Tire Carrier Input Please

I am in the process of fabricating a tire carrier. I have found several good posts here regarding options for swing out carriers and trail racks but my needs are a little different. I have no tailgate due to my fiberglass tub so I'm not interested in a swing out design. I want to mount a carrier directly to my existing bumper using bolts that will allow removal in the future should I change directions with the Jeep. My tires are 31X10.50 on 8" wheels so my load will be around 50 lbs I guess. I plan to mount the carrier on 3" gusseted angle iron bolted to my existing bumper, the carrier will be made using 2" tubed steel. I have drawn up what I think will work but I request your input before I start cutting my new steel.

I am attaching a simple drawing I made using MS Paint, please look it over and tell me what you think (Good or bad).

Thanks,

 

That will probably be fine for a 31" tire, but anything mounted only to the bumper will tend to wiggle, vibrate, flex, rattle, you get the idea...

Since you don't have a tailgate, I'd suggest making a tire carrier that ties-in to the body up higher as well. If you are concerned about the body/frame flex, you could use poly mounts to isolate the carrier and if you're concerned about putting stress on the fiberglass tub (I would be), I'd think about tying into the rollcage. It would be pretty simple to add some type of tubular or plate reinforcement that would run right under the inner wheelwells.

 

That design would place quite a lever arm on the bumper, close to 2' from center of tire to attachment point. This will effectively double the torque placed on the bumper attachment points. Attaching w/ angle so you have fasteners on the horizontal top of the bumper as well as the vertical back of the bumper will help. Tying into the frame will help more and an attachment towards the top of the carrier will eliminate the torque stress completely. Just something to think about.:v6:

 

I think you have the right idea, except, I would change the triangular gussets to square gussets that would actually rest down on the original angle/bumper piece. Of course you would have to grind out the corners. Or make some sort of vertical pieces that would help support it from leaning away from the Jeep. The problem is when you bounce over a bump or something, the whole tire and carrier will want to flex away from the jeep. That is what you want to eliminate.

 

You might want to reconsider not having a swing out carrier. I access the back of my jeep a lot through the rear window. Think of all your options that you may want…jerry cans, equipment rack, high lift mounts ect. When I built mine, I didn’t put much thought into it all the options and I kick myself daily…so needless to say, I’ll be changing mine this summer.

 

the pics of mine are here, under tire carrier
I used a tow bar to mount and caryy the tire/wheel.
http://community.webshots.com/user/jpflat2a

 

Thanks everyone for the input, now I'm thinking about some changes which include building a new rear bumper to rest the carrier on. This would allow a swing out option and also get the bumper to protrude out past the tub. As it sits now the bumper is under the tub and allows nothing to be mounted on top of it you know what I mean. Thanks again.

 

I'm glad you are changing the design a bit. The rear crossmember you have now won't hold up real well to the design. A 3" square tube bumper tied into the frame well will be a much better starting point to your design

 

Here's a great hinge for the tire carrier. http://www.rockstomper.com/catalog/pieces/hinge.htm
I've built two using this hinge. The weak point, as noted above, is always the rear crossmember. It is too flimsy to mount a tire carier/bumper to. On the frame I'm working on, I cut off the original crossmember and I am welding on a new one made from 2" x 3" x 3/16" tubing. It will be my bumper and crossmember and will have the tire carrier mounted to it.

 

My tire carrier has been mounted on my rear channel for a little over 8 years now. It depends soley on how you mount it as to how sturdy it is. I use a ratchet strap on mine to take vibration out. I also used 3/16" thick plate behind the channel and clamped thru it using all existing holes.