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Nissan Pathfinder Tire Carrier Build

24K views 142 replies 25 participants last post by  DirectMatrix 
#1 ·
So I've see some Nissan Pathfinder tire carrier writeups on here before, but I found a different way to make it work with my YJ....with some redneck engineering involved...

First I started by buying a Nissan tire carrier already knowing that the factory hinges were not going to work. They're designed around the Pathfinder's rear fender and not for a Jeep Wrangler. They had to go....

So I drilled out the studs in the carrier to seperate the hinges from the carrier and started to think about what I could use as hinges in order to avoid my bad welding skills. And I found it.....casters.....who knew?

The rest was easy, measuring, marking and using steel plating to back up the body sheet metal. The striker had to be extended out from the body so I used 1in x 1in steel square tubing as a spacer. Cut all the Nissan studs off the carrier and redrilled a Jeep pattern to take the tire. Tack welded the studs into place (the only welding done!) I also had to switch to a CJ tailgate (planned to do that anyway) because of the hinges getting in the way of the carrier. The hinges for that are also backed up with steel plating. This mod was cheap and required minimal welding. Its amazingly strong and I haven't had an issue with it yet.:cheers2:
 

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#10 ·
i come on here and read stuff about this guy making this or that guy making that and i think, "oh, thats cool" or "hmmm, good job." this is serious out of the box thinking and id freaking badass. every once in a while, i read something and think that dude is a genius. you sir, are a genius.
 
#16 ·
Breathing some life back into this thread. I just picked up a carrier along with a spare latchand catch assembly from the local U-pull-it Saturday for $20. Going to be gathering the rest of the materials this week for the mod.

My reinforcement brackets will be a bit beefier as I don't trust the sheet metal to hold the weight of the carrier, spare, Jerry can and possibly the Hilift and shovel (if I choose to move them later on). I plan to make an "L" bracket (possibly with a gusset) that will tie into the rear mount for the roll bar. I also want to run a similar bracket for the lower hinge that will mount inside the wheel well and tie into the side of the tub adjacent to the fuel tank. My cousin will be assisting/teaching me how to weld so we'll see how this turns out... he's a welder by trade! :D
 
#18 ·
Yeah I was asking opinions about that on my local forum. My theory is that the caster housing is made to support weight in a vertical stance. How much strength do you lose by turning it on it's side? I'd feel more at ease using some of the 3/16" steel plate I have to make a hinge...along the same design as the modded caster but much stronger. I could probably also use some 1/4" angle...


I'll probably start with casters and see how long they last.
 
#19 ·
Update:

Last night after I finished working on the surf rack, I got started on the carrier. Well after moving it in and out of the shed more times than I care to count, I decided to start knocking this project out. Saturday I picked up some VERY beefy 5" HD rigid casters from Harbor Freight. They're rated to 275lbs each so I figured they'd be more than strong enough to do the job.

First I removed the tire mount and set it aside. Luckily it's only held on by 4 bolts. The BP is different and there's an alignment pin on the face of it as well. The stud heads are welded on the back side so I'm not sure that I'll be able to just knock them out with the BFH. It's pretty tight too so getting the grinder in there might not be a possibility. I'll worry about that piece last.

Next, I got to work getting the Nissan-body hinges off. The hinge pin itself is made like a huge rivet. They drive it in and the melt the other side flat. Luckily the metled side isn't as thick as the head of the pin so that was the focus of my attack with the grinder. After cutting it flush, I had to beat the crap out of it with the BFH and a sacrificed 3" socket ext to knock the pin out. The only way I could use enough force was to hold that ext with a pair of vice grips. I wouldn't hit it nowhere near as hard holding it by hand. If I missed, my finger wouldn't be broke it would've popped off and flew out into the yard!

So, after I got the pins out and the hinges off, I took the wheels out of the casters. Then I measured the width of the knuckle and the width of the caster housing... aaaaaaand there's a problem. The knuckle is 1 9/16" and the caster housing is 2 1/2".... almost a full inch to make up! Seems like waaaaaay too much to try and fill in with spacers even if they were 1/2" each. I'm thinking it'd be too much lateral stress on the hinge bolt causing early wear and/or failure. I could be wrong but it just seems like too many moving parts and more potential for failure. I'm heading back over to HF after work to see if I can find a heavy enough caster closer to the knuckle width. They had a good 4" HD caster (235lb max) caster that should serve the purpose. The 3" ones were a bit lacking but they were still rated to 200lbs IIRC.
 
