Author Topic: 4runner Swing Out Tire Carrier (Newest Version as of 1/1/12) (Read 26418 times)

studentwheeler · « **on:** Dec 11, 2009, 06:28:42 PM »

I wasn't happy havin my spare under my truck or tied to the roll bar so my best option was a swing out tire carrier. I built a simple square bumper last year that I had been running so I built it off of that.
Used quarter inch 2x4 about 62 inches long or so. Cut the ends off of my original bumper, welded the 2x4 directly to that both top and bottom and then drilled through both and used grade 8 bolts to bolt it all together nice and snug. I also braced the outer ends of the 2x4 directly to the brackets (more bracing and connection points to the frame are needed and are coming in the future).
I picked up a slick wheel spindle hinge setup from a local 4x4 shop, hole sawed through the end of the 2x4 and made sure she was straight up and down and welded the heck out of it.
I had built the tire carrier portion a while back on a different truck with a poor hinge design so I cut the hinge off and attached it to the new hinge. For the latch I used a verticle toggle latch from togglelatchbiz.com (

) and picked up a rubber stopper pad from the local ranch supply. Took a little bit of trial and error to get the best setting with the latch etc but its nice and tight now. For the lower part of the latch i drilled and tapped the top hole and ran another grade 8 all the way through both bumpers for the bottom bolt.
I wanted to be able to access the window key hole easily so I offset everything to the driver side. Added a bar to hold my lic plate and back up light.
Still need to add another latch or some sort of secondary protection just in case the toggle latch fails...still figuring that one out.
Any ways heres some pics:

studentwheeler · « **Reply #1 on:** Dec 11, 2009, 06:30:00 PM »

studentwheeler · « **Reply #2 on:** Dec 11, 2009, 06:32:18 PM »

Volcom · « **Reply #3 on:** Dec 15, 2009, 10:11:50 AM »

Looks good! You might have to raise the tire mount higher if you start dragging the spare on the ground on steep climbs

studentwheeler · « **Reply #4 on:** Dec 15, 2009, 09:07:56 PM »

Quote from: Volcom on Dec 15, 2009, 10:11:50 AM

Looks good! You might have to raise the tire mount higher if you start dragging the spare on the ground on steep climbs

Yea I think I will definitely have to move the tire up eventualy. I looked at it and it needs to go up 4 inches to be ideal.

asshat11 · « **Reply #5 on:** Dec 22, 2009, 10:01:16 AM »

Your new bumper looks stout. I am thinking about a similar setup on my '85, what kind of welder do I need to fab something like thsi up?

Gibson · « **Reply #6 on:** Dec 22, 2009, 01:31:10 PM »

i am doinn the same for my runner. where did u get the latch?

Gibson · « **Reply #7 on:** Dec 22, 2009, 01:32:42 PM »

ok i just found where u said u got it sorry. good lookin work though

studentwheeler · « **Reply #8 on:** Dec 23, 2009, 11:13:26 AM »

Quote from: Gibson on Dec 22, 2009, 01:32:42 PM

ok i just found where u said u got it sorry. good lookin work though

Yea it was like 10 bucks for the latch, i forget what the pull/holding rating is but it is the highest one they had for that style.

Good luck and post up your build

Snowtoy · « **Reply #9 on:** Dec 23, 2009, 05:46:25 PM »

If you are concerned with the latch letting loose( a buddy had this issue w/the one on his Runner), you could either run safety pin at the hinge that would drop into place when the carrier was closed and could also drop into a hole to hold the carrier open, or if not concerned with holding it open, weld a section of chain on one side with a loop welded to the other and use a clasp.

foonanas · « **Reply #10 on:** Dec 27, 2009, 07:05:22 AM »

where did you get the spindle from?

88Rokyoat · « **Reply #11 on:** Dec 29, 2009, 11:02:26 AM »

I have built 4 swing outs with this one from rockstomper. It works great and its rated to 1000 lbs.

http://rockstomper.netfirms.com/shoppingcart/nfoscomm/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=102

studentwheeler · « **Reply #12 on:** Dec 31, 2009, 11:33:14 AM »

Quote from: asshat11 on Dec 22, 2009, 10:01:16 AM

Your new bumper looks stout. I am thinking about a similar setup on my '85, what kind of welder do I need to fab something like thsi up?

Thanks! I used a Miller 175. (Buddy let me borrow it) Nice setup.

Quote from: foonanas on Dec 27, 2009, 07:05:22 AM

where did you get the spindle from?

