Anyone running 37's?

[gac1222]

Tried doing a quick search but couldn't find any info. Have a set of 37" tires on my van, and noticed the previous owner had managed to fit a full size spare on the Aluminess swing away arm. Its about 10 years old and noticed a lot of the aluminum has worn away and there is a lot of side to side movement from the weight of the spare.

I realize Aluminess suggests a 35" or smaller tire, so was curious if anyone of you had any suggestions for spare tire storage. Was considering maybe a front hitch mount to take some of the stress off the rear door hinges, or even a steel rear bumper.

 

[carringb]

Buckstop-Reunel bumper will fit a 37 but with partial obstruction of the tail light. It’s a far more robust carrier than Aluminess, and doesn’t tie-in to the door hinges. Bur it’s heavy, if you have any rear axle weight constraints.

https://reunel.com/rear-bumpers/

 

[Big_ern_101]

I have 37s on the U-Joint rear bumper, works perfect no sag no BS.

The biggest issue with 37s is they block the drivers side tail light probably 50% (have aux brake and signal lights in the bumper) and you can't open the rear van doors unless both swingouts are open and both doors have to be closed in order to close the swingouts. The RH door hits the tire.

None of these would be issues with 35s.

 

[gac1222]

I have 37s on the U-Joint rear bumper, works perfect no sag no BS.

The biggest issue with 37s is they block the drivers side tail light probably 50% (have aux brake and signal lights in the bumper) and you can't open the rear van doors unless both swingouts are open and both doors have to be closed in order to close the swingouts. The RH door hits the tire.

None of these would be issues with 35s.

I was just talking to Chris today about his bumpers. They look beefy as ****. That bolt holding the swing arm doesnt sag at all with the weight of the 37? Do you know if it would be possible to mount an aluminess box where they usually mount the pelican cases?

 

[schluchtenflitzer]

I have a 37 on a DIY steel bumper and a DIY tire carrier. Works perfect. The bearing was gone one time now after lots of corrugated gravel use

 

[Big_ern_101]

I was just talking to Chris today about his bumpers. They look beefy as ****. That bolt holding the swing arm doesnt sag at all with the weight of the 37? Do you know if it would be possible to mount an aluminess box where they usually mount the pelican cases?

I am very pleased with the UJoint bumper. Keep in mind it is not full aluminum, it is an aluminum skin on a steel frame. The swingouts are steel.

The bolt holding the swingout does not sag, has never bound, squeeked, or acted weird.

The Pelican case is an odd choice, its kind of small and without dividers, kind of useless. You should be able to fit a different box there, either Pelican or an Aluminess box. The pivot point is far outboard so the swingout moves real nice.

I am going to mount some traction boards vertically next to the Pelican case as it is dead space right now.

Only other thing that sucks is both my doors have dents in them because they flop into the swingouts, some bumpers on the back of the swingouts would have been great. As it is, my doors are hosed now anyway so YOLO.

 

[gac1222]

I am very pleased with the UJoint bumper. Keep in mind it is not full aluminum, it is an aluminum skin on a steel frame. The swingouts are steel.

The bolt holding the swingout does not sag, has never bound, squeeked, or acted weird.

The Pelican case is an odd choice, its kind of small and without dividers, kind of useless. You should be able to fit a different box there, either Pelican or an Aluminess box. The pivot point is far outboard so the swingout moves real nice.

I am going to mount some traction boards vertically next to the Pelican case as it is dead space right now.

Only other thing that sucks is both my doors have dents in them because they flop into the swingouts, some bumpers on the back of the swingouts would have been great. As it is, my doors are hosed now anyway so YOLO.

This is great to hear, thank you! Probably gonna work on eventually switching out my Aluminess bumper to the U-Joint one.

 

[tadg-SMB]

You might try repairing the Aluminess tire carrier, ours was sagging and needed an annoying helping lift to close properly. The upper pivot was worn, so I redrilled the pivot hole larger and put a steel bushing in along with a new bolt.

This bumper was on a 2006, so it took 17 years to wear out, if the bushing lasts half of that it is a win.

 

[Twoxentrix]

You might try repairing the Aluminess tire carrier...The upper pivot was worn, so I redrilled the pivot hole larger and put a steel bushing in along with a new bolt.
This bumper was on a 2006, so it took 17 years to wear out, if the bushing lasts half of that it is a win.

That's EXCELLENT advise tagd :l2: This solution is is so elementary & effective I doubt I'd have even considered a similar approach (normally happens when you're like me and simply overthink stuff!).

 

[posplayr]

I have a 37 on a DIY steel bumper and a DIY tire carrier. Works perfect. The bearing was gone one time now after lots of corrugated gravel use

Nice ; Fahrvergnugen

D^2YI

Deutsche DIY

 

[1der]

That's EXCELLENT advise tagd :l2: This solution is is so elementary & effective I doubt I'd have even considered a similar approach (normally happens when you're like me and simply overthink stuff!).

Yep , steel bushing is what should have been in there from the beginning. I have done this to a couple of swing arm sets - upper and lower pivots - and it works great, but you have to be careful drilling the aluminum so the bushing is a press/hammer tap in fit.

An Oilite bushing (self lubricating) is perfect for this application along with the proper shoulder bolt and Delrin bushings use the stock ones with the centers drilled out.

Those pivots will outlast nearly every other part on the swing arm / bumper!
https://oilite.com/oilite