#20 ·
... aaaaaaand there's a problem. The knuckle is 1 9/16" and the caster housing is 2 1/2".... almost a full inch to make up! Seems like waaaaaay too much to try and fill in with spacers even if they were 1/2" each. I'm thinking it'd be too much lateral stress on the hinge bolt causing early wear and/or failure.
That's not a problem. It is an opportunity.

The weakness of using caster housings is that the hinge bolt is only supported by thin sheet metal. The holes will wobble out. You can correct that with the spacers. Weld each spacer to the caster housing. Each spacer will be about 7/16" long, which leaves just a little clearance for the knuckles on the rack. You will be increasing the support on the hinge pin. Enjoy your lemonade!
 
#21 ·
One more step completed. Stopped back @ HF after work yesterday and got a smaller sized set of casters. Not quite the 375# capacity as the previous ones but 330# is nothing to sneeze at.


Not quite as beefy as the OEM Nissan hinges... maybe I can find a use for them down the road, lol.


Carefully took measurements and decided where I wanted the holes for the hinge pins. Marked them out, center punched, drilled pilot holes and widened em out to 5/8".... well one is 11/16" bc my pilot hole was slightly off center.




Test fit looks good! More to come....


I do need to get some slightly shorter bolts as the shank was a little too long on the 4"ers.
 
#23 ·
Apologies... I've been slacking on this project of late. Last few weeks have been incredibly busy.

So, I found one discrepancy that I didn't realize until I went to mock up the carrier on the back of the Jeep.... the OP does not have a rear bumper... I do. I have the double tube bumper and it's height will not allow the carrier to sit down far enough. The top 1/2 of the top hinge sits at the top of the tub edge. That edge is contoured back at an angle so there's no getting a bolt into it that will structurally be of any use. My plan now is to cover the outside of the back corner of the tub with a sheet of 3/16" plate (left over scrap) and attach my hinges to that. I will also still use the backer plates on inside of the tub as well for reinforcement. The top one will tie into the roll bar rear mounting location. I already have the plate all cut to size. I need to get the top reinforcement bracket welded and then install it all.

I lost my rear driveshaft lower ujoint on my way up to the Quadratec tent sale Saturday. Had to hoof it the rest of the way up and then back home on the front DS. It busted up the tabs on my pinion yoke that hold the ujoint cap in place so I picked up another yesterday. Hoping to get that done after work and then back onto the carrier mod. ................More to come!
 
#25 ·
Not to ask a stupid question, but why not whack the radius off of the stock mount that "turns the corner" on the pathfinder so that it is straight and then weld a piece of 3/16ths plate to act as a backer to it to spread out the forces that the current set up has localized on the thin sheet metal of the tub?

Depending on how it mounts you would cut on either the red or yellow lines.
 

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#26 ·
Those original hinges are different sizes to compensate for the angle of the body on the Pathfinder. But, the ends of the actual carrier are straight and in line. I just made new pivot points using 5/8 bolts and old shackle bushings



 
#27 ·
Refill that popcorn bowl bud.... no update as of yet. Put the project on the back burner at the moment. Since I have to dig back into the shed to put the Christmas decorations back up, maybe I'll get some time to work on it some this week. Anyone care to help fund my heated garage? I currently have $0.62 saved up.......;)
 
#28 ·
Hey everyone, I'm back! I apologize for not checking in occasionally, however I've been in Korea for the last two years. Unfortunately the wife chose the Traverse over my YJ, so no Jeep in Korea. The casters have held up as expected. There is no settlement - the Jeep has been in storage for the past two years. Opening and closing the holder is still very easy and all the attachments are still rock solid. Just to test it, I went snow drift busting in -8 degree weather in Indiana....it's still on there! Let me know if you guys have any other questions. Great to back in good ol' America!
 
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