Almost done - Page 2

WingnuTJ · 12-17-2007, 11:11 AM

Keep up the great work!~
Thanks for the write-up and hope to see more people fab'n some stuff up!

chutta · 12-17-2007, 02:32 PM

That's how it should be from factory! Kudos

**Bigbob** · 12-17-2007, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chutta

That's how it should be from factory! Kudos

Thanks.

Baotchi · 12-19-2007, 05:15 PM

I am definately building this

**Bigbob** · 12-19-2007, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baotchi

I am definately building this

If you have a hardtop put the pivot points out about 2-3 inches so you won't need to open it so far. That, and making it lighter, would be the only changes I'd make. I think the bottom arm could be 1/8" wall stuff with no issue.

prd_cdn · 02-16-2008, 03:09 PM

It Looks solid!!!

How did you mount it to the tub? Is there any reinforcement at the pivot points behind the tub? I have looked behind mine and all I see is tub, I gives me worry that much weight is being handled by some thin sheet metal.

I am curious as I have planned the same thing, just not put into motion, I really like the idea of mount the tailgate to the carrier, as opposed to keeping it free swinging.

This was just a concern of mine that you seem to have over come.

Again totally awesome!!!

**Bigbob** · 02-16-2008, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prd_cdn

It Looks solid!!!

How did you mount it to the tub? Is there any reinforcement at the pivot points behind the tub?

If you look close you will see I have 3/16" Rokmen short corners on there. That is plenty of re-enforcement. But, to be honest I think the whole works could have been made lighter. If I were to re-do it or make another one I would use 1/8" wall rect tubing instead of the 3/16". Maybe leave the top arm in 3/16". And instead of heavy corners I would just use a 3/16" plate full length top to bottom on the hinge side and backing plates as well. This deal works extremely better than I thought it would. Smooth opening you can do one-handed. Zero rattles. Nothing has shifted yet either. I do plan on a air/hydraulic assist ram on it eventually to help open it and keep it open on side slopes.

prd_cdn · 02-16-2008, 03:21 PM

Thank you

I will look closer...

It is totally great!!

**Bigbob** · 03-31-2008, 10:16 PM

At the request of a couple folks on here I am posting a couple more detailed pics of my tailgate hinge.

Here is the hinge point itself. I used a piece of 1 ¾” OD X 1 ¼” ID DOM inside of a 2” X 3/16” wall square tube. The bushing/DOM is centered in the 2” sqare.

The pins are 1” hard steel stuff from McMaster Carr. I used one shaft 8” long that was threaded 3/6” 16 female threads on each end. I cut the shaft into the 2 pins. I also drilled through the center to mount a grease passage. I welded a piece of ¼” stock on top with a hold down bolt to keep it from spinning, and the bottom is secured by a 3/8” bolt and heavy washer in the provided threaded boss.

The Rokmen corner is 3/16” thick. The tabs I welded to the corners are ¼” thick material. The center of the 1” hole is 1 1/16” from the corner. This gives 1/16” clearance between the square tube and corner. So the square tube will be ¼” from the tub/tailgate. 3/16” corner + 1/16” = ¼”. This is very important for alignment later.

To weld the DOM/Tabs in correctly and to get everything straight I stuck the DOM with bushings mounted into the square tube arms, but did not tack them. I then ran a long piece of 1” shaft through all the ¼” tabs to be welded to the corners and bushings and got it all-straight on the corner like I wanted it. I placed some 1/16” shims between the square tube and corner and lightly clamped it down. Re-checked all the alignment and tacked it down, both the tabs to the corner and DOM to the square tube. I then welded it all up secure like and checked the alignment again.

BTW, the arms are centered in the same place the stock hinges mount which is 10.75 center to center top to bottom if I remember.

I installed the corner with tabs welded on. I mounted the swing to the corner and checked function. All good.

Now to get the tailgate mounted to the swing. Remember, the corner is 3/16” thick and I have a 1/16” gap between the square tube and the corner for a total of 1/4”. So I made two ¼” spacers to fit where the stock hinge used to go on the tailgate.

This is the bottom one;

I put some short pieces of threaded stock into the tailgate and put the spacers over the threaded stock. I then closed the swing on to the plates/spacers and tack welded them to the square tube. That was the easy way to do that. I also put ¼” spacers on the 4 holes where the stock tire carrier bolts down at.

So there are 8 bolts holding the tailgate to the swing.

Other tid-bits;

I cut out the square tube where the stock tailgate latch is as the tube is in the way.

rficken42 · 03-18-2009, 04:33 AM

ok i had a few thoughts.

for the swing arm could you use 1" by 2" box tubing thats 3/16" think?

what ideas do you have if i were to not use the stock jeep lock but just locked the tire swing?

**Bigbob** · 03-18-2009, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rficken42

ok i had a few thoughts.

for the swing arm could you use 1" by 2" box tubing thats 3/16" think?

what ideas do you have if i were to not use the stock jeep lock but just locked the tire swing?

Originally I was going to use 1X2 stuff. It should work fine. Why would you not want to use the stock Jeep latch to lock it with? It works great like that and is a one hand deal still.

rficken42 · 03-18-2009, 08:15 PM

its just few thoughts i had when i was planning mine out

**PCLS2FLY** · 10-28-2009, 10:36 AM

Hi, Just got back from Iraq and have been looking forward to doing this build for my own Jeep. I only have one hang up right now. I tried looking up on the McMaster carr web site but can't find the hardened hing pin stock you used. You don't happen to still have the part number you used for that would you? Thanks and keep up the great work

**Bigbob** · 10-28-2009, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCLS2FLY

Hi, Just got back from Iraq and have been looking forward to doing this build for my own Jeep. I only have one hang up right now. I tried looking up on the McMaster carr web site but can't find the hardened hing pin stock you used. You don't happen to still have the part number you used for that would you? Thanks and keep up the great work

Welcome home and thanks for your service.

