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colbystephens' '73 blazer build!
- Thread starter colbystephens
- Start date
Yep, I accounted for this. The only reason it works is because I'm using a truck tailgate which has that nice indent. I have about an inch of clearance between the brackets and the gate.
updated pic. still need to add a few more degrees of bend to the stinger to make it look clean... the 2x2 tube is a spacer that will be deleted by adding a few more degrees of bend.
Looks good. What are you going to do to hold the stinger up, and keep the tire off the gate?
I'm going to do much like BOR does here:
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I got a couple more tubes added this afternoon. I'm really excited with the way this is turning out. Today I added the lower bars that go from the outside of the frame to the corners of the bumper. I think I just need to add 2 more tubes to the bumper part for it to be complete, plus finish welding. These two will likely connect from the cage-to-frame mounts over to the bumper near the wheel well opening to give the sides a bit more rigidity.
I have some more thinking/designing to do with regard to the tire carrier portion, though.
And finally, I'm really excited about this wrap-around.
It should help the rigidity of the whole side bar, and it keeps it from significantly reducing my departure angle.
I have some more thinking/designing to do with regard to the tire carrier portion, though.
And finally, I'm really excited about this wrap-around.
It should help the rigidity of the whole side bar, and it keeps it from significantly reducing my departure angle.
docjake
1/2 ton status
That side brace is beautiful, what did you use to cut that?
thanks!
i used a bunch of cut off wheels, a grinding wheel and a 4.5" grinder...
kinda a sucky process, I almost went up to the school to use the plasma because using the grinder inside the bend wasn't very fun. But, I kind of skipped out early on class to work on this - so I figured it wouldn't be good to go back at that time. 
i used a bunch of cut off wheels, a grinding wheel and a 4.5" grinder...
kinda a sucky process, I almost went up to the school to use the plasma because using the grinder inside the bend wasn't very fun. But, I kind of skipped out early on class to work on this - so I figured it wouldn't be good to go back at that time. 
nice lookin bumper. had a couple of questions on it.
1. to mount the tire to the carrier, are you gonna put in a bolt plate like on the BOR that the wheels mounts too? or leave it strapped?
2. also, i think i missed how you were gonna keep the tire portion in the upright position. i saw the BOR one, but i guess in the pictures i'm not seeing how there's is held up either. i'm assuming just a hitch pin would work but would like to see your ideas.
3. how far down does it swing? i know it doesnt kiss the ground but it is down far enough/strong enough to be used as a step into the bed? will the tire hanging down present any problem getting into access the storage bed?
gotta say that wrap around side brace is pretty freakin shnazzy. love how you matched the bends in the tube. good stuff!
1. to mount the tire to the carrier, are you gonna put in a bolt plate like on the BOR that the wheels mounts too? or leave it strapped?
2. also, i think i missed how you were gonna keep the tire portion in the upright position. i saw the BOR one, but i guess in the pictures i'm not seeing how there's is held up either. i'm assuming just a hitch pin would work but would like to see your ideas.
3. how far down does it swing? i know it doesnt kiss the ground but it is down far enough/strong enough to be used as a step into the bed? will the tire hanging down present any problem getting into access the storage bed?
gotta say that wrap around side brace is pretty freakin shnazzy. love how you matched the bends in the tube. good stuff!
thanks for the compliments.
As to your questions:
1. I have a bolt plate, like what you see in the BOR photo. I purchased it for about $10 from DIY4x.
2. The reason that the stinger stays in place in the BOR bumper pictured is because there are 4 mounting points, and 2 different axes of rotation - one axis is the bolts that hold the stinger to the bumper down low, the other axis is the bushings that are near the tail lights. My guess is they have wingnuts on the bolts that go through the bushings near the tail lights. For the stinger to rotate, its hinges must all be on the same axis. As an example, a three hinge door obviously wouldn't open if one of its hinges were not perfectly in line with the other two. Having these bushings (hinge points) on two axes that are very far from each other creates a VERY strong and stable way to secure the tire.
3. Mine swings down just low enough to let the tail gate down all the way. It appears to be strong enough to use as a step to get into the truck, but I am concerned about long term wear/tear indenting the tubing where it contacts the tow points. I might gusset my tubing a little for added security. If it stops raining today, I'll pull the tarp off and put the stinger and tailgate down and take a pic for ya, but as of right now the forecast shows that the rain will continue all day long - non stop.
I think it will help me access the cargo space of the truck a little easier in that it won't be so difficult to get up into the bed. It would be more convenient for getting in if the tire swung all the way to the ground, as it is still a big step. However, I think the advantage of saving my back from having to lift this thing up from the ground is worth it. I am 6'2", and it's always been difficult to reach things in the truck and a hassle to have to make the leap up onto the tail gate. I'm hoping this will make it more convenient.
