rear tire carrier latch help (1 Viewer)

[lx450landcruiser]

I bought a rear tire carrier latch (the kind with the red handle) I am in the process of finifhing up the tire carrier and can seem to get the latch to work. i know its supposed to swing up and tigten then become a little looser as its olipitical like the latches most people have but mine doesnt want to stay closed as the tension wants to open it again. its a non locking one. any sugestions? pictures?

thanks
mike

 

[lx450landcruiser]

mmm

 

[semlin]

have you got the stop on the top of bumper placed so that the two bases of the latch are aligned with a straight edge when you close it?

by the way, I strongly urge you to put a piece of that nylon stuff as a spacer on the back stop. it doesn't necessarily rattle if tensioned right but it removes the paint/powdercoat where they touch. that is one of the few beefs i have with my 4x4 bumper.

 

[desertdude]

The latch needs to arc a bit ( beyond the close position) to get into the tensioned locked postion - have you more room behind the handle for it to close a bit more? I know this is hard to explain...

 

[lx450landcruiser]

ok im still not understanding this, i have tried severl different ways any ideas? heres some pics you tell me whats wrong?

thanks
mike

 

[semlin]

what's freezing the carrier arm in place? if you have a stop at the pivot point maybe there is too much play - you would have to be absolutely perfect there? i think there may need to be a stop right behind the latch so that the latch can maintain tension (arm looks too high for a stop on the bumper so maybe an adjustable bolt on the arm with a rubber end against the truck and a jamb nut?).

 

[FirstToy]

shorten the u-bolt by tightening down the end nuts- exposing more threads on the end of the u bolt.
add 2 nuts so you dont loos adjustment.
this will add tension you need to lock lever in place.

-just read semlin's post. yeah, do you have a stop tab to hold the arm in place ?

 

[lx450landcruiser]

when you say stop do you mean to keep the arm from pulling itself down into the bumper or to keep it from pulling itself back info the tail gate? i dont have one welded on yet but i have placed a steel block under the arm just to see if this was the problem. it seems when i go to clamp in shut the tire carrier arm will bend towards the bumper and until the latch stops (closed position) then then the tire carrier just pulls the latch open again. if a place the block under it to keep this movment from happening i cant get the latch to close as theres too much tension.

thanks guys
mike

 

[desertdude]

Both james and Semlin are correct - without the swing arm stopping and hitting something solid the clamp will not hold to anything - I would like to add - the handle needs to close past the arc a bit) of being straight for it to actually hold

 

[desertdude]

here is a real bad photo of the hanna set up - check out the small piece of angle iron that closes against the upper bumper edge - ( the hasp has swung around in the way - not the way it actually closes)

 

[Bruneti]

Mike - Everyone is giving you good advice. I'll try to add some more info. As Semlin already stated, make sure the stop for the tire carrier arm is set so that both sides of the De-sta-co clamp are even. As FirstToy advised, set the length of the U-bolt so that it requires a little force to lock it. Think of how you set a pair of vice-grip pliers - they require you to set them tight enough to "lock" the jaws. Destaco's work similarly by toggling "over center" against a stop. Getting it over center requires some force, but once it is past center, the load tries to continue moving the mechanism in that same direction, but it is against a stop. The lever arm must be used to move it back the other direction over center to unlock. A Destaco with a lock or latch for the lever handle is just a secondary safety incase something gets snagged on the handle. The secondary latch or lock is not rated to hold the load and should not be used as such.

From the pictures you posted, the lever arm with the red handle has not travelled far enough to lock it. It is not over center. That is why it keeps coming unlocked. In this application, the center point of the mechanism would have the handle approaching straight up in the air. "Over center" for the mechanism should be staight up and down on the red handle. Adjust the U-bolt length until you can achieve getting the red handle straight up and down with some force to toggle it over-center. It should feel kind of like locking a pair of vice grips. It's not that tough once you understand how it's supposed to work. Hope that helps.
-Tim

 

[desertdude]

yeah what he said

 

[semlin]

what everyone just said. the stop is to stop the tire carrier arm from swinging any closer to the truck. since your arm is so high above the bumper you likely can't put a stop on the bumper and still open the tailgate so you have two choices: a brace against the body or a lock pin at the spindle like what slee uses. The best brace against the body would be a rubber ended bolt you could adjust but it will still peel your paint (You could maybe attach a strikeplate piece on the tailgate to receive it). A lock pin at the spindle is fine but it has to be sturdy because it will see lever forces and perfectly placed because any innacuracy in placement will be magnified at the latch.

 

[Rich]

If you are going to keep your current basic swing arm setup you will likely need to add a drop down leg at the end of the swing arm that contacts both the top and and the face of the bumper. It will need to prevent the swing arm from swinging in towards the tailgate and also prevent the arm from flexing down towards the bumper.

 

[lx450landcruiser]

thanks guys i will add the drop down to keep the arm from moving in and also a pin like slees as a safty thing. another question is i can get the latcht o close all the way with some force but it doesnt seem to go far enough. as in the latchs hinge for the hadle seems to limit it from going any further. this is normal? from an engineering stand point it doesnt look like it would ever work but i guess it does?

mike

 

[sleeoffroad]

I think you have the wrong latch. The one you have is a 90 degree pull and you need a 180 degree pull

 

[lx450landcruiser]

I think you have the wrong latch. The one you have is a 90 degree pull and you need a 180 degree pull

Geeezee i didnt even know there were 2 different kinds. wow that really suck seeing as these are pretty expensive. does any one have a pic of the 180 degree latch? or know where to buy one?

go figure i get the whole thing done and then find this out.

mike

 

[Rich]

http://www.destaco.com/products.asp...al Clamps&Category_1=Pull+Action+Latch+Clamps