Need advice/thoughts for towbar mounted swing out spare wheel carrier.

[4String.]

Folks.

As I'm far too old to crawl under the van to get to the spare wheel in the event of a puncture, and I can't carry it in the van as I'm converting it to a camper, I'm in the process of making a dual swing out carrier to mount on the towbar of my Transit Custom, spare wheel on the nearside and extra storage on the offside. The main "frame" will be a full width length of 4"x2" box section bolted to the towbar with two half width lengths of the same on top that pivot from the outside, like so:


For the pivots I acquired a pair of trailer hubs and spindles, the plan being to slot the ends of the lower box and weld in the square shank of the spindle, as per the r/h side of the photo, then notch the outer ends of the upper boxes and weld on the hubs, after machining the bolt flange off, all finished off with locking latches. I took the tow ball off because I don't tow anything with the van, and the combined weights of the carrier and spare wheel are still well below the maximum permissible weight for the bar so all is good in that respect.

After what feels like years spent machining the hub flange off on my little hobby lathe (anything more than a few thou stalls it...) I'm wondering what metal it's made of, here's the cuttings, and for reference the wood with the chalk "x" is 30mm wide:



As well as not being sure how it will weld to the steel box section, I'm also wondering if I'm over thinking and over engineering the entire pivot assembly, so if anyone can suggest a simpler method, I'm all ears. In all probability it doesn't need bearings, so what seemed to be the "right" style of pivot now seems over the top. Instead of a machined hub, would something as simple as a steel boss with a nylon liner suffice .

Thanks, as ever.

Martyn.

 

[knighty]

no experience of the pivot at all

but... I'd make it a bit narrower - unless it just looks wide in the photos?

it would make getting through tight spots a lot easier... plus less chance of some idiot or a lorry etc. catching it

 

[Rannsachair]

I had a mantec swing away on my Defender, it just had delrin bushes and worked for 2 decades without replacing them.

You probably considered something like this, quite neat:

almost £300 on ebay.

 

[cheb]

Lose the spare wheel and take a tin of tyre repair spray. How often do you get punctures?

 

[Agroshield]

Could a winch-up arrangement that allows you store the spare in the normal place but retrieve and stow it from outside the outline of the vehicle be an option?

 

[tom2207]

take a look at Pivlok website ,, or the likes ,,, an hour of looking will reveal many ideas /

 

[4String.]

no experience of the pivot at all

but... I'd make it a bit narrower - unless it just looks wide in the photos?

it would make getting through tight spots a lot easier... plus less chance of some idiot or a lorry etc. catching it

The photo does make it look wider than it is but I should have mentioned that the box isn't cut to final length yet, needs a couple of inches trimming off. The finished length will be slightly narrower than the van, just enough so that when it swings open it will allow the van doors to open past 90 degrees, and there'll be a red/white marker lamp on the end to make the bar more visible when reversing at night.

 

[4String.]

I had a mantec swing away on my Defender, it just had delrin bushes and worked for 2 decades without replacing them.

You probably considered something like this, quite neat:

View attachment 506742 almost £300 on ebay.

The door mounted carriers look good but I worry that the hinges are rated for the extra weight. That's probably me over thinking things again.

 

[Jack Pattenden]

Lose the spare wheel and take a tin of tyre repair spray. How often do you get punctures?

What I've always been told is that the tyre repair sprays are an awful idea and you're better off calling for recovery to get somewhere who will repair it, if you don't have a spare.

Apparently that gunk really wrecks a tyre and punctures that could have been repaired become write offs?

 

[Turbo]

I recall someone on here made a swing out tyre carrier for a 4x4. He also made a heavy steel bumper. Was it Ned?

 

[bricol]

When I see those high mounted spare wheels, I often wonder how happy people are trying to lift a possibly filthy, wet, heavy wheel and tyre up as high as some are, align it, keep it on while they remember where they put the retaining device(s).

I'd much rather be sliding it along the ground, into a carrier than winding it up into place.

 

[Robotstar5]

When I see those high mounted spare wheels, I often wonder how happy people are trying to lift a possibly filthy, wet, heavy wheel and tyre up as high as some are, align it, keep it on while they remember where they put the retaining device(s).

I'd much rather be sliding it along the ground, into a carrier than winding it up into place.

Try lifting a 7.50 x 16 wheel onto the bonnet of a Landy

 

[tom2207]

What I've always been told is that the tyre repair sprays are an awful idea and you're better off calling for recovery to get somewhere who will repair it, if you don't have a spare.

Apparently that gunk really wrecks a tyre and punctures that could have been repaired become write offs?

nope ,,, what it does is turn a simple puncture into a mess , but it washes out ok , and things are back to normal , it just takes four times as long , I did it once as a had to ,,, but I would be reluctant to do it again ,,, mind you I used the genuine volvo gunk and it gets pumped in with their own compressor ,,, the actual tins I wouldnt entertain at all.

 

[Turbo]

It's even worse on my van since I fitted the tow bar. There's not enough room now to slide the spare out of the carrier underneath!
You have to jack the back of the van up first to gain enough clearance to get the wheel out!

 

[tom2207]

Try lifting a 7.50 x 16 wheel onto the bonnet of a Landy

Ive seen them on the roof ,,, dont know what winkle spanner though that was a good idea.

 

[Islander71]

It's even worse on my van since I fitted the tow bar. There's not enough room now to slide the spare out of the carrier underneath!
You have to jack the back of the van up first to gain enough clearance to get the wheel out!

Same with my Santa Fe - have to carry a block of wood for the jack to be able to lift the back high enough to get the spare wheel past the towbar.

 

[Robotstar5]

Ive seen them on the roof ,,, dont know what winkle spanner though that was a good idea.

Those are usually after market mountings, LR had them on the bonnet or behind the front seats bulkhead and later, on the rear door.

 

[tom2207]

heres a thought ,,, just an idea .. how about mounting it like a swing down tailgate door ,,, from the bumper , so when its needed it sits on the ground ,,, and when dropped down and not needed it becomes a step to get into the camper part ,,, if you get my drift , the whole thing could even be powered like a tail lift on an ambulance ,,,

 

[Robotstar5]

I got fed up of lifting the weight of the spare wheel whenever I opened the bonnet so made a basic carrier for the back of my Lightweight, I just used bolts for the pivot points.

 

[dutch2u2]

Try lifting a 7.50 x 16 wheel onto the bonnet of a Landy

Even worse is a 900x16 into a landrover FC 101