So I decided to start my spare tire carrier build today. After some research on James' carrier built through a fab shop and the dislikes he had with his I took some notes and started to fab.
This picture is of the pre cut-to-length receiver that will pose as the pass through receiver/shackle mount/hinge for the tire mount that is still to be built...hopefully tomorrow.
The bottom bolt is the pivot bolt, the second bolt will hold the mount in the raised position and the top hole is for the upper half to be bolted to. I wanted the upper half to be removable from the bottom half in case I want to add a different accessory such as a grill or anything else I might need.
This shows the hinge in the lowered position which will hopefully allow for the mount to be parallel to the ground. The extended receiver still has to be cut to length and the reinforcement welded to the end to keep from cracking the corners when there is a load. Also there has to be a piece welded to the top of the hinge on the side closest to the vehicle so the upper half of the holder wont fall toward the back glass! I plan to add a mount for a table to be installed when the tire is in the parallel position.
I notched and tapered the rearmost edge to allow for the hinge to lay parallel properly. Please excuse the welds...i never claimed to be a welder! If all goes well I will be able to get the upper half of the mount built tomorrow. Working at break time at work only allows for so much time to fabricate but I will do my best to keep this up to date.
So I got a bit more work done on the Carrier over the past few days. I know its not professionally fabricated (nor is it finished) but Im pretty happy with it so far. Do wish I would have moved it a bit closer to the vehicle but it will have to do...not starting over now!
It isn't finished yet. I still have to get the correct hardware, possibly gusset the angled section, reinforce the receiver end, and disassemble to powder coating. Im pretty happy with it thus far although my wife says it ugly.
