As many of us are well aware of, a spare tire takes up valuable cargo space. Time to remedy that situation. Build a tire carrier!
In order to achieve this you need to ensure you have a strong base to carry weight without sag. Step-bumper is gone!
In it's place a custom built slab of armor lives. Box tubing 3x6x.25" was shaped into a muscular platform strong enough to carry a spare tire and whatever else I decide to mount.
A finger-tip-trip to the World Wide Web found me a spindle, complete with taper bearings and dust seals*.
The bumper was notched and the slug of chromoly welded in. Installed the sleeve and built the carrier frame off that.
Overbuilt, that is the word that describes this swing out system. Holds a 35" BFG KM2 without a problem!
DISREGARD anything having to do with using a spindle!
There are people who have had absolutely no problems using trailer spindles as a pivot point on a swing out gate, sure. I can not in good conscience recommend it anymore as I had a catastrophic failure of mine. The welding process I used during installation, heavy weight and constant vibration most likely caused the failure by transforming the chromoly's metallurgy making it brittle. It was a matter of fortune that the failure came while stationary, parked out front of my crib, rather than cruising down the freeway at 70mph, loaded up with 10 gallons of fuel, a 35" BFG and the steel gate itself, which could have caused major damage to life and property. The loss of a $25 C.B. coaxial cable is a small price to pay for a major wake up call. We are all responsible for our own property and the damage it can cause, thus my desire to make the gate absolutely fail safe.
DUAL SHEAR. This setup is bulletproof. The dual shear bracket takes the load at the pivot point, rather than the pin itself taking the extreme stress. The bracket, gusseted top and bottom and welded to the bumper, features two points of restraint in the highly unlikely case the pivot pin breaks. The pin is a grade 8 1"x6" bolt, the nut welded to the bottom of the bracket. The taper bearings used with the spindle are used with the bolt, ensuring a smooth swing.
If you are a spindle swinger, I urge you to reconsider your setup. Having a single point of failure without redundancy is folly.
