mount you tacked earlier, then line up the bottom plate to the "D" hoop and get them all tacked into place
Here is what that looks like from underneath
This next part is kinda tough with one person, but you need to rest the upper rings on the ring supports and tack them in. Remember, the lower hoop is smaller in diameter than the upper one so you want the two outer supports to slightly angle in equally or it will look weird. You also want to tack these while the swing arm is closed and make sure everything is level and one side isnt lower than the other side before welding it all up.
Once they are tacked in place and it all looks good. Weld all of it up. Youll need to turn your welder down a lot on the vertical supports, the metal is thinner gauge and likes to blow through if you are set on too high of voltage.
And here it is all welded up. The baskets are very easy to make.
For the ladder mount basket you can either go with the 3 can carrier or the single can carrier. I chose to run the single can on my ladder because this will be my camping with my daughter setup. We only go out on 1 night trips as of right now, so having 3 cans is a little overkill. Ill just be running 1 NATO water can in the carrier for short camping trips.
I am mounting the 3 can carrier on its own stand in the next post. The 3 can carrier is the perfect size to fit a yeti 35 cooler, and is what will be living in there. That is the wheeling setup for carrying adult beverages while wheeling and not camping.
If you choose to mount the 3 can carrier to the ladder mount, the install is similar to the single can, you will just be supplied with two extra gussets to support the basket.
I also plan on making a post about mounting the fold down table to the ladder, but you can really mount it anywhere, the spare tire, the 3 can, the 2 can, the ladder. Wherever. Im doing mine on my ladder.
Also, in these photos youll see im using an angle finder to check level. I ran over my short bubble level shortly before doing these baskets, so this is all I had. A short torpedo bubble level with magnetic base like this one... would work a lot better here.
This is what comes in the kit for the single can carrier.
So youll first want to mount the clamp onto the crossbar of the ladder. Then the C chanel with the angled cut gets tacked to the clamp. If you choose to mount the 3 can carrier here instead of the single can carrier, the two extra gussets will go on top of this here.
Next find the open seam of the larger hoop, and line them up and weld them together
This next one isnt necessary, but I did it to reduce sharp angles. Take the hard point off of the dimple died bottom plate with a flap disc. Notice in the photo the upper corner in the left is how it comes. On the right i rounded the corner.
Next, youll kinda do a test fit without tacking on the ground to see how it all goes together. The "D" hoop goes on the bottom and is attached to the angle iron. Then there are the vertical tube holders, and the solid ring tubing goes on top
Tack the angle iron to the ladder mount you tacked earlier, then line up the bottom plate to the "D" hoop and get them all tacked into place
Here is what that looks like from underneath
This next part is kinda tough with one person, but you need to rest the upper rings on the ring supports and tack them in. Remember, the lower hoop is smaller in diameter than the upper one so you want the two outer supports to slightly angle in equally or it will look weird. You also want to tack these while the swing arm is closed and make sure everything is level and one side isnt lower than the other side before welding it all up.
Once they are tacked in place and it all looks good. Weld all of it up. Youll need to turn your welder down a lot on the vertical supports, the metal is thinner gauge and likes to blow through if you are set on too high of voltage.
And here it is all welded up. The baskets are very easy to make.
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