Building "Maggie"

I'm a little behind on my mod thread. I will get it back up to speed in the next week or so. Lots of things to add!

 

Here is a mod I finished today. I built this rear tire swing out.

 

Here are a few pictures of me building a rear tire carrier. I have been practicing up on my welding lately because I knew I had this project coming up. Most of my welds are pretty nice, and overall I'm more than happy with the final result. It's nice to have a place my spare can call home.

The hinge and latch are both from Armor Tech here: https://www.armortechoffroad.com/Swing-Out-Tire-Carrier-Hinge-Assembly_p_356.html
All told I had $140 in the hardware and about $40 in steel, plus my time.

 

They're studs just like you would use for your regular tires. I put 2 spot welds on the front and fully welded the heads in the rear. Pretty sure it's not gonna move. If I see any signs of fatigue then I will gusset the mounting plate. But as of now I can shake the hell outta the tire and the swing out doesn't move at all.

 

Here you can see I gusseted the mounting hub arm.

 

What do you mean by hub? I'm not following...

 

Last weekend I went out Shiloh Ridge to put the truck through a little shake down since all the mods.

It was a great weekend with a lot of great people. The only victims of the wheeling trip were 2 driveshafts (mine included). Also ended up changing out a tie rod when I got home, but I'm not sure if it needed it.

Below are some video & pics of the fun.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MBduByialHM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>)





Decided this was gonna end up way too deep so I stopped quick.









Introducing a drive shaft to a rock is BAD….

Inspecting damage.






She couldn't make it home. It was a valiant effort but the vibration was too much. Thanks to Colin and Nathan for sticking with me on the way back.

 

CBI's Swing Out. No hub here…



Or Here…



Or Here…

 

Hey any input is great and I do appreciate it. I looked into all the different options that everyone was offering before I started so I would have a good idea of what I wanted as a finished product. The only thing I may do in the future (tomorrow) is add a gusset directly from the mounting plate to the tire arm at the top. While I welded slowly to get good penetration around the 2" tube, I would like a little more strength on that portion of the carrier. As of right now, not a damn thing moves on the carrier; all movement is transferred directly to the truck. It's STOUT!

 

yes, no need for a hub lip to rest on. Kase, you're probably just used to our trucks, when in fact, there are far fewer hub-centric vehicles out there, than lug-centric. 3 press fit lugs is plenty strong for a spare tire. however, jonathan, you may have weakened the lugs by welding to them. if they were hardened, you may have undone that process by aplying so much heat. a good pressed in lug is all you need.

 

FYI, this is the toyota wheel mounting plate that ruff stuff sells. commonly used on race trucks. all you do are press some high grade wheel studs in and you're good to go.

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com...earch_Begin_Only=&sort=&range_low=&range_high=

 

Any auto store will have studs.

 

Considering a lug normal is supporting the entire weight of a vehicle, which experiences massive forces, I'm not too worried about 3 studs supporting the weight of just a tire.

However, I will keep my eyes peeled for any signs of stress on the whole swing-out. If I see any weaknesses I'm not afraid to gusset accordingly. The only flex I've seen so far is when the gate is open and force is applied to it. In that case the flex I've seen is on the wing of the bumper, not the gate.

 

you'll also see some sag from the bushing since you're only using one, but that should be well supported in the stowed position.

 

nice truck! made some good choices to start out with. Wish I did the same when I started mine. Could have saved time/money.

 

shhhhhhhhhh, he already has a napolean complex.... no need to inflate his ego...

 

How's the exhaust fumes with it exiting under the truck, do you smell or notice it more while wheeling or stuck in traffic?

Been thnking of chopping mine but I'm a little worried about having it under the cab.

E

 

It actually dumps right at the rear of the cab, between the bed and cab. I haven't experienced fumes or exhaust smells in the cab at all. The beauty is you can always have the exhaust shop extend the dump pipe if you have any problems.

 

^^ That's true. Thanks.
E

 

Ordered all the parts for my on-board air tank. Ordered the tank from Beveragefactory.com for $85 versus $120 from wheelers



The tank bracket and regulator are from wheelersoffroad.com

Looking forward to getting the gear installed on the truck.

I also ordered 2 scepter gas cans for the rig.



This'll give me an excuse to fab up a holder for the cans.