Astro gets a rear tire carrier....Finally.

[mtnmike]

Hey all, After alot of searching and thread reading I finally bit the bullet and started making a spare tire rack for the back of my 99 Astro. The plan is to overcome, simply I hope, the issue with having the tire in the way of opening the hatch on dutch door Astros. I have decided to have the tire rack swing with the door, with the ability to tip forward so that it's out of the way when the hatch is opened.

This photo shows the upper and lower hinges that I fabed up. These will be tied in with 1 1/4 square tube to two tabs bolted to the other side of the door.

Next is the frame, the hinge mechanism and latch. I'll post up pics as soon as I get down to work on it.

 

[robert]

Very cool!

 

[Snowgeek135]

I am watching closely! I may need that space under there for propane, water, and a propex heater down the road. I think that my reservations are the same as yours and i hope you have some success overcoming them.

Ryan

 

[mtnmike]

Thanks, gona weld up part of the framework tomorrow. After this I'm moving on to a passenger seat swivel also.

Mike

 

[Snowgeek135]

Great.....keep the pics coming.... lots of them!

I am working on the set swivel thing too. I just bought a set of Land Rover disco seats for my van this weekend.... They have a much better bolster set up and a little easier track to work with. I have a swivel from an older conversion van and will be mating that all up soon..... hopefully.

The guys over at astrosafarivans.com would appreciate seeing this tire carrier as it develops if you feel like doing a mirror post over there.

Ryan

 

[r_w]

Cool!!

Don't forget to add step points if you are going to add a roof rack, as no one has a good dutch door ladder solution, either.

 

[mtnmike]

Didn't get to work on the van yesterday hopefully i'll have more progress pics by Thursday. r w your right i'll have to think about that, thanks.

Mike

 

[mtnmike]

Well it has been hard finding time for this project lately but I did manage to fab up some tab assemblies for the tip back feature on the rack. Two of these welded to the lower cross bar of the rack will support the tire and allow it to tip back for access to open the hatch. The plan is to have the mechanism that latches the tire upright to be actuated from the outside of the tire. This way you (mostly my wife) won't have to reach behind the grubby tire to release the tire out of the way.

More to come.

Mike

 

[mtnmike]

A little closer

I managed to get the basic frame tacked on today. I'll weld up solid tomorrow and add the tabs for the heim joints, then a bit of sit and stare to figure out exactly how to attach the tire. I had a few ideas in mind but as usual once I start building I think of different ways to do it, so we'll see. Here's a pic.


Mike

 

[T.Low]

:chowtime:

 

[mtnmike]

Getting it together

Got a few pieces stuck together today.

 

[Snowgeek135]

I am starting to see uour vision! I am now wondering, and I am sure i am not the only one.....how this would work for larger tires. Are you designing this for stock tire size or larger?

Ryan

 

[mtnmike]

Ryan, Sorry I'm kinda lacks on my back story and what kinda setup I have. I'm designing for a 31" tire as that is the largest I can see having, and what I currently have.

Mike

 

[Herbie]

Too funny. I guess great (or at least mediocre, in my case) minds, DO think alike. In my quest to put things on the door, I have paper sketched almost an identical method for putting a hanger on the stock driver's-side hinge. I was thinking bent 1/8" plate, but like your milled hinge extensions better.

I'm having trouble visualizing how the joint lets the tire tip away, but I only care a little - I was going to build a rack that hung from the hinges like yours but was fixed to the door and just use it to mount my jerry cans. (And live with the spare in the stock location, negatives aside).

EDIT: I get it, the rectangular frame stays, the joints are for another section that will pivot down. I'm totally going to rip this off and just make the basic frame and bolt my Jerry-can racks to it.

EDIT2: If you could please comment on what you used for replacement hinge pins (and possibly some critical dimensions of your hanger bits), I'd be much obliged!

FANTASTIC WORK!!!

 

[Snowgeek135]

I was going to build a rack that hung from the hinges like yours but was fixed to the door and just use it to mount my jerry cans.

FANTASTIC WORK!!!

Herbie, i am a little ways away from needing my spare out back but i have been thinking the same for the jerry cans and later be modded for a spare

Mike, i guess you are about to see the highest form of flattery....... i think you are going to see a number of us copying you. :smiley_drive:

Ryan