Tire Carrier Build
I was asked by a member that PM'd me, to post some pics of my rear bumper. I was having trouble posting pics to send him in my return PM to him, so here you go!
As you can see in the first pic, the material used was what I had laying around except for the 3/16" rectangular tubing. The notch is to clear the lower driver side door hinge. I wanted to tuck everything up close to the body for the least amount of overhang with the least amount of rear visual sight blockage.
The swing arm pins are solid stock 1.5" welded thru top and bottom of the tubing.
The arms have zerk fittings on the round tubing (hinge).
The tire swing arm was made as a cradle to lift the 35" tire for ease of loading. The cradle has a quick release pin to hold the tire and ladder in place then the tire can be bolted down to the up right to take the load of the light weight ladder.
The Generator Box swing arm has a waverunner trailer box I cut down to fit between the brake lights for sight clearance, plus I did not want a wardrobe closet that I would have just put more items (weight) in it. The gen is easy to get in and out with the slide drawer and can only be accessed when the is unlocked and swung open. I welded in returns on the edges to match the from diamond plate bumper.
The hitch is welded thru and extends in about 10" to a 5x3" 3/16" c channel. At this point it is bolted because I wanted to be able to remove rear bumper for modifications or accident damage.
My departure angle has improved drastically without the factory hitch and the under chassis tire carrier. It is incredibly easy to load and remove the spare with the swing down ladder/cradle system. For this alone it is worth the build. It is a low hinged single post mount which can have vibration issues, I have not noticed any. I have not driven behind it to see if I have vibration movement but I can tell you I have no vibration noise or evidence of body contact. It has been off road and on washboard roads countless times with no issues!
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