Rear tire carrier build

[bamachem]

that will probably be OK the way you have it.

i will be pulling mine off when time allows and plating the frame, then cutting out the stock crossmember and building one from 3/16" tubing to brace it side to side. hell, if i get tired of it like everyone else who's had them, then i'll just lop off the carrier, seal up where the hinge used to live and clean things up, etc, and then just get schaefer to build a new crossmember and carry it underneath. i had hoped to put an aux gas tank under there, but now that it's no longer my DD, it's not practical for the amount of work involved. as another option, i could just sell this one and start over on another one.

[Lee]

do people get tired of them because of the vibration/noise or... some other reason???

i can put up with the noise, my truck has gotten nothing but noisier thanks to the skids, rear bumper, mt's, etc

[bamachem]

my rarely vibrates on the highway. it will vibrate a little on hard bumps, but still not bad. however, w/ a 315 hanging out back, the visibility out the rear window is nil.

[Bighead]

[the frame is what gives - not the bumper]

the only way to fix that is to plate the frame and put some reinforcing struts (in an X pattern) where your current spare tire bracket is located.

Lee: What Andy said is correct. I honestly don't remember but I think it was made out of 3/16" also (Cheese or Steve would know for sure). The bumper itself was pretty stout but having all that extra weight in the back while flexing the back end would cause that thing to move around quite a bit. That is what caused the damage to my door. As long as you watch the clearance between the bumper and body you should be okay.

My biggest issue with it was the decrease in visibility (all it took was backing into something to see that ) and how old it got having to unlatch the swing arm every time to get into the back. Like I said before, getting rid of it was one of my best mods.

[Lee]

i see. i think a bigger annoyance for me is not having room in my cargo area. i need it bad. i dont wanna tuck the spare underneath and i had a surco rack and can testify that those are a terrible solution -- bad mpg, more wind noise, more top heavy, less clearance under trees, cant get into garages in the city.... the list goes on and on.

[Good Times]

lee, i've got the 35's back there and man it really cramps the view. but then again it's better than throwing it under or inside as i don't have room on either front. one big diff that i have on mine is that mine is a tailgate setup (not the swing out). though it's more sturdy and doesn't vibrate one bit it is a mother to lower and raise cuz you're basically holding the weight of the tire as you lock the tailgate. as much as i love the design cuz it's rattle free and really doesn't go anywhere it's no fun opening and closing. i'm seriously considering a swing out design but can't figure out how to go about it.

note, over build everything (literally). better safe than sorry so if you need to reinforce and cross reinforce everything, do it. i'm definitely going to reading what you do as i need to figure out an alternative method of carrying my tire too.

[Lee]

yessir i plan to brace everything quite well. i overbuilt my bumper as is, that thing is indestructible, so i wouldnt skimp on something that can actually hurt me or someone else

i really appreciate the been-there knowledge

[Robinhood4x4]

When you guys say vibrate, do you mean noise or that it rubs on your truck? The only noise I notice from mine is the hi lift jack rattling. The carrier is pretty quiet...I think. I'm only using a bolt for a hinge, but it's in quadruple shear so it's pretty strong. The whole think can wiggle a lot if the bolt is loose but it still doesn't make much noise.

There's no way to stop the frame from twisting. You can reduce it, but not stop it. Everything is a spring. A 2" diameter bolt is a spring, your frame is a spring, your bones are springs. The solution is to build in lots of clearance between the bumper and the body. I've got about an inch between my bumper and the body and I've never even come close to hitting. An inch is too much though.

Also remember there's such a thing as too much steel. I know, I know. But more steel makes things heavy, putting more stress on things.

[Lee]

i am going to use a bolt as a pin for a backup to the hinge... so i think it'll hang on tight

i feel safe and confident in the bracing i already have for my bumper so chances are, it'll be plenty strong. i have a good inch or so of clearance as well

[Bighead]

Steve, my vibration was a bit of both. I could hear it rattling a bit on a smooth surface if my rear window was down, but not if it was up. Any kind of rough surface would cause my bumper to hit my body causing a distinctive sound. The problem with mine was it was built to tight to the body so every time the frame flexed a bit it did not have the clearance to stay away from the body. It seemed like the extra weight of the tire hanging off the back aggravated the issue. The weird thing was Darren never had that problem. Since they (Rockware) used Darren's truck as the template it appeared there were some differences between an 01 and 02 frame.

I won't whine about my old bumper anymore...just make sure you have plenty of clearance between the body and bumper.