Alaskan M1102 Spare Tire Carrier from Hardware store parts

[Welle417]

I recently changed from the 37" Run-flats to some stock Chevy Silverado rims and times (245/75/16), mainly because i'm about to do about 3900 miles of highway from Alaska through Canada.
With that, I needed a way to not clutter the trailer with a spare. I didn't want to shell out the money for a stock Silverado crank (even junk yard pulls in AK are extremely pricey) and I didn't like the idea of mounting it on the side. With all that space under the rear, i decided to devise something. So after laying under there for about 10 minutes holding the spare, I decided on a rough plan.

After a walk through the hardware section of ACE I pretty much settled it in my mind that this was the way I wanted to go.

3 ea 1/2" carriage bolts for the 3 lug points (stainless or galvanized) - I did mine @6" long, this worked out perfectly to allow enough room for hooking the carrier on and then tightening it all down via wing nuts.
3 ea accompanying hex nuts and wing nuts.
2 ea 3/8 in eyelets - I cut these with a dremel disc to have an angled profile that just slides over the galvanized pipe that I chose.
2 ea hex nuts/washers/nylon lock nuts. - I used these through my plywood discs to set the level of the hooks and hold them very solidly.
3 ea cone washers (found them in the toilet repair section of ACE) - they say 1/2" but they barely fit - might need to drill them out slightly- but they work great at squeezing into the lug holes.
ALSO 3 EA Nylon washers - I picked these up after I realized that the wing nuts were difficult to thread against the rubber cone washers. With these between them it is a much easier task.



I then used some 3/4 ply (8 in disc) and a few wood screws to sandwich it all - this would vary depending on the style and shape of the rim that you have.

So far I've spent less than 50 bucks on parts and used scrap pieces of wood. The most expensive things were the stainless carriage bolts and all the clevis pins I grabbed to try.

UPDATE: Here it is, all finished.




Cheers.

 

[Welle417]

Updated now that I've completed it. Let me know what you guys think. Anybody wondering the strength of it, I am 250 lbs and I did a pull up on the bar while I was laying under there. And I kicked the tire after hand tightening everything and it didn't move.

 

[cyclic]

Fairly clean, watch the wood for long term rot and short term water damage.
In the long run, get rid of the wood and use a chunk of aluminum. A single wheel spacer between 1 and 2 inches thick should give you the needed support and sizing to replace the plywood.

 

[Welle417]

Good thoughts,
I intend to spray the wood with some primer and some truck bed liner to seal it, but I did use CDX treated ply so it should hold up fairly well. Good idea on the aluminum wheel spacer.

 

[Welle417]

After over 4500 miles of travel, it still works beautifully. I've taken it down only to check the pieces and to show some curious folks what I did. This has been a GREAT mod to do for a more "street" M1102.

 

[Crazy]

Looks good. I have a M1101 that I bought and wanted to change the wheels to lower the trailer a little. I also have 3 of the same wheels (I think) that came off of a 2007 GMC. I hope they will bolt up OK..

 

[Landbarger]

I'm glad this thread got resurrected. I was wondering just this weekend how to attach a spare underneath my M116A3...

 

[Welle417]

I'm now traveling again. I drove from North Dakota to Colorado to Texas to Mississippi and now I'm going from Mississippi to California (Currently in Phoenix AZ). This this is still rocking, spare and all.