Swing away rear tire prototype pics

[davidfkon]

As a victim of washboard/tire carrier mishaps, I've actually seen what NWOODS is suggesting. My Jeep suffered a smashed rear light and big time corner damage when the deflection that occured exceeded the catch mechanism . . . . that said I did have a larger tire (more weight) mounted than the LR3 OE size.

BTW, my tire did not exceed the weight limit of the carrier . . . . . even with two contact points, the carrier moved enough (mostly front to back movement) to instigate an instant pooper pucker. It was funny afterwards and my buddies got a good laugh.

I think your design is nice and clean, I like it . . . . .you'll have to see how your prototype survives the vertical and lateral (pitch and yaw) deflection . . . . your greatest stress point with the current design is going to be where you mount it to the bumper (no big surprise) . . . . .your moment of enertia is going to occur high where the tire/wheel mounts (again, no big surpirse). . . . .it's gonna bounce, hard to predict how much because it's not very long/tall.

It's obvious in the pix that your hinge is robust (plenty of material, grade 8 hardware) . . . . you may want to consider a backing plate to help reinforce the stamped steel bumper.

Well done, let us know how the prototype turns out mounted and wheeled.

What are your thoughts on the above?
Can you go into a little detail about mounting? is it removable?

 

[05lr3guy]

What are your thoughts on the above?
Can you go into a little detail about mounting? is it removable?

As far as "washboard damage" I do not see that the carrier would make it to the rear hatch unless something very violent occurred. The carrier is 2.5" from the door at its closest point. It is constructed from 2X3 3/16 tubing, I can only get the carrier to move 1/4" when shaking it with all my strength. The way I have mounted the carrier is; I drilled a 1.5" hole through the stamped steel bumper ( the bumper is 1/8" thick) then I inserted the spindle through the hole and welded it to the top part of the bumper. Then with the spindle sitting flush on the inside bottom of the bumper I welded it to the bottom of the bumper. I then installed the carrier with my spare to test how strong the 1/8" stamped bumper would be. Once mounted I climbed up on the tire to see how well it would support my weight (270) as well as the tire. There was no flex what so ever. However I did weld a 1/8" backing plate on the backside of the bumper, basically boxing the rear bumper. As for it being removable, the carrier is easily removed by taking the spindle nut loose and lifting up on the carrier. However the spindle is not removable. I hope this was helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Paul

 

[05lr3guy]

Here is a link to a video, not very good being I held my phone in one hand and opened the carrier with the other. But it is easy to open even with one hand For some reason youtube sped up the video
New video below....

 

[hell pie]

How difficult would it be to open the carrier when parked uphill or downhill?

 

[05lr3guy]

How difficult would it be to open the carrier when parked uphill or downhill?

As far as opening and closing it would be very easy as it is on bearings and rotates very smoothly. However as with any tire carrier you would need to have firm control of the tire or it could do substantial damage if it were allowed to rotate freely.

 

[blackforestham]

Hey Paul - Looks like the new hinge worked out great! How about some still pics of the set up. The club music and cell phone vid gave me vertigo. Be sure to post up on LRR as well! Do you have any finish pics yet (powder coated and complete)?

 

[nwoods]

What size tire is that? Doesn't seem to clear the rear tail light by much... How many turns on the threaded handle does it take to release the carrier? Can't really tell in the video. Would you consider a spring loaded, 90 degree turn release?

I really like the shape of the arm, it seems to match the lines of the LR3 really well. Nice job on that.

 

[05lr3guy]

What size tire is that? Doesn't seem to clear the rear tail light by much... How many turns on the threaded handle does it take to release the carrier? Can't really tell in the video. Would you consider a spring loaded, 90 degree turn release?

I really like the shape of the arm, it seems to match the lines of the LR3 really well. Nice job on that.

The tire is a 255/50/20, I am still working out my stop design to keep it away from both the tail light and rear door. I turned the handle 3 complete turns, I would be interested in the 90 degree handle. Can you show me an example?

 

[05lr3guy]

New open and close demo vid...
YouTube - LR3 Tire Carrier Cpen and Close Demo

 

[05lr3guy]

This could have been a great Americas Funniest Video...Fat guy and gravity...But it is a really strong tire carrier

YouTube - LR3 Weight Load