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Swing Out Tire Carrier

J

jpicconi

Full Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2002
Messages
19
Location
Bellevue, Nebraska
I tried to find if someone had already posted this topic, but could not find anything, so sorry if this issue has already been addressed.
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I am not happy with the location of the spare tire on my AV. ?I tend to spend a lot of time in the mud and right now, the snow and if I were to get a flat tire (So far I have not had to do this), I would rather not crawl through the mud, snow to get the tire out. ?I am wondering if it would be possible to mount a swing out tire carrier on the back of an AV. ?I know that you can mount them on trucks with tail gates, but I don't know what it would look like. ?I really like the type of tire carrier that you commonly see on Defender 90s, with 2 gas cans and a shovel along with the spare tire. ?Anyone else thought of this or better yet, know where to get one that will fit on the AV? ?Below I have attached the locations of one manufacturer for the D90 tire carrier that I am thinking about.
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http://www.safarigard.com/graphics/products/tire_carrier.gif
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Thanks,
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jpicconi
 
i have been looking for something like this too. I have not been able to find anything though. If I remember right I thought I saw something like this on the 2002 Chevy Avalanche Olymipic truck. The one that was designed to hold the torch when someone was not carrying it. But, I have not been able to find a pic of that Avalanche.
 
I was looking at my truck today and it looks like there are a few options for hardpoints on the right rear fender that might accomodate a swing out tire carrier. If you trim off the overlapping part of the right storage compartment, it looks like you could bolt onto the same structure that the right handle is bolted onto, or you could just unscrew the right handle and attach the tire carrier there. The other place might be the part that sticks out above the bumper that is covered by cladding. Does anyone know if there is anything substantial underneath this? The only other option would be to hook onto the bumper, which sould then need reinforcement.

I have no idea how this would look. I imagine it would not help with the aerodynamics/resistance of the truck unless you have a camper on the back. Anyone able to do a little photoshop work to see what it would look like?

Sorry for all the questions, I seem to be short of answers.

jpicconi
 
I spoke to the collision repair center at my local dealer and he gave me some bad news about this mod. He said that the entire pickup bed is meant to be a crumple zone around the cab and as such, is not structurally capable of supporting the weight of a swing out tire carrier. He said that in order to support up to a tire, jack, and two Jerry cans, he would have to dismantle the interior of the fender and weld steel supports inside of it to the frame. He said it is possible, though not for less than a couple thousand dollars.

Well that settles that. I will be happy to lower my spare from under the bed and save a few grand.

jpicconi
 
Maybe something like they use on RV's for their spares. They swing down to allow access to compartments in the RV. Could it be somehow attached to your trailer hitch?
 
I used to do propane conversions on this type of vehicle, and we removed the spare tires to provide room for the propane tanks. What to do with the spares was a common problem. Most people put them in the back and lived with it. But I have seen bed mounts and trailer-hitch mounts, and even built a few. Problem is, you have to swing it out of the way any time you want to open the tailgate. I have seen some that drop down, and you will develop good arm muscles if you own one of these!
Various places (harbor freight, northern tool) sell racks that fit into the hitch, although they may be in the way off road.
Good luck!
 
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