ImNoSaint's Element:Vanadium Build
- Thread starter Imnosaint
- Start date
Imnosaint
Gone Microcamping
Spare Tire Swing Arm: A Cautionary Tale (Tail?)
This is more a cautionary tale than a DIY how-to since there were a number of issues to solve in this modification, this being the second swing arm I’ve used in an overland build.
Driving this was one the need to find a new home for the spare since the compartment under the rear deck was rendered partially inaccessible with the bed insert.
There’s a popular movement in overlanding to ditch the spare and carry repair kits, but I’m old-school having had to rely on a spare with a ripped and unrepairable sidewall on the WRōV.
This mod began with sourcing a hitch receiver. I went with a Draw-Tite class 3 two-inch receiver. The swing arm was sourced through Amazon, the Wing 4X4 hitch mount spare trie carrier, clearly a knock-off of Wilco’s product at half-the price. I was unsatisfied with the Wilco product, especially since this one already had the modification I had to make to Wilco’s swing arm on the WRōV.
Plus, this off-brand appeared to have a more stout sealed bearing chase at the pivot versus the Delrin washers I replaced thrice on the Hitchgate Solo.
Next, I sourced a drop-down table, another knock-off, $100 less than the FrontRunner product, and a mounting plate ($172.76!) from Wilco Offroad – alas, no knock-off available.
A word about knock-offs… honestly, the over in overland has come to mean overcharging. I’ve reached the end of paying premiums for products whose price points are fixed to the demands of wealthier hobbyists, leaving builders like us to compromise over promises of built in the USA, or superior manufacturing, yadda-yadda-yadda. Any visit to an Overland Expo will show a plethora of entrepreneurs bent on capitalizing on the newest next-big-gadget with outrageous margins, catering to the ExPed crowds in their six figure rigs, creating a bougie market instead of an accessible one to the rest of us. End rant.
With all the items sourced, the fun began. The Draw-Tite receiver installed to the frame in minutes with excellent instructions. The swing arm, not so much. The first test fit showed there needed to be more clearance for the receiver-end of the swing arm assembly to properly seat into the hitch. I cut away the bumper cap and the hard plastic modular reinforcement of the bumper behind it, but the mount still came up short by half an inch, not enough to feed the receiver pin through. The image below looks as if it could slide in another half-inch, but this is where it terminates.
At this point, I’d have to either ditch the knock-off swing arm or live with it’s compression mount along with its supplied hitch-tightening hardware. Since I will never be towing with the Vanadium, I decided to live with it, though I’d caution anyone against it. A thousand miles in and no issues. I’ve been careful to tighten the compression mount and the hitch-tightening hardware.
I mounted the accessory plate next. It’s made to straddle the round tube to which the spare is mounted. I had to ditch the hardware it came with and picked up shorter stainless 5/16ths hardware to make it fit snug and secure. When I mounted the drop-down table to the plate it was evident that spacers would be required to have the table’s mount clear the tire mount tube.
Lastly I sourced a stock steel rim and wrapped it in a matching 245/70-16, Falken Wildpeak H/T02.
Everything works well. The swingarm is easy to deploy and stow. The wooden extension tray was not weather treated, so I added four coats of a marine polyurethane that sealed it up.
A careful look at the images in this post will show much of the hardware already presenting surface rust. Once I’m off the road and into space where I can wrench, I’ll replace everything with stainless steel.
This is more a cautionary tale than a DIY how-to since there were a number of issues to solve in this modification, this being the second swing arm I’ve used in an overland build.
Driving this was one the need to find a new home for the spare since the compartment under the rear deck was rendered partially inaccessible with the bed insert.
There’s a popular movement in overlanding to ditch the spare and carry repair kits, but I’m old-school having had to rely on a spare with a ripped and unrepairable sidewall on the WRōV.
This mod began with sourcing a hitch receiver. I went with a Draw-Tite class 3 two-inch receiver. The swing arm was sourced through Amazon, the Wing 4X4 hitch mount spare trie carrier, clearly a knock-off of Wilco’s product at half-the price. I was unsatisfied with the Wilco product, especially since this one already had the modification I had to make to Wilco’s swing arm on the WRōV.
Plus, this off-brand appeared to have a more stout sealed bearing chase at the pivot versus the Delrin washers I replaced thrice on the Hitchgate Solo.
Next, I sourced a drop-down table, another knock-off, $100 less than the FrontRunner product, and a mounting plate ($172.76!) from Wilco Offroad – alas, no knock-off available.
A word about knock-offs… honestly, the over in overland has come to mean overcharging. I’ve reached the end of paying premiums for products whose price points are fixed to the demands of wealthier hobbyists, leaving builders like us to compromise over promises of built in the USA, or superior manufacturing, yadda-yadda-yadda. Any visit to an Overland Expo will show a plethora of entrepreneurs bent on capitalizing on the newest next-big-gadget with outrageous margins, catering to the ExPed crowds in their six figure rigs, creating a bougie market instead of an accessible one to the rest of us. End rant.