I used the 6649K112 shaft. But it is not cheap. In retrospect I would not do this again. I just built a 3 axis hitch for a trailer project I am doing and for the pins on it I just used grade 8 bolts. I just got bolts long enough so the non-threaded portion is log enough to use as a pin. Of course if you go with the shaft above you'll need to cut the shaft to length so you have 2 pins. But the hard shaft is overkill. If it was cheaper it'd be handy, but it is not cheap. Of course you will want to drill and tap the ends. But heck, I had to drill and tap the hard shaft as well for the grease zerk.
If there is anything you need in the line of help just holler. It is a more basic and easy job than one would think. It looks simple because it is. Some simple math and good measuring is important.

**PCLS2FLY** · 01-02-2012, 04:32 PM

Hey BigBob, Just wanted to let you know I did a version of your tire carrier using the Romken corner guards and love it. Very strong and durable. Have to worries about putting on 35 spare now. I will post pics as soon as we get some good weather. Looking to make a basket carrier that will sit over the tire and a snowboard and skii carrier as well. Thanks for all the help

03-31-2008, 10:16 PM	#24
Bigbob Web Wheeler Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bakersfield Posts: 3,196 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	At the request of a couple folks on here I am posting a couple more detailed pics of my tailgate hinge. Here is the hinge point itself. I used a piece of 1 ¾” OD X 1 ¼” ID DOM inside of a 2” X 3/16” wall square tube. The bushing/DOM is centered in the 2” sqare. The pins are 1” hard steel stuff from McMaster Carr. I used one shaft 8” long that was threaded 3/6” 16 female threads on each end. I cut the shaft into the 2 pins. I also drilled through the center to mount a grease passage. I welded a piece of ¼” stock on top with a hold down bolt to keep it from spinning, and the bottom is secured by a 3/8” bolt and heavy washer in the provided threaded boss. The Rokmen corner is 3/16” thick. The tabs I welded to the corners are ¼” thick material. The center of the 1” hole is 1 1/16” from the corner. This gives 1/16” clearance between the square tube and corner. So the square tube will be ¼” from the tub/tailgate. 3/16” corner + 1/16” = ¼”. This is very important for alignment later. To weld the DOM/Tabs in correctly and to get everything straight I stuck the DOM with bushings mounted into the square tube arms, but did not tack them. I then ran a long piece of 1” shaft through all the ¼” tabs to be welded to the corners and bushings and got it all-straight on the corner like I wanted it. I placed some 1/16” shims between the square tube and corner and lightly clamped it down. Re-checked all the alignment and tacked it down, both the tabs to the corner and DOM to the square tube. I then welded it all up secure like and checked the alignment again. BTW, the arms are centered in the same place the stock hinges mount which is 10.75 center to center top to bottom if I remember. I installed the corner with tabs welded on. I mounted the swing to the corner and checked function. All good. Now to get the tailgate mounted to the swing. Remember, the corner is 3/16” thick and I have a 1/16” gap between the square tube and the corner for a total of 1/4”. So I made two ¼” spacers to fit where the stock hinge used to go on the tailgate. This is the bottom one; I put some short pieces of threaded stock into the tailgate and put the spacers over the threaded stock. I then closed the swing on to the plates/spacers and tack welded them to the square tube. That was the easy way to do that. I also put ¼” spacers on the 4 holes where the stock tire carrier bolts down at. So there are 8 bolts holding the tailgate to the swing. Other tid-bits; I cut out the square tube where the stock tailgate latch is as the tube is in the way. __________________ 2006 Solar Yellow Rubicon Unlimited Jeep Club Member #1340 6 Speed, Hardtop Mods done: Hurst tee handle, cheap hand throttle, Rokmen Merc front bumper, Warn 9.5 TI winch with 3/8" X 100 worth of Viking yellow rope, DPG OME Ultimate with JKS ACOS up front, Kilby Gas Tank Skid, Kilby Steering Box Skid, Jeep Medic Belly Up, Skidrow Engine Skid, Rockcrusher Diff Skid in the rear, Warn Diff cover in front, , AR Outlaw II's and MTR 12:50/15's, Homemade rear Bumper, Cheap Cobra CB, Puma OBA, Sirius Radio, Locker Defeat, Rockhard cage, Rockmen short corners, homemade tire swing/tailgate hinge affair, Airlift air bags on the rear- - - - - - and more to come! Last edited by Bigbob; 10-28-2009 at 12:38 PM..

02-16-2008, 03:09 PM	#21
prd_cdn Web Wheeler Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: !! Posts: 1,049 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	It Looks solid!!! How did you mount it to the tub? Is there any reinforcement at the pivot points behind the tub? I have looked behind mine and all I see is tub, I gives me worry that much weight is being handled by some thin sheet metal. I am curious as I have planned the same thing, just not put into motion, I really like the idea of mount the tailgate to the carrier, as opposed to keeping it free swinging. This was just a concern of mine that you seem to have over come. Again totally awesome!!!

02-16-2008, 03:21 PM	#23
prd_cdn Web Wheeler Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: !! Posts: 1,049 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	Thank you I will look closer... It is totally great!!