I got it from a local Jeep shop in San Jose. Not sure on the brand or who made it. Poison Spider Customs is the name of the shop. It's over by where Comerson's Toy shop is now just on the other side of hwy 17.

studentwheeler · « **Reply #13 on:** May 16, 2010, 09:59:20 PM »

So after building the original spare tire carrier, I have since gone to 35's and a new carrier was in order. I could have reworked the existing one to make the 35 fit but i figured I could engineer the whole thing better anyways. Instead of using one straight pull latch like on the old carrier, I used two 90 degree pull latches. The new carrier holds my spare 35 up out of the way of rocks and has a bit of a slant to it to somewhat match the line of the rear 4runner window and help with the departure angle. Holds a jerry can and back up light as well. Made it out of 1.5" square tube. Can't remember the thickness right now. Here's some pics.

studentwheeler · « **Reply #14 on:** May 16, 2010, 10:06:06 PM »

couple more

2slow4you · « **Reply #15 on:** May 17, 2010, 12:19:31 PM »

do you have any rubber/bushing under the lower support bar? how is it so far with noise? Looks good.

trollcruiser · « **Reply #16 on:** May 18, 2010, 08:50:20 PM »

Is there a zerk on the spindle to grease it or is it just running on whatever it had from the beginning? Looks good and functional.

studentwheeler · « **Reply #17 on:** May 18, 2010, 11:53:15 PM »

Quote from: 2slow4you on May 17, 2010, 12:19:31 PM

do you have any rubber/bushing under the lower support bar? how is it so far with noise? Looks good.

No rubber bushing under lower bar because the rack gets it vertical support by resting on top of the bar that it latches to (the bar that partially blocks the tail lights). Right now it is metal on metal, need to put a small bushing in between. (Also need to cut off excess top bar that extends beyond where it makes contact with latching bar).
It did have alot of vibrations to it so I connected the latching bar to the body by sandwiching the body with plate that has 4 bolts and a tube welded in the middle that connects to the latching bar. That tightened everything up. Now; how much will the body want to move independently of the bumper? is the question since they are now joined in that spot (right above tail light)...we shall see.

Quote from: trollcruiser on May 18, 2010, 08:50:20 PM

Is there a zerk on the spindle to grease it or is it just running on whatever it had from the beginning? Looks good and functional.

Thanks for the compliments. No zerk fitting, just have to repack bearings periodically...

tonyp2330 · « **Reply #18 on:** Jun 21, 2010, 04:30:37 PM »

Not a bad set up, going to keep yours in mind when I get to building mine.

gtoyonrocks · « **Reply #19 on:** Jun 21, 2010, 04:32:29 PM »

That's a nice looking set up. I like that a lot. Nice work.

86YotaKing · « **Reply #20 on:** Jun 30, 2010, 11:44:03 PM »

Nice work im very jealious

Tofudude · « **Reply #21 on:** Apr 13, 2011, 12:20:41 AM »

i know this is abit old, but how did you go about with the license plate?

Snowtoy · « **Reply #22 on:** Apr 18, 2011, 09:05:26 PM »

This is how I did mine.

The plate holder slides onto the stub that the spare sits on, and is held in place with a pin. I reused the original license plate lights, so I am still legal. A couple of buddies did the same thing, only w/o a light, and were never bothered by the CHP. I have seen others where the plate is mounted to to the gas can holder or even tied to the hi-lift, etc.

Tofudude · « **Reply #23 on:** Apr 19, 2011, 12:38:27 AM »

you use the wiring from the orginal location or the entire light housing etc.

Snowtoy · « **Reply #24 on:** Apr 19, 2011, 08:59:30 PM »

I reused everything. I cut the oem harness behind the lights so I could splice in an extension, when I made the mount I cut holes in it so the oem lights would pop in just as they did on the truck.

Tofudude · « **Reply #25 on:** Apr 20, 2011, 12:31:51 AM »

o sweet, thats going to help me out on my build, thanks

defrag4 · « **Reply #26 on:** Aug 23, 2011, 10:25:43 AM »

thanks for the info and the latch links

Tofudude · « **Reply #27 on:** Oct 08, 2011, 03:00:24 PM »

how did you make the hole for the spindle?

studentwheeler · « **Reply #28 on:** Oct 11, 2011, 09:09:00 PM »

Quote from: Tofudude on Oct 08, 2011, 03:00:24 PM

how did you make the hole for the spindle?

Just used a hole saw on the end of a drill that was just a tad bit bigger than the spindle. As well for the license plate light, I used an LED license plate holder/light combo and just stuck the wire right into the stock wiring harness where the tailights hook up and found the running lights wire and pushed the wire in nice and snug.

Will be reworking the entire bumper and swing out in the next couple of weeks. Going from the 4runner tailgate to a pickup tailgate...should pick up a good 4 to 6 inches of clearance once I move my bumper up. Got the tailgate all mocked up last night and I'm pretty excited to keep workin on it to see how it turns out.

Tofudude · « **Reply #29 on:** Oct 17, 2011, 05:45:12 PM »

what gauge was the piece that you used?

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