As an aside, it is heavy to lift this thing up, but it's not too bad. My wife couldn't do it, but I could lift that thing up over and over all day long. It's not like trying to lift the tire alone, which is REALLY difficult. I can't imagine using a swing-away type carrier for big tires - seems like it would be brutally difficult to get the damn things up onto the spindle and just asking for a back injury.
thanks for the explanation. i'm honestly still not grasping how it will hold. but i think thats just my fault. i'm more of a visual comprehender anyway. lol
you could always get a small rear mounted winch and use some pullies on the tire carrier, that way you could lower it all the way down, and then use the winch to suck it back up. would be a cool little transformer/auto touch to it. lol
and also be completely overkill and a waste of time. but it sounds fun. lol
are you gonna put some tube with rubber stops to set the drop down degree on the tire? like just put something there that the weight can rest against so its not sitting holy on the carrier & pivots by itself. i was almost thinking like taking an old bushing or something and putting in a piece of scrap tubing just to give it a place to take a load off.
you could always get a small rear mounted winch and use some pullies on the tire carrier, that way you could lower it all the way down, and then use the winch to suck it back up. would be a cool little transformer/auto touch to it. lol
and also be completely overkill and a waste of time. but it sounds fun. lol
are you gonna put some tube with rubber stops to set the drop down degree on the tire? like just put something there that the weight can rest against so its not sitting holy on the carrier & pivots by itself. i was almost thinking like taking an old bushing or something and putting in a piece of scrap tubing just to give it a place to take a load off.
Nice build, It is coming out awesome
i think i just figured it out. so to release the tire you have to remove two of the bolts right? and thats what lets the carrier drop down?
Yep.
i think i just figured it out. so to release the tire you have to remove two of the bolts right? and thats what lets the carrier drop down?
Yesterday I was joking with a buddy about getting a little tiny electric winch for the purpose you suggested.
I thought it would be funny to mount it to the cage and then just run the cable to a hole in the tire. Push a button and up it goes. Maybe someday... I'm sure harbor freight sells a 12V unit that would be small enough... Honestly, something like this might even be nice:
maybe when I'm old.
It'd be much quicker just to lift it by hand...
quicker maybe, but itd be TRICKER to have it on a button. thats kinda what i was thinking, one of those little 1500-2k winches from HF that go on the front of a quad or something like that. lol cuz you wouldnt have to wait for it either, you could just get in and start the truck, and while your holding the lift button down, you could start driving away. it would lift itself in and be secure! genius! also, you could get like a ratcheting wheel with a stop lock on it, that way once the gate gets to a certain point you can kill the winch and it will stay nice and snug, and to let it down you just lift up the little locking peg. (actually i guess it would be the same wheel/locking setup on that hand crank you just posted. lolYep.
Yesterday I was joking with a buddy about getting a little tiny electric winch for the purpose you suggested.
Honestly, something like this might even be nice:
maybe when I'm old.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92860
check it out! you could even lower it by remote! how could would that be. it'd be like an ominous sign of something important happening when that thing dropped. lol
check it out! you could even lower it by remote! how could would that be. it'd be like an ominous sign of something important happening when that thing dropped. lol
docjake
1/2 ton status
and it begins....
Or a pnuematic cylinder hooked up to OBA with a solenoid valve.
I'm digging it - keep up the good work.
I'm digging it - keep up the good work.
oooo i like it! or what about a hydralic ram thats tied in to the hydralic steering setup?Or a pnuematic cylinder hooked up to OBA with a solenoid valve.
I'm digging it - keep up the good work.
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oh boy.... What about a hydraulic set up that would be on a button to push my rear stinger down and lift my rear tires out of ruts to get me unstuck? What if I hinged the stinger so I could use it to walk the rear end around tight corners??
I like where this is going!On a slightly more serious note, Dontoe used a shock on his stinger tire carrier to aid in lifting it back into place. I'm wondering if I could find a decent shock to use for this - one which had alot of down travel and very little up-travel.
Steve - I took this pic today. The weather forecasters are wrong so often is disgusting. It's gorgeous out right now, they predicted 100% chance of rain all day...
it's about 19" to the bottom of the tire, so subtract about 1.75" from that and you get total clearance on fairly level ground. It's about 32" from the ground to the top of the tire - kind of a big step, but not too bad. 
I'm thinking it might be cool to use some 1/8" plate to make a little toe-grabber step on the stinger so I can more easily get up there... we'll see.
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Steve - I took this pic today. The weather forecasters are wrong so often is disgusting. It's gorgeous out right now, they predicted 100% chance of rain all day...
I'm thinking it might be cool to use some 1/8" plate to make a little toe-grabber step on the stinger so I can more easily get up there... we'll see.
i was gonna say something bout a toe grap/small step pad before i read the end of your post. or almost like a collapsable tube step that could come off the end or that could slide into the square support tube, and then slide back in and secure when not in use. might not be worth the PITA. probably just easier to do a small little toe spot with like a 2 or 3" droppad.
