Spare tire carrier design - tube (feedback requested)

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Riad said:
This is my initial design (idea). Design 'A' is going to be a pain, 'B' seems much easier. 'A' is swing out, 'B' is swing down.
bumperDesign.JPG
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I had a friend that built B as a custom. He ran both 35's and 37's. He didn't like it with the 35" spare and hated it with the 37" spare. Once it swings down you have this huge tyre and arm that are now in the way of your tailgate. He was young and strong and it was too heavy for him. It also was unstable due to the weight and limited bracing though he added more bracing to help.

I have posted pics in the archives so SEARCH if you're interested.

-B-
 
My $.02

Once upon a time I had a customer that manufactured bicycle racks. These racks pivoted down on a hinge in the plan "b" scenario. They worked well.

Mind you, bikes weigh less than big tires.

The problem is the weight. First, putting a large mass away from the securing point increases leverage and makes the securing point need to be that much beefier. Second, it will be a PITA to lift back up.

Thinking on these limits, you could potentially mount closer to the bumper, but it would stick out like crazy.

I thing the lift issue could be resolved with a big helper spring. I haven't figured out the details but a multi-point joint like a mountain bike suspension might also help to reduce the effort to lift the load.

Good luck!

Bump.
 
Beowulf said:
I have posted pics in the archives so SEARCH if you're interested.

-B-
Click to expand...


Well I found a thread where someone posted an EBay link to your friends 80 and you comment on it, but no pics in sight..



TY
 
TY,
You are correct sir, I didn't load that pic to the web site. I will look for it at home and post if I can find it. I was taking pics of his 37's and his custom lift. This was about a year before anyone else was running 37's and Slee didn't sell the 6" lift at that time. The spare tyre carrier was in one of them though that was by accident.

-B-
 
Ty
i have thought of similar. How about a couple pieces of 1/2 x 2" flat bar bolted to the bottom of both the frame rails by those 2 rearmost 12mm hitch assembly bolt holes. Both flat bar pieces would only need to be 6-8" long. Weld a beefy hinge to those flat bars that are bolted to the frame. weld the other end of the hinge to your tubing that goes up and over to the other hinge. this tubing piece has the tire and will fold to the ground on the hinges when you need to open the tailgate-and you could open the tailgate if needed. The latch--To keep the carrier in the upright position simply have a small tab welded to the tubing such that this tab sits flush against one of the 2 threaded holes in the back of the bumper when the bumper is upright. (remember the 4 holes that are in back of bumper that are supposed to be used for a pintle hitch) Now drill a hole in the tab so that you could put a big 12mm wingnutted bolt through the tab into one of those threaded pintleholes to hold the carrier firm against bumper when driving. You could even place a bolt that is treaded on both sides into the hole and use a wingnutted nut instead of a bolt to hold the tab down-I've seen lots of heep tire carriers that use just such a latch-secure and fairly fast. The hinge to use is available at most steel yards. they are beefy and made for large steel fences. they have a zerk fitting and are $10 each.
 
T Y, i had a similar idea, except i want to mount it to the 4 mounting holes in the stock bumper (i like to keep my receiver off because it scrapes on stuff when i wheel). BUt, where it bends up some how incorporate a hinge and a pin, so it can swing down to access the rear hatch. Maybe you could even put a strut there to aid in the weight while lowering it.

Just thoughts.
 
I wondered if this might take me full circle .. and it seems it might. Some good input, and discussions so far .. but my problem is that I am unwilling to sacrifice things like integrity, robustness, form, function etc . To really do this right it would likely take as much engineering as a rear bumper. It it possible, but how far would we be willing to go to get to that point and when we look back would we wonder why we didn't just begin with something already engineered for the job?


A commercial rear bumper. Begin here, and then pour a few bucks into having it customized to your liking. For instance, I don't need a ladder because I have no roofrack so I could ask for a full width swingout tire carrier that sits a little higher than normal, and angles in towards the 80 slightly.


This improves rear integrity, armors the 80, satisfies departure angle and spare carrying as I intitially envisioned.


I think if my 80 was a junker, this would be a no brainer of a project .. just take some steel and start bending and welding, spray paint it, and bolt it on. But my 80 isn't a junker .. and by the time I tried to do this correctly including the engineering, building, powder coating etc etc I would be approaching the cost of a near rear commercial bumper. So while this project 'may' be right for someone out there .. I realize now that I've slept on it a while that it is most likely not for me.


As you were .. :beer: :beer:


TY
 
Speaking about tire carriers with the stock rear bumper, who's got the rig that has a "wing" welded onto the side of the frame INSIDE the bumper, allowing him to mount a spindle and swing out carrier using the stock bumper? Makes it look like the cheesy plastic end cap is holding the whole tire and carrier. This setup looked pretty clean, simple, stealth, and durable.

Hayes
 
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