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Simple improvements for Big Ugly - cup holders and a spare tire mount

AJMBLAZER

AJMBLAZER

Better to be lucky than good.
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My road trip last weekend went pretty well. Brought to mind a few things though.

I really need some cup holders. What have you guys done for cup holders in these trucks?
I want to keep the bench seat so I don't want to install buckets and a center console or one of those "sits on the bench" center consoles.

LMC has these:
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/0050.asp
The item in the lower right corner.

and

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/0002.asp
Middle right of that page.
Anyone used these or anything else?

Okay, a 36" tire really takes up a lot of space while sitting on it's side in my bed. I'm thinking about the mounts that mount on the inside of the bed and stand the tire upright. Again LMC has some:
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/0032.asp
The top two items.
JCWhitney also has a generic version of those. Anybody know if any of these would work with my 36x12.5-16.5 tires and 8 lug wheels?
 
I'm also looking for cupholders and like the one that folds flat. The ashtray one looks OK, but I smoke (still)...

I actually have the in bed factory spare tire holder. There were two locations GM put them. Passenger rear corner and drivers front corner. I now have mine in the drivers front corner. I have a 235-75R15 bolted up there now, but had a look and a 36 would fit there too. There is enough room front and rear of the tire to physically fit in the space and the slot for the bolt goes right up to the bed rail so the extra height shouldn't be a problem.

The only thing you might need to do is make another holder that spigots in the rim hole because the 8 lug rim hole is larger. I didn't have the round rim holder, but found a billet aluminum seal driver I had fit perfectly and already had the right size bolt hole in it.

Here is a pic when the tire carrier was at the passenger rear...

IMG_0443.jpg


And for reference here is a pic of the front of the bed showing there is more room there for a larger tire.

IMG_0444.jpg


You can see the aluminum seal driver i used to hold the tire in the first pic. That rear passenger location sucks for creating a blind spot though which was why I moved it.

Rene
 
I have one of the cupholders that fit in the ashtray. I love it. only thing is that fountain drinks wont fit sometimes, but most places around here have the cups with a small bottom so they will fit. it never gets in the way. and keeps your buddys from using your ashtray when your not looking.

Dustin
 
Thanks guys.:cool1:

I'm thinking about those little fold down ones a bit more too. The wife and I talked while we were out in Big Ugly today and it seemed like two of the fold down ones mounted on the dash pad in front of her and next to where if flares out for the radio and guage cluster would be ideal for us.
Dunno about the ash tray one as it seems like it would be in the way of the transfer case shifter and the cigarette lighter. I don't smoke but I have a remarkable habit of killing my cell phone battery so I use my charger frequently.


Rene, so from looking at LMC's catalog it looks like the one on the left is the OEM GM setup. Notice the little triangular handle-nut thingy (no. 6 in the left diagram)? Would that do the job of locating the rim well enough?
So when mounting these you just find a place that fits correctly for this setup and the tire and then drill some holes? Doesn't appear to be any pre-set spots for these in the bed unless they mount where the eyebolt looking things are that the military put in on the floor.

I was thinking about putting the spare on the passenger side forward of the wheel hump so that the 100+ lbs of tire helps to counteract my weight some but it would create a bit of a blind spot. Probably end up putting it on the driver's side like you did.
 
yeah, the ash tray cupholder will get in the way of the cig lighter outlet. mine is not in the way of the transfer case shifter though. Dustin
 
I have the fold down one mounted to my dash to the right of the gauge cluster. It works great oter than one thing.

I never checked to see if it would clear the shifter in all gears. Getting into 3rd gear (2nd onthe shifter) is a PITA when it is folded open:haha:

I'll move it someday.
 
Oh, good point. Thanks for the heads up!
 
The '81 3/4 T Sub I bought last month has a perfect dash. Not a crack or scratch on it. Hard to believe on one that old. :D
But, the previous owner hot glued and screwed two cup holders to it............unbelieveable!!! :doah:
 
The triangle nut should do the job...

The holes on my truck were in both locations already, but to be honest it's not that hard to drill 4 holes if your truck isn't pre-drilled already.

