rear tire carrier in stock position

[bruzer1123]

Okay,

Gotta love the New England trucks. Went out to my truck (1993) several months ago and noticed a flat on one of the tires. So, took the tire off and then tried to get the spare down. No luck & I sheared off a portion of the nut holding the spare tire in place. Put the flat tire back on, backed up to an electrical outlet and cut my spare tire down. The chain release thing is all rusty and crap.

So, my plan is to remove the chain spare tire holder and fab something up. My thought was to take a big bolt (3/4") and tack weld 1/8" stock to the end. I would drill a hole through my rear cross-member and then tack the flat stock to the cross-member. Shove the spare into place and have a 8" diameter plate (1/4") as a giant washer and then a nut with welded pipe to use as a handle. Does anyone have thoughts on this? Do you think the stock thickness is enough? To much? I realize it will be hard to put the tire up there, but I have used a similar fix on an older truck. My plan would also be to put a second nut on or a trailer hitch pin to use as a safety. Also likely to have a small cable to keep the tire in place in case the giant bolt fails.

Pretty much just a fix for now until I can fab up a bumber (again) that can accommodate a swinging spare tire. So input would be appreciated.

 

[corax]

why not find a junkyard tire hoist, soak it with PB Blaster to loosen it up and use motorcycle chain lube (moly -> grey stuff) to protect it long term?

I drop my spare tire at least twice a year to make sure it's not dry rotting or flat (usually while I'm doing/modding something else) and make it a habit to shoot the chain hoist everytime with some penetrating lube.

 

[bruzer1123]

I guess I could do that, but I would rather do my idea instead. I don't seem to have the time to get to a decent junkyard (couple hours away in Boise) but I have the time to source small pieces of flatstock. I suppose if I counted up all the hours it will take to fab one it might work out the same. Anyway, do you see any flaws with my plan as far as strength goes?

 

[corax]

should hold no problem - just don't forget to safety cable it like you already mentioned

 

[Rando]

While I think this would technically work, there is no way I would do it. Imagine sitting beside the road on a rainy night trying to hold the tire and wheel up while you get the nut/plate to screw on. The stock tire winch things works pretty well, and I am sure it wouldn't be more than $100 at a scrap yard.

Edit if you don't want to drive: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370087021359

 

[bruzer1123]

Thanks for the comments. I can see what you mean about the hassle it would be to do, but I think I can do it. I had a (wooden) flatbed toyota that had a similar system and it wasn't too painful...of course that could change if I dropped a tire on my face! :Wow1: I think I can make one for less than $100. My ultimate plan would be to do a swing-away rear carrier. The thought of getting wet in the rain doesn't really bother me too much. I work in the field for my job and am used to getting wet & dirty...

Thanks for the opinions though.

 

[bruzer1123]

ok...changing speeds...maybe

In thinking more about it, I would just prefer to create a rear tire carrier. I was looking through a couple threads on here about carriers and was curious what folks think of the following.

I have a rear bumper 2" x 4" tube (3/16" thick I believe). I was thinking that I could cut a hole down through the bumper and then weld a piece of solid round stock up out of the hole and extending up about 4". Then get some tubing that was appropriately sized and slide the tubing over the solid stock. Weld up a top/truss to keep the round stock from getting tweaked and weld the carrier arm to the tubing. Would this work ok? I guess it is sort of a modification of what SafariPacific did (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15891&page=21).

Thanks for any input.