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Fold/swing down tire carriers...do you like them?

U

urbex

1/2 ton status
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Started to think about what I'm going to do for a rear bumper/tire carrier on the K5...currently running 33s, have a set of 35s to go on it, and can't see myself realistically going beyond a 37 on this one.

I've seen a number of trailer spindle swingouts break over the years, and will not go that route. Always felt that swingouts just put too much leverage on them in single shear, leading to failure. Would probably be OK in double shear, but I haven't yet come up with a good way of pulling that off and still maintaining access for bearing maintenance. I have a variation of that on my Samurai, with a premade bumper/swingout made by a well known vendor, and have had nothing but problems with it from day 1 even with just a 31" tire on it.

I built a swingout for my Scout using a pair of stacked heims, in double shear, which worked well, but ran into clearance issues with other equipment. So I started thinking about doing a swing down style carrier on the K5, but having never had one, I'm wondering what other's opinions are on whether it's a decent idea, or just a looks good, but a PITA kind of thing, lol.
 
Swing down sucks. Just too heavy to use, especially on a lifted truck.
 
skunked said:
On the flip side how do you get a 37"+ tire back onto a swing out design?
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It's hard! My wheel/tire setup is about 150# and every time I lift it onto the carrier I tell myself not to do that anymore. Plus you can get parked in weird ways off road that make the mount much higher. Hopefully then you have a buddy because it's pretty easy with 2 people. I like to roll the tire up a board onto a milk crate or 5-gallon pail, then put my legs underneath to lift. You want your arms down low so when you stand up the tire is almost high enough to slip on.

So yeah, tire installation is easier with the swing-down because you don't lift the tire much to install and you have a lever to do the closing. But now you have to lift it EVERY TIME you open the tailgate. That's why DIY offers assist springs. How often do you open the tailgate vs how often do you use the spare tire? Either style can produce a clearance problem if you park in a small garage. I've pulled into places where I had to tuck the DS of the truck tight to the garage opening so there was enough room for the tailgate to clear the carrier. With the swing-down you'll need like 3-4' behind the vehicle.

If you want to complicate the build, you could do a hybrid that does both. You could check out the kellyjohn Suburban - carrier swings to the side, then a winch system lowers the tire up and down on a lever.
 
You won't see me lifting one of my 40's, it's just not worth hurting yourself over especially out on the trail.
If I was in the market for one it would be a flip down with some sort of assist built into it. You can get creative with spings, winch, electric ram etc.
 
I love my swing down. The tire makes a great step when it’s down. Yes it’s heavy, but I have an idea for assist springs. Just have to get them and get er done.
 
I've seen a custom built tire rack that a guy made out of a wheelchair lift off a junked handicapped van,it had hydraulic rams and a self contained pump--he had it on a 2 ton truck,I imagine those 20" 10 ply tires are pretty much impossible to lift up onto a truck bed unless your a gorilla!..
 
I loved the good old- mounted to the rear quarter and tailgate- Valley Industries swing out that I had on my Blazer. I had a 35 bouncing on there for 15 years w/out any problems. A 35 is as heavy as I ever wanted to pick up though, especially as my back started getting bad.

I've had a design in mind for years that combined the swing away w/ the swing down. I was going to try and fab one but sold the truck before I moved last year.
 
skunked said:
On the flip side how do you get a 37"+ tire back onto a swing out design?
Click to expand...

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Now that I have put my lift on the K5 I feel the need to modify the Wilco swing away and make it drop and swing. These pics are pre lift.

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I have a simple fold down setup we built before the desert trip. Just inserted into the receiver hitch. We added a step for better access into the camper as well. Pretty easy to do, but it is a chore to deal with.

I'm even running a tire that is smaller than what I run on the truck (285 vs 315) and it's still a pain. The step is nice for the camper. But lets say you spent a day wheeling, stop to camp and it was a really dusty trail. Well, I'm already dusty (no a/c) so dropping the tire is no big deal. But the next morning or say we just stopped for a lunch break, lifting that dusty tire back up without getting dusty again is impossible. I just keep wet wipes handy to wipe my hands after lifting the tire up.

A week on the trail or a weekend by the end of the run I'm really tired of yanking the tire up into position.

As far as the installed height of the tire isn't far off from where it would be if it was a swing out. I can lift it up there, but it's awkward because it is so high. I got help the last time I mounted it up. But as someone else mentioned, depending on the terrain how you park dictates how high it actually sits. I've had the truck on level ground, but the grade dropped somewhat right behind it. Tire sits lower when down and takes a bigger yank to get it back up again.

Personally, I'm going to go to a swing out. We may reuse part of this setup, but welding the u-channel we built right to the face of the bumper. This way the pivot is double sheer. Or I've got a 10bolt front axle spindle/outer shaft, hub and lockout to use as the spindle. Yes, that would be single sheer, but the bearings are much larger than the trailer spindles then the 10bolt spindle and outer shaft (cut to the right length) welded to the bumper for strength. One key thing I've read on swingout setups is making sure the other end is properly supported when locked in place. Leaving the free end to hang in space when put into closed position (even if locked) the weight of the tire will put the leverage on the spindle and eventually fatigue and snap.

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Cruise night

Cruise night

 
How would you guys suggest to support it? I have got a dual swing out bumper that works pretty well.

It has latches that are more a lever/pin design. The hole that the pin drops into is starting to get hogged out and thus rattling. I am going to switch to the ruffstuff latches and go with a spring loaded pins for the open position stops.
 
You want a ramp or block of some type that the swing arm rests on even before you latch it. That way the weight of the arm and tire/wheel is supported on each end. Look at Ruffstuff's site for the swingout parts kit they sell and they really point out that the arm needs support on the free end to keep the spindle from breaking.
 
I have had a plan to build one forever. But with assist so it’s as easy as one finger lift or lower it. I surely will Love my bumper design lol!
 
Actually I will be using a cheap Harbor freight 1500 lb capacity cheap winch that’s mounted as out of the way as much as I can make it, and the cable will run around a pulley, winch being remote operated. Push button raise and lower and It will be easily removable so I’ll have a portable 1500 winch on the trail with me and not have to mess with my 8472 Warn for light duty lifting.
 
Please forgive this question. I have been thinking about this problem for awhile. My 71 K5 will run 33's, not huge. But heavy. I like the idea of swing away. But my question is on the fold down, how do you get the lug nuts on to hold the wheel to the carrier? Especially in the field. Maybe be I am missing something obvious, so once again forgive me if this is a dumb question.
 
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