Rene
 
don - that is pretty amazing...low mileage unit? Big Ugly's dash cover is pretty sound but it has some cracks and cosmetic issues. I'm not that worried about it because as the name says, it's Big Ugly.;)

Rene - yeah, I figure the hole drilling would be pretty easy...however looking at those eyebolt tie down thingies I think that's probably what their holes were originally intended for. The nice part about this truck so far is that at 52k miles the bolts seem to just spin right off, should be a peice o' cake to install.:D
 
I've got the ash tray style cup holder. I recomend it! Only gets in the way when shifting into 4LO where the top of the shifter hits the bottom the cup holder. Although I got the 1 cup holder but I got the King size one. I ordered mine through YearOne. They have them available in more colors and sizes. Never had a drink that didn't fit in there. Mostly I use it to hold my garage door opener and glasses case for my shades. :D

Here's a pic:

Feb 12, 07 010.jpg

EDIT:

Oh and it doesn't hit the trans shifter at all and I can still get access at the cigarette lighter.

Feb 12, 07 010.jpg
 
Chevy305 said:
I've got the ash tray style cup holder. I recomend it! Only gets in the way when shifting into 4LO where the top of the shifter hits the bottom the cup holder. Although I got the 1 cup holder but I got the King size one. I ordered mine through YearOne. They have them available in more colors and sizes. Never had a drink that didn't fit in there. Mostly I use it to hold my garage door opener and glasses case for my shades. :D

Here's a pic:

View attachment 48215

EDIT:

Oh and it doesn't hit the trans shifter at all and I can still get access at the cigarette lighter.
Click to expand...
Got a link? can't seem to find it. EDIT- Nevermind I found them, they are under DRINK HOLDERS on year one.
 
Not much to add here other than HEY AJM!!! Lol I haven't been on here in a while, seeing you brought back old orc memories, especially your avatar... Good times :)
 
willyswanter said:
Not much to add here other than HEY AJM!!! Lol I haven't been on here in a while, seeing you brought back old orc memories, especially your avatar... Good times :)
Click to expand...
Hey man! Yep, keep running into some of the orc and CK5 old timers on here. Finally did get that GM SFA but not how I intended. How's the crewcab turned truggy?
 
In pieces... Getting new axles, rebuilt suspension (no more RE joints, there the devil) and some cage work...
 
Check out a local boat supply store or look up westmarine.com (I tried to link but it didn't work) and search drink holder with 26 varieties of drink holder anybody should find something that works and some are self leveling ;)
 
As for the spare holder ratchet straps do me just fine and the bed is too high to put much in anyhow that is why I built a 18" drop tow bar for the dirt bike trailer. But I am still thinking about making a 12' ;) folding ramp anyhow
 
willyswanter said:
In pieces... Getting new axles, rebuilt suspension (no more RE joints, there the devil) and some cage work...
Click to expand...
Got a link to some more current pictures? Don't think I've seen it since it was in one of the mags a few years ago...might have been a picture on here someone linked to.
Dumb question but how's that Ram holding up? I'm still leery of them after my '99...you were right...:bow:

Thanks goofy. www.westmarine.com I think I know where their local place is. Might check out some of their options in person.:waytogo:
Big Ugly is actually stock in the suspension department. Shocks might even be original. I'm just trying to find a way to get the spare into a safe and usable position. It seems like it's huge sometimes but it's actually pretty tame by some of the standards on here.:laugh:
 
So I have a question for everyone with those fold down ones like what LMC sells:

How tough are they? Is a Big Gulp or 24oz drink going to break them or are they sturdy?

How wide are they? Can I get my Taco Bell value meal drink in there or am I size limited to cans?

Do they have some good "clamp" on the drink to keep it inside?

Hate to buy the things and then find out they're cheap crap.
 
Bringing this thread back.

Kinda sad to see Willy on here. Wow, 7 months ago...



So back to the topic. Rene, think I could fit a 37" tall tire in there? My 11.00R16's measure just about 37" perfectly.

So who's used the fold down cup holders that LMC sells?
 
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