Show me your spare tire carrier

[Nissan11]

My truck is a 02 crew cab frontier.
I want to build a spare tire carrier this weekend but Im not sure exactly what I want to do with it. I know I dont want it up higher than the roof. Ive got a steel rear bumper and I can weld mounts to the top or/and back of the bumper.
The thing that is going to limit me is that I dont have a bender and I would really like to avoid having to bend any tube. I guess I could always get one or two pieces bent, by a local shop, but Id rather not.
I think I have it narrowed down to three styles. Obviosuly, mine wont look like the ones with round tube unless I find someone to bend me a couple pieces.

The first is to mount the tire in place of the tailgate, but I really want to save enough space in the bed for my quad.

The second idea is a swing out rack mounted on top of the rear bumper.

The third idea is a mount that swings down straight off the back of the bumper.

Any other ideas?

 

[Zebbie]

i like the last idea. very different from everyone else and depending on your tire size it will be easier to take on and off the carrier since it swings down closer to the ground. If you have 40" tires that spare can be fun lifting up on the tailgate.

 

[1stgenxxx]

If that rear stinger was really ballin.....it would be made to fold down or swing out

 

[NCJeyota]

This is my old tire carrier. I had this and a toolbox in a short bed so it left no bed left. Also it was very interesting getting the tire in and out. You dont realize how much you use a bed till you dont have one.

 

[1stgenxxx]

You could also do it race car style and strap it down
Such as this.......

 

[Hyperlite]

I tried it different ways but my rig doesnt like the weight of a spare. I just carry some plugs and a power tank now....
BTW that is a 39.5 bogger and a 35 BFG in the pics

I removed everything from my bumper and just have tube now.

 

[a_kelley]

no, what you need to do is to convert to rockwells and keep the runflat with air setup. a bit more monetary investment there though... just kidding around.. really swingouts are good until you get over 33-35.. lots of leverage..

 

[REDLYNER]

Gen-Right rear stinger tire carrier-

The negatives are it can get very heavy lifting it up and down if you are running large tires and it also blocks 90% of your rear view.

 

[RatLabGuy]

This is a pickup, right? Do you have a bed cap?
IMO the rear upright-style carriers (like your # 2 and 3) look funny mounted on the back sticking up like that - it'll stick up way higher than the bed sides. Lots of wind drag etc on the highway (assuming this is a road truck too) and act like a sideways sail.

Really your best bet for aesthetics/aerodynamics is the first style.
The question then is, where to put it - IN the bed, or as far back as possible?

Crew cab? How big/long is the bed? I'm betting not long.
How much space do you need for the quad? What size tire we talkin' here?
What about upright flat against the cab? Say goodbye to the rear view, lol.

FYI you can always make "bends" and angles in sq tube by cutting at angles and welding together.

 

[Hyperlite]

build a ed cage like this support truck and you can carry a full set....

Bling bling

Who needs a spare tire when you have a cart

 

[BigBody79]

If you still want to use your truck like a truck and carry a fullsize spare then option 2 is going to be about the only route that you can go. I would pony up the money for the rockstomper spindle and bearing. They are pretty sweet and do a good job. I don't even know if they are still in business or even selling it, but they had it a few years ago.

Would be really helpful to know what size tires you are running.

 

[RatLabGuy]

I always thought that the old Land Rover style of having it on the hood was pretty bad ass.

Of course I have a buddy w/ an old military D90 and he said it got old fast when he had a problem that required opening the hood a lot, lol.

 

[Nissan11]

My bed is 6' long and the tires are only 33's. Here is my truck and a sketch I drew last night. I don't think turbulence would be that bad with the stinger style carrier. I could be long, but I believe that air tumbles in the bed, and the air going over the roof skips across the top of that tumbling air.

 

[Nissan11]

For the hinges, can I just use bolts or pins or do I need some sort of bushings?

 

[91oneton]

is this the spare tire carrier you were looking for

 

[retroedaddy]

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit......

 

[thedsk]

A little? If I see that again I'll throw up the next days food.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[RatLabGuy]

is this the spare tire carrier you were looking for

OMG... was that really necessary???

For the hinges, can I just use bolts or pins or do I need some sort of bushings?

You're going to want bushings. Technically a bolt and perfectly drilled holes will work, but (a) over time they wil lwallow out and (b) it's going to rattle liek crazy.

I don't think turbulence would be that bad with the stinger style carrier. I could be long, but I believe that air tumbles in the bed, and the air going over the roof skips across the top of that tumbling air.

Yes and no.
Yes, air tumbles in the back - but that's b/c of (a) the deep flat recessed space behind the cab, and (b) b/c of the tailgate. It's pretty well established that having no tailgate, or one of those net-style gates improves MPGs, b/c it allows the air that gets trapped in the bed to flow out the back. That's also why touneau covers do a great job w/ the MPGs.

If the carrier were mounted off the bumper, with the center of the tire as low as possible (e.g. so it's centered on your tailgate) this may be minimal problem. You'd have to relocate the license plate (minor) and lose a little rear exit-angle though.
What's wrong with the setup you have now?

 

[Nissan11]

I can't keep the tire secure. I've got it strapped to an aluminum frame from a touneau cover but it is bending. I could bolt a mount to the inside of the bed, but then I've still got the tire in the bed taking up room and my quad won't fit.

If I built a swing down style mount, what size square tubing do you think I should use?

Is 2" too big?

 

[Nissan11]

Here is my plan. If anyone sees a potential problem please speak up.
This for the third style carrier.

Joints - 1" bolts
Oil impregnated brass bushings- 1" ID/ 1 1/4" OD/ 1" long

Round tubing for joints- 1 1/4" ID/ 1 3/4" OD

Square tubing- 1 1/2" OD/ 1/8" thick


I already ordered the bushings which were $24 for 8. After calling around pricing steel it looks like this project is going to cost me around $95 including bolts

 

[transman731]

once you build the swing down type carrier, how are you going to get your atv in there?

 

[Nissan11]

I'm assuming I will be able to build it so that it swings all the way to the ground, in which case it shouldn't be any issue to load the quad with ramps.

 

[RatLabGuy]

I'm assuming I will be able to build it so that it swings all the way to the ground, in which case it shouldn't be any issue to load the quad with ramps.

Be sure to design that sucker with a big handle to grab onto to lift it up.
Tire + carrier strong enough to hold it securely = heavy.

Re: ATV loading -
If you wanna be really bad ass, may the back (truck bed-side) with some wide flat rails... so you can use IT as the ATV ramp!

 

[Nissan11]

That WOULD be badass, but then I would essentially have a huge spoiler on the back of the truck.

 

[Toyota Dad]

Spare Tire