building rear bumper with tire carrier... need suggestions for 40" tire

**Big-n-Broke-YJ** · 10-03-2006, 10:12 PM

so i plan to practice my rear bumper/tire carrier ideas by building my roommate one for her yj that will hold her 33" spare.....

i've found a few hinges but so far the rockstomper seems to be the strongest... comments?

latches seem fairly simple and i'm not too worried about that aspect of it as of now.

questions now... what do you guys think of the rockstomper hinge? any other suggestions?

it will only need to hold her 33" spare but i plan to use it as a test mule to see how it will hold up to my 40" spare. if it works, i'll reporduce another one slightly different for myself.

now before i go and waste my time with something that will never work i'd like to ask if ANYONE has a tire carrier capable of holding a 39.5" bogger SAFELY without the risk of the hinge self destroucting from all the weight and vibrations?

if you have indeed made a carrier please give me your insight as to what you did and how you could have improved as well as things you wouldn't do again or products you wouldn't suggest such as particular hinges, latches, sizes of steel, etc.

my plan thus far was a 2x4" bumper tied it to the frame with 2x2" square tubing that would make up the simple triangle, yatta yatta yatta... it'll be like practically every other tire carrier out there....

ok, i'm ready... throw your opinions and suggestions at me...

-Erik

JJs99TJ · 10-04-2006, 08:46 AM

theres a lot of people that go with rockstomper, including myself.
i am only running a 32" tire for now and have no issues or worries.
a couple other guys i know have rockstomper hinges on their homemade
carriers, running 35's and 37's (GY MT/R's) and they havent had any problems
with theirs either. im not sure how it would hold up to the 39.5" bogger. i doubt
my jeep will ever get to tires that big so im pretty confident my carrier with
the rockstomper hinge will last

**Jerry Bransford** · 10-04-2006, 09:25 AM

I can't imagine a tire carrier made where the main support point is at one end on a bumper could ever hold up for long with a 40" spare tire.

**sentinal02** · 10-04-2006, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big-n-Broke-YJ

so i plan to practice my rear bumper/tire carrier ideas by building my roommate one for her yj that will hold her 33" spare.....

i've found a few hinges but so far the rockstomper seems to be the strongest... comments?

latches seem fairly simple and i'm not too worried about that aspect of it as of now.

questions now... what do you guys think of the rockstomper hinge? any other suggestions?

it will only need to hold her 33" spare but i plan to use it as a test mule to see how it will hold up to my 40" spare. if it works, i'll reporduce another one slightly different for myself.

now before i go and waste my time with something that will never work i'd like to ask if ANYONE has a tire carrier capable of holding a 39.5" bogger SAFELY without the risk of the hinge self destroucting from all the weight and vibrations?

if you have indeed made a carrier please give me your insight as to what you did and how you could have improved as well as things you wouldn't do again or products you wouldn't suggest such as particular hinges, latches, sizes of steel, etc.

my plan thus far was a 2x4" bumper tied it to the frame with 2x2" square tubing that would make up the simple triangle, yatta yatta yatta... it'll be like practically every other tire carrier out there....

ok, i'm ready... throw your opinions and suggestions at me...

-Erik

you might want to step up to a 2x5" bumper, or maybe even 2x6 for your own use. this will give your hinge a longer lever by spacing out the top and bottom attachments to help resist the bending action the gate is going to put on it when you open the carrier. think about picking up a long pipe and holding it straight out with two hands at the very end. the further apart you space your hands on the pipe, the easier it is to hold it straight. same principle.

**BESRK** · 10-04-2006, 10:28 AM

Not sure what size the Rockstomper spindle is but I'm gonna assume it's a 1000lb rated piece. If I were gonna hang big rubber off it, I'd go with a 1750lb rated spindle and have the spindle hub tube machined accodingly. Or maybe use a piece of 1.75" OD cold rolled solid stock and just get a piece of thick walled DOM to fit over it as the hinge.

**Big-n-Broke-YJ** · 10-04-2006, 11:36 AM

thanks for the suggestions guys. maybe this is just a bad idea....

the more i think about it, the only time i would probably ever need the spare would be when off road and i don't carry more than 1 passenger then, so maybe i'll just make a carriet that will mount to the roll cage that is removeable.....

the idea of a 2x5 or larger bumper is a great suggestion... in fact, i have a local metal shop with a 10' stick of 3x5 he said he'd sell me for $10 that i might consider... that is, if i decide to go on with this build. perhaps i'll get my rommate's built and then go another route on my own vehicle.

beserk i think if i do go ahead with this build, i'll be following your advice.... very wise thinking....

**mxg342** · 10-04-2006, 11:48 AM

The main issue when going with larger (more the 4" deep) tubing is the spindle is too short. I ended up purchasing two spindles and welding them together and cutting to the needed length when I built mine. My bumpers are 2x5x1/4"

Another couple things... The latch I bought from McMaster Carr (www.mcmaster.com) p/n 5071A62. It is a De-Sta-Co latch. It has a double lock however. They sell regular ones for about 2/3 of the price of this one.

When welding the stuff together make sure to distribute your heat. I didn't and my carrier warped about 3/4". It is a little upsetting when you spend endless amounts of hrs and find out everythign is off.

My carrier is built from 2x2x1/4" tube.

**Divinitous** · 10-04-2006, 12:33 PM

Look into the poison spider stinger bumper. That bumper hinges from two ponts and sectures by another two points. It's the best design that I can forsee for something that you plan to do.

horseman · 10-04-2006, 02:44 PM

Look at this site the tire carrier hinge is a 1" Grade 5 Bolt Welded into the 2x4 bumper..... There is no need for bearings, except maybe to pay more for your hinge. It's not a axle so you dont need'em.

http://wrangler.kicks-a$$.net/index.htm Replace the $$ with ss.

JTB51B · 10-04-2006, 04:26 PM

Just thinking out loud here, but what if you made the tire carrier swing open horizontally. Take a utility trailer tailgate into mind, something like that. You could use multiple hinges and then use 3/4 pins (hardened of course) as latches. I would think that to be a good solution, swing away to allow the hatch to open, as well as to lower the tire toward the ground. Like I said, just a thought.

Jason

4xfiend · 10-04-2006, 04:34 PM

Aside from the hinge strength, I'd also think that on a conventional a-frame type bumper/carrier you'd have to worry about the carrier leaning away from the body over time due to the size and weight of the tire. Something else for you to think about. Good luck and let us all know what you end up doing.

10-04-2006, 02:44 PM	#9
horseman Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South Carolina Posts: 163 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	Look at this site the tire carrier hinge is a 1" Grade 5 Bolt Welded into the 2x4 bumper..... There is no need for bearings, except maybe to pay more for your hinge. It's not a axle so you dont need'em. http://wrangler.kicks-a$$.net/index.htm Replace the $$ with ss. __________________ [B]Engine:[/B] 4.2L L6 258 [B]Trans:[/B] Automatic [B]Carb:[/B] Stock 2Brl [B]Exhaust:[/B] Dynomax [B]Ignition: [/B]Stock [B]Suspension : [/B]1" Prothaine Body Lift [B]Rims:[/B] Stock [B]Tires:[/B] P235/75R15 [B]Wench:[/B] 7500lb Champion [B]Interior:[/B] Bedlined [B]Paint:[/B] Custom Camo [B]Driving lights:[/B]Hella 500's [B]Rear Lights:[/B]50w Halogen [URL="http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2426963"][B][COLOR="Silver"]My Jeep Website[/COLOR][/B][/URL] Last edited by horseman; 10-04-2006 at 02:59 PM..