Another concept I came up with, it still opens the same as the stock tailgate, but would still clear the factory bumper. Loading and unloading of the spare would be fairly easy as well.
CK5
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Tailgate Concept Part II
- Thread starter kennyw
- Start date
cegusman
3/4 ton status
I like it.
Yep, I do too. It's basically a similar design as the "Tire Gate" but it folds down and the tire is offset to the driver side.
StevoandaRedK5
1/2 ton status
looks good to me as well. What size tire is this gonna hold?
Right now it is showing a 37 x 12.5 in there, but it can easily take up to a 44 x 15.5 by making the opening wider and the tire stand taller.
I like it better than design 1, but I'd be concerned about ingress into that bed area if you needed to get to a toolbox (or a beer in the cooler!) 
It's a pretty bulky deal sticking out there. Can you play around with the pivot point a bit more? If you can bring it out a few inches more, there's a chance that the entire gate assembly could drop down and end up perpendicular to the ground instead. That might make access substantially better to the rest of the bed area.
It's a pretty bulky deal sticking out there. Can you play around with the pivot point a bit more? If you can bring it out a few inches more, there's a chance that the entire gate assembly could drop down and end up perpendicular to the ground instead. That might make access substantially better to the rest of the bed area.
I likes it. With my 130lb tires my concern is always that I'd somehow have to get the tire up onto whatever mount I eventually come up with.
I still need to put the M1008 bumper in the model so I can check how far it will actually be able to drop. The current pivot point is using the factory pickup pivot's for simplicity.
I had a bumper/swing down built like blazenoffroads. Yea its heavy to lift but it pivots so its not to bad. But i do like the design here.
ANything bigger than a stock tire and your gonna need some assist struts on that thing.
Looks nice though!
Looks nice though!
Unfortunately there is no such thing as "the perfect design" I like this style and the TIRE GATE design but you still end up with some of the tire intruding into the bed space. You also lose visibility with the tire tilted or ofcourse straight up. Having it flat like on a TIRE GATE design gives you great visibility but intrudes in the bed a great deal more then the tilt design. I have though about designing this very type of tailgate myself but it still bugs me that you have to sacrifice somewhere in the design. Also having to lift that up with a big tire ain't all that easy I bet. Also it not being a solid gate allows rain into the bed. Your design would keep intruders out atleast.
Also having to lift that up with a big tire ain't all that easy I bet...quote]
I'm really not bothered by the weight of the tire (maybe 120Lbs total), but the bulkiness of not being able to get my arms around it. Any design that allows me to lift the tire with the help of some kind of tube or handle, and a fixed pivot point so that it isn't shifting all around makes it a lot easier to deal with.
For me, I am putting this on an open pickup bed, so being open is a plus. However, on a K5 it would not be a big deal to seal it up better than open tube, but you don't have any window glass either.
You have to realize you are using a lever to provide mechanical advantage when you lift the gate. So a 120# tire and wheel will now only take 60# of force to lift with a 2:1 lever (if the weight of the tire is in the center of the gate). I would probably add a handle that gives more leverage than that depending on how hard it is to lift.
BUDDY
1/2 ton status
Nice idea. Use your hi-lift handle as the helper & you wouldn't have to pack something else.
Later,
Buddy
