Bed mounted tire carrier

[riderdan]

I finally decided what to do about carrying a spare.



This is my (easily removable) spare tire setup. It's bolted to the bed but comes out easily. It's right up against the side of the bed so it doesn't impede the view through the rear window. It's upright so most of the bed area is still available. It's welded out of 2" 1/4" wall square tube, so it's plenty sturdy.

I decided against the bumper-mounted spare for a couple of reasons. One is because here in my small town I have to do a lot of backing out of parking spaces and the spare on the rear blocks a significant portion of the view. Also, I have the delineators to put on the tailgate, which the spare would cover. The cost was also a not-insignificant factor.

The main downside to this setup: it's still a full-size 37" runflat, so it is a bear to get into the bed by myself.

 

[Action]

carry an 8' 2x6 in the bed to roll the tire up.

 

[JoeJrTheBarber]

Looks good !
Also 2nd the 2x6 or "ramp".
Will save your back the first time ya use it..

 

[911joeblow]

Nice! That is the way I like to do it too. I like having easy access to the rear gate.

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Top doesn't look like it will fit over though.

 

[riderdan]

Top doesn't look like it will fit over though.

It definitely wouldn't--at least not without touching. The tire is about 4" off the bed and a few inches above the four-man top. It's possible I could get the short/wagon cover over it... but the tire would make a bulge in the top. Since I plan on sticking with the four-man, it's not an issue for me. But that's a good point.

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Can you show some more defined pics of the attachment? Thanks Sir.

 

[riderdan]

Can you show some more defined pics of the attachment? Thanks Sir.

Here you go...



The frame runs from just inside the tailgate to just behind the four-man top tie-downs and from as tight against the driver's side as it would fit to about a foot from the passenger side of the bed. I was trying to maximize to footprint of the mount to reduce the leverage that that 120+ pound tire has at the end of the upright.

The rear crosspiece could be mounted in the existing holes in the bed, but on my truck the aluminum around the hole on the driver's side is pretty torn up. Another aluminum fix I may try to attempt in sheet metal class in the spring of next year.

I thought about making it fully as wide as the bed, but decided to make all three sides the same length for... reasons I plan to put a couple of hardigg or other lockable military storage cases in the back which will cover the gap where they don't fully cross to the passenger side. It's just four 1/2" bolts holding it down (to the high sections of the corrugated bed) with the largest washers I could find on the bottom.

Here's the drawing I was working from...

 

[Action]

So no spacers between the rack and bed where the bolts go through?

 

[riderdan]

There are nylon washers between the rack and the bed (on the top) and between the steel washers and the bed (on the bottom) to reduce galvanic corrosion. I really cranked down on it, so they're pretty compressed and don't seem to have much "give" when attempting to rock the carrier back to front or side to side.

 

[Action]

Here is what AMG came up with.

 

[riderdan]

Here is what AMG came up with.
View attachment 726149

I've seen the various pieces of those for sale on eBay, and seriously considered that... but they always seemed pretty pricey. If I recall, the last time I saw them they were asking $100 for each of the side sections, minus the tire mount and the parts that attach to the bed.

 

[JoeJrTheBarber]

I've seen the various pieces of those for sale on eBay, and seriously considered that... but they always seemed pretty pricey. If I recall, the last time I saw them they were asking $100 for each of the side sections, minus the tire mount and the parts that attach to the bed.

Their is a guy on Evil-Bay trying to sell one of the above for $600 !