While assembling the Expedition One tire carrier mount, I noticed the retaining nut and washer did not contact the top bearing assembly. That issue has been on the back burner for a while now, and today I decided to re-visit the problem.
I'd already re-tightened the carrier twice, and during today's inspection, I found the top bearing assembly had gotten squished a bit because of the strain. You can see how off-center the mount is on this picture:
If I flip that top bearing assembly around, the washer rests against the bearing assembly, but leaves a gap between the outer race and the carrier, so the carrier flops around. This way the carrier doesn't flop around, but that washer doesn't do anything, and the bearing assemblies are only contacting the lower half of the carrier's sleeve, so it's not the strongest design. According to the instructions, that top bearing assembly is also supposed to go on AFTER the carrier is installed, but I've found the carrier goes on just fine with both bearing assemblies already installed. This also means there's nothing holding the tire carrier on except it's own weight (and a weak connection to the door)!
All of this has me wondering if that top bearing assembly isn't the wrong size... I've sent Expedition One an e-mail, so we'll see what they say. The worse case scenario I see is that I'll have to get some custom bushings made to replace those bearing assemblies.
This investigation is also in preparation for mounting AT's jerry can holder on the carrier between the tire and pivot point. So I have to address this issue before adding all that weight.
js.
