Thoughts on long single swing out (2 Viewers)

[half k cruiser]

I'm planning my swing out build for the upcoming travel season. I'm ready to get the spare tire and hopefully the cooler out of the interior in order to free up more room for the family. I currently have the 4x4 labs main shell, welded and coated in Al's liner. The Al's liner is going to be a b$% to get off to prep for welding, and It makes me wish somebody local wanted a non swing out bumper. I would just start over with a brand new kit. What I would like to do is

1) Mount one 315 tire
2) Hi lift jack
3) Have a ladder for future roof rack
4) Be able to hang a cooler basket from the ladder

I have only seen two 4x4 labs on here with a long single swing out. One belonged to @jcardona1 and the other I can't remember. I believe @Bossman has one but not a 4x4 labs. What I would like to know is pros and cons of the setup and for those that have actually ran them what are your thoughts. If you could do it again would you keep a single swing or go with doubles.

Edit: It looks like @scrowley also did a single swing out but I don't think the picture I have is current. Just has the tire carrier and a hi lift.

 

[IanB]

I have only the OEM spare tire carrier on my 80, but we also have a GX470 with the swing open rear door. A big single swingout will mean you need a lot of room to open the rear when parked in a garage, parallel parked on the street with cars parked behind you, it's going to stick WAY out into the lane in parking lots, etc. These are already big vehicles, and you'll need a lot of room to load/unload stuff.

The rear door is one of my biggest pet peeves on the GX470 actually, for some stupid reason it swings open to the passenger side, so when parallel parked you also need to leave enough room to get around it to the sidewalk if you're loading/unloading stuff while parked on the street. For that reason, if you decide to stick with the big single, I'd tell you to have it swing open to the driver's side of the truck.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Traveling with any swing out is a PIA. Throw in a long swing now you have a super PIA every time you stop

 

[jfz80]

I still vote one PITA vs two

In in the same position as you now; planning a swing out build

I'd prefer a sing for sure and I would recommend rectangle box vs square. There are several members with single swings but many may be what Luke offers. Scrowley has a single swing out thread in here as well you might see more examples in

Have enjoyed the bare look and functionality but have a fridge now, want to sleep in the truck, and need gas and a spare 35.

I never had issues with my iron pig bumper but did not have a ladder. I have to say I laugh at most ladder setups. Where you boys climbing to? I have no issues accessing roof rack from armor and most rtt can't be accessed by rear ladder.

Pandathrust has my favorite as a 3/4 length swing out like my IPOR. You could add another foot or so for the ladder with a similar build.

 

[rockstate45]

I have the single swing out on my Labs bumper. When I bought it, I was thinking it was going to ship with one stubby arm that latched in the middle. Since I've had it for the last 6-7 months, I haven't found it to be the worst thing in the world. While the longer arm is a little more daunting in the flow of traffic (I'm waiting for someone to hit it), if I need entry into the back, chances are, I'd have to move the vehicle forward anyway. For example, parking spot where there's a car behind me.

One thing that I haven't run into, but have read about on here, is if you're stuck, wedged up against a tree, or back end is pointed downward, then you'll probably wish you had more room. In all honesty, you're probably gonna be wishing you had more room even if you had two swings.

Also, mine holds only a tire and occasionally a hi lift. The hi lift nestles up behind the tire. I'd probably be hesitant of adding a cooler/water/gas cans to the the other side. I think that's probably a lot of weight on the spindle (backed up with no scientific evidence). If I were doing that, I'd probably do two short swings.

When you're in town next and we arrange pickup of those shocks, you can tinker around with mine.

 

[jcardona1]

Let's face it, swingout bumpers are a pain in the ass. They look cool if you're an expoboy but in the real world you'll do whatever it takes to avoid opening the rear hatch. That's why I went with a single swingout when I built my Labs bumper. Coming from a dual swingout Huston Fab bumper, I found the single swingout less of a hassle each time I needed to get in the back. The downside is you need to be mindful of the space needed behind you to open it. Now I'm rolling bumper-less and it sure is nice to be able to open and close the hatch without a swingout in the way.

 

[half k cruiser]

@jcardona1 did you run 2x3 square tube for your main arm ? What wall thickness ? Also what OD tube did you run for your ladder and your tire carrier ? What tubing bender and notcher are you running ?

 

[LFD2037]

He used 2x3 3/16". I created a thread similar to this a few months ago. I'm just now getting around to doing my single swingout. I'll have the spindle on driver side, spare tire driver side and ladder passenger side. I'm short so I actually do need a ladder to get to half my s*** on my roof rack. I went with 2x2" 3/16" sq. tubing thinking as long as the spare is on the same side as spindle, and I use a Delrin type spacer on the opposite end, there should be no issues. Btw, I never park in garages, parallel park and park on a street maybe 2 times a year.

 

[greentruck]

SNIP
The rear door is one of my biggest pet peeves on the GX470 actually, for some stupid reason it swings open to the passenger side, so when parallel parked you also need to leave enough room to get around it to the sidewalk if you're loading/unloading stuff while parked on the street. For that reason, if you decide to stick with the big single, I'd tell you to have it swing open to the driver's side of the truck.

Consider that where these trucks are made, the DS and PS are the opposite. Toyota does pretty good with dealing with changes needed to adapt to left hand steering, but that was apparently one bridge they didn't quite cross with the 470.

I had a single swingout on my FJ55. Liked the centered spare, as that gives you sight lines on both sides through the rear glass. I'm sure that can be done with dual swingouts (offset them to 2/3-1/3, etc), but more tricky.

If you had ambulance doors (and most of us in North America sure don't), then dual swing outs make more sense to me. Otherwise, if you need one, a single seems more appealing.

 

[half k cruiser]

@LFD2037 you mind posting up some pics of what your working on ? Maybe we can swap ideas. I could easily reach a roof rack without a ladder, however it would be even more convenient to send one of the kids or the wife up there. Also, though I really like the look of the 4x4 labs ladder, the fact that it tapers so much at the top makes it seem less functional to me. I had thought about adding some sort of tread plate welded to the round rungs to give it more depth to step on. Or, maybe just by a tube bender and notcher and fab one up !

 

[KSCruiser]

I run with a single long swing out and yes in daily use it can be cumbersome. I do still like the fact that I only open one latch and there is room to configure any attachments as needed along the length. I used a Slee spindle kit and with that setup there is almost zero flex in the arm. (only holding a 285/16 currently) I decided to put the hinge on passenger side to avoid being out in traffic if removing spare on side of the highway.

 

[half k cruiser]

@KSCruiser do you have any close up pics of the latching mechanism / end support on your bumper ? Also, where was that pic taken ?

 

[jcardona1]

@jcardona1 did you run 2x3 square tube for your main arm ? What wall thickness ? Also what OD tube did you run for your ladder and your tire carrier ? What tubing bender and notcher are you running ?

Like LFD said, I used 2x3 3/16" tube for the swingout. The ladder is the one that came from the kit, can't remember the specs on that. My tire carrier was made out of Sch 40 steel pipe, so about 1.9" OD and 0.15" wall thickness. I'm using a JD2 Model 3 bender. My notcher is called a grinder with paper templates

 

[LFD2037]

@LFD2037 you mind posting up some pics of what your working on ? Maybe we can swap ideas. I could easily reach a roof rack without a ladder, however it would be even more convenient to send one of the kids or the wife up there. Also, though I really like the look of the 4x4 labs ladder, the fact that it tapers so much at the top makes it seem less functional to me. I had thought about adding some sort of tread plate welded to the round rungs to give it more depth to step on. Or, maybe just by a tube bender and notcher and fab one up !

I'll post some pics. I don't care for the Labs ladder. The way it's welded in the middle looks cheap to me. I'm going to have to find a local shop to bend some 1 1/2 or 1 3/4" tubing for me. I'm doing a 'hoop' for the spare so I need that bent too, unless I can convince myself the 'hoop' won't ever been seen due to spare blocking the view of it. In that case I'll just 90* the 'hoop' and make it a 'box'. I'll see if I can find a pic of how I want the ladder done as its a bit different, but how they all should be in my opinion.
Here's a pic of how I want my ladder.

 

[KSCruiser]

I need to dig up pictures ,it is a one off latch and the support for the arm is two pieces of angle near the middle of the arm with nylon pads.
I will try to post pics ,here are a couple design sketches

 

[inkpot]

I have an early Slee ? Single swing. The bottom latch bar is about 3/4 as wide as the bumper. In nearly 6 years 80,000 miles, of driving it, I have never been seriously trapped from opening it. There have been a few occasions when I did need to pull forward to make room to swing it open, but really not a big issue . Park like you know it's back there, remind the Newby behind you to leave room , etc . Not that hard to deal/ live with a swing out. I would rather not have that cargo inside the rig. It's all just a personal choice. John

 

[half k cruiser]

@LFD2037 that ladder looks super functional. What do you think about this, you see how the one in your pic is curved at the top to follow the contour of the hatch ? If you bent it out a little at the bottom, then ran it straight, then bent it at the top like that you would have a little extra gap between the ladder and the liftgate / hatch area. Then you could slide a rotopax in there for spare fuel. Once again, the step would need some sort of flat tread pate in order to give you purchase as you wouldn't be able to get your feet on the rungs very well once the gas can was hung.

 

[KSCruiser]

Pic was taken on the Arch canyon/ Hotel rock trail In Moab Back during Cruise Moab '07

 

[half k cruiser]

Does anybody know what OD and wall thickness tubing guys are running on there ladders ? I really like this ladder design, I believe from Slee.

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

Luke makes his double swing outs of uneven length. I actually had mine made of equal length which allows me to just barely open both swingouts without hitting my trailer.