Tire rack mounting on drivers side?

Post by **rooster** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 6:55 pm

Hey all, gonna start building a set of bumpers soon and was wondering why nobody offers the tire rack to be mounted on the drivers side vs the passengers... I would really like the ford logo on the tailgate to show. Anybody see any reason as to not mount a swing out tire holder on drivers side? Thanks

Post by **landshark** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:08 pm

Maybe because of vehicle lean with the driver on that side. Been wondering that myself. I'm going to center mine. Who needs to see out back[emoji210]

Post by **rooster** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:10 pm

Ya good point... The lean part not the part about not being able to see... But doesn't the whole drivetrain sit slightly to the passenger side? And also generally the battery

Post by **Eck** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:18 pm

My guess is the whole line of sight argument. I do agree that it would be nice to be able to see the FORD decal in the back though!

Post by **rooster** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:24 pm

Eck I really like your square tube bumpers, what did you do to make the hinge for your tire carrier?

Post by **landshark** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:44 pm

The icon or most of the icons i have seen have a driver side swing out. Makes sense as its out of your view.. but a stocker tire doesn't really block the window too much.

Post by **rooster** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:52 pm

Ya so far I don't see any negatives as to mounting it on the drivers side

Post by **landshark** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:53 pm

rooster wrote:Ya so far I don't see any negatives as to mounting it on the drivers side

I would go for it, if your fabbing a bumper you could always change it ;)

Post by **sykanr0ng** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:56 pm

On a stock Bronco the license plate