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So I built a spare tire carrier.....


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#1 ntsqd

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 05:26 PM

When I spotted that the OE spare tire carrier winch's cable on our '96 CTD was starting to fray I knew that I needed to do something different and soon as we were heading to Toroweep in less than 2 months. The 315/75R16 spare didn't fit well under the truck and while conveniently out of the way I've never cared for having the spare where it potentially could be inaccessible.

 

The first consideration is that a spare of this size is not light. It quite possibly weighs more than my wife, so how was she going to be able to handle it if I were incapacitated and she had to change a flat? I didn't particularly relish the idea of lifting it myself, so a self-lifting design of some sort was indicated.

 

The next consideration was that while most rock-crawler types tend to use a pivot assembly based on a small trailer spindle, those do tend to fail from fatigue due to being a cantilevered, "single shear" type of design. I wanted double shear on all hinge pins. The second problem with the trailer spindle concept is that they swing too easily, not uncommon for the wind to blow them fully open or fully shut when unlatched, or for gravity to insist on swinging it to were it's most in the way. Easy to open and close, but not too easy and with a latch of some sort at the fully open position were goals. I elected to use flanged oilite-bronze bushings from McMaster-Carr on 1-1/8" OD tube or bar stock. (It turns out that round tube stock isn't all that round and was a headache to make work right, so I won't be doing exactly that again.)

 

Next was the latch's details. I have seen a lot of swing-a-way designs where it was clear to me that the designer was either clueless about how to best employ a latch or they missed a perfect opportunity to add additional support to the swinging assembly. I wanted the latch to not only hold the swinger closed, but also to add some additional support to the swinger so that the hinge assembly wasn't carrying all of the eccentric load.

 

And last was what to mount it to. With a sheet metal bed and an OE rear bumper I knew that it needed to be on one or the other, but not both. Sheet metal always makes me nervous. It can take fantastic loads, but those need to be applied and distributed correctly or it will fail. In looking over the bed I realized that my best bet was to use the stock tailgate mounting locations as they would be the best suited to distributing localized loads. I wasn't and still am not convinced that they're up to this sort of loading, but I feel that there aren't any better options short of building a flatbed for the truck and including the necessary mounts for the swing-away (a distinct future possibility).

 

What I came up with: (not quite finished in these pics)

 

i-hLr73Mv-M.jpg

 

I used a Harbor Fright strap type boat tongue winch for lifting and lowering duties. This was a find as I had not been happy with any of the concepts that I'd come up with. They were all too complex and lacking in enough leverage. Even after having to cut down the length of the handle slightly my wife can easily crank the assembly up into place. the ratchet strap that holds the spare in place is long enough that it can be unwound and laid on the ground under the spare. Flipping it into place allows the user to ratchet the spare up off the ground and into the carrier.

i-zG3sJzP-M.jpg

 

Detail view of the latch. Those are black Delrin scuff/wear plates screwed to the latch jaw. The De-Sta-Co latch is angled to draw the jaw forward and down onto the corner of the main tube.

i-bwRGdT6-M.jpg

 

Detail view of the latch in the closed position. There has since been a load distributing plate added that spans across the open ended tube and caps it off.

i-SZL5DMD-M.jpg

 

Detail view of how the main mount tube assembly attaches to the latch post for the tailgate. I considered removing the post and just picking up the captured nut, but decided that I'd want the post there if I ever need to use the tailgate again. The rusty parts are a pair of weldable two piece shaft collars form McMaster-Carr. The bolt heads visible on the far side of the 2" tube are thru-bolted into the circular features (gray) above and below the shaft collars. That are also two blind threaded bolts not seen on the forward side of the 2" tube.

i-VW9qBV5-M.jpg


Edited by ntsqd, 16 November 2013 - 05:30 PM.

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Thom

Where does that road go?

#2 craig333

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 06:02 PM

I like. Aside from labor how much did you spend on it?


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#3 Simpleman (shanz3n5)

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 07:40 PM

excellent clean and functional work


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#4 Smokecreek1

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 07:53 PM

Nice!

 

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#5 Beach

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 09:47 PM

Nice job. If that winch does not have a brake when lowering, be careful to not let the handle slip from your grip. With a heavy load if it comes around and hits your hand it can/will break bones. Had an incident with a boat trailer last summer, my buddy got 8 stiches and a finger cast.
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#6 Simpleman (shanz3n5)

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 10:14 PM

is it crank up and crank down?   i do agree. stupid i know....pride or what ever, but i have damaged a few bones and brain cells fro idiot moves haha.

 

BUT as much thought was put into this project im sure ntsqd has considered. right? haha


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#7 pvstoy

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 11:35 PM

Well done!  It is all ways great to see something different and functional.  You really looked at the big picture and engineered well !!


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#8 RJones

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Posted 17 November 2013 - 12:26 AM

Very nice!  Outside the box idea design.


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#9 ntsqd

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Posted 17 November 2013 - 01:36 AM

Thanks for the kudos! I figured that it was enough different that perhaps it would inspire others to think outside of the norm and build something that truly does what they need it to do instead of accepting the compromise of what everyone else builds or sells.

And before anyone asks, I'm pretty sure that you can't afford to have me build another one like it. Way, way too much labor involved.

 

I don't really know how much I've got in it. I don't keep track of that stuff when I'm working for myself. I'd guess maybe $200, but I don't really know.

 

The winch doesn't have a brake. It does have the ratchet stop and if you don't latch it open you have to hold the lever to keep it from locking. The first revolution going down is the most difficult, but the gear reduction is enough that its pretty controllable.

 

It does have one small problem, but before I'd even given it much thought a friend suggested a solution that I know will work. Since it's all got to come apart for paint anyway I'll build a slight alteration of his suggestion to keep the spare from rocking. See the ratchet strap anchor and the tire contact points are too close together. That allows the spare to rock back and forth. The solution suggested was a pair of ears on the intermediate frame that would limit the rocking range of motion. I'm going to have one ear (I'm concerned that the outer ear would catch things/clothes passing by) and add a bar for the tire to be pushed against while in the up position. I'll make the bar's position adjustable so that it compresses the tread a bit when in the closed position.


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Thom

Where does that road go?

#10 takesiteasy

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Posted 17 November 2013 - 04:07 AM

Interesting idea well executed! Thanks for posting your work.


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