With all the items sourced, the fun began. The Draw-Tite receiver installed to the frame in minutes with excellent instructions. The swing arm, not so much. The first test fit showed there needed to be more clearance for the receiver-end of the swing arm assembly to properly seat into the hitch. I cut away the bumper cap and the hard plastic modular reinforcement of the bumper behind it, but the mount still came up short by half an inch, not enough to feed the receiver pin through. The image below looks as if it could slide in another half-inch, but this is where it terminates.
At this point, I’d have to either ditch the knock-off swing arm or live with it’s compression mount along with its supplied hitch-tightening hardware. Since I will never be towing with the Vanadium, I decided to live with it, though I’d caution anyone against it. A thousand miles in and no issues. I’ve been careful to tighten the compression mount and the hitch-tightening hardware.
I mounted the accessory plate next. It’s made to straddle the round tube to which the spare is mounted. I had to ditch the hardware it came with and picked up shorter stainless 5/16ths hardware to make it fit snug and secure. When I mounted the drop-down table to the plate it was evident that spacers would be required to have the table’s mount clear the tire mount tube.
Lastly I sourced a stock steel rim and wrapped it in a matching 245/70-16, Falken Wildpeak H/T02.
Everything works well. The swingarm is easy to deploy and stow. The wooden extension tray was not weather treated, so I added four coats of a marine polyurethane that sealed it up.
A careful look at the images in this post will show much of the hardware already presenting surface rust. Once I’m off the road and into space where I can wrench, I’ll replace everything with stainless steel.
Imnosaint
Gone Microcamping
Interior Tech
Three electronic items have been added to the Vanadium’s interior to give me more data, make navigation and entertainment easier to see and access and to provide a bit of a safety net with an inclinometer, an upgraded head unit, and a satellite messenger.
The first is a multi purpose clinometer that includes a GSP HUD speedometer with lat/long global positioning, an attitude gauge and level gauge, a compass, an altimeter, a clock and vehicle voltage indication. It has adjustable alarms for roll and pitch angles factory preset at 30°, along with overspeed and 4H fatigue driving. The HD LCD display has a light sensor for automatic brightness adjustment.
With the oversize tires, the GPS speed indicator has been a life saver and is easier for me to read than the Vanadium’s stock speedometer, and the rest of the instruments are very useful in leveling and determining precise locations. It’s wired it to a 12V switched accessory circuit and has functioned brilliantly.
The Vanadium’s stereo head unit has been upgraded to a Jensen CAR710-4 seven-inch display with Apple’s CarPlay. Navigation is much easier and more accessible, transferring display, apps, and control from my iPhone to the center-mounted display, reducing eye travel from the road to the screen. It pairs seamlessly with Crutchfield’s installation kit, taking less than half an hour on install.
Throughout my overland and adventure bike travels I’ve never left home without being able to connect back to it with certainty and through those years I’ve fund the Garmin InReach Messenger to be the most user-friendly and dependable satellite messenger on the market.
It pairs seamlessly with Garmin’s app on my iPhone turning it into a keyboard interface with two-way transmission. It operates on the Iridium satellite network which, through my experience and testing had proven to be the quickest, easiest to access and most reliable service. The device has an SOS mode and my subscription includes medical transport if ever needed.
The device is connected to the accessory 12V socket from the Vanadium’s dash tray.
Three electronic items have been added to the Vanadium’s interior to give me more data, make navigation and entertainment easier to see and access and to provide a bit of a safety net with an inclinometer, an upgraded head unit, and a satellite messenger.
The first is a multi purpose clinometer that includes a GSP HUD speedometer with lat/long global positioning, an attitude gauge and level gauge, a compass, an altimeter, a clock and vehicle voltage indication. It has adjustable alarms for roll and pitch angles factory preset at 30°, along with overspeed and 4H fatigue driving. The HD LCD display has a light sensor for automatic brightness adjustment.
With the oversize tires, the GPS speed indicator has been a life saver and is easier for me to read than the Vanadium’s stock speedometer, and the rest of the instruments are very useful in leveling and determining precise locations. It’s wired it to a 12V switched accessory circuit and has functioned brilliantly.
The Vanadium’s stereo head unit has been upgraded to a Jensen CAR710-4 seven-inch display with Apple’s CarPlay. Navigation is much easier and more accessible, transferring display, apps, and control from my iPhone to the center-mounted display, reducing eye travel from the road to the screen. It pairs seamlessly with Crutchfield’s installation kit, taking less than half an hour on install.
Throughout my overland and adventure bike travels I’ve never left home without being able to connect back to it with certainty and through those years I’ve fund the Garmin InReach Messenger to be the most user-friendly and dependable satellite messenger on the market.
It pairs seamlessly with Garmin’s app on my iPhone turning it into a keyboard interface with two-way transmission. It operates on the Iridium satellite network which, through my experience and testing had proven to be the quickest, easiest to access and most reliable service. The device has an SOS mode and my subscription includes medical transport if ever needed.
The device is connected to the accessory 12V socket from the Vanadium’s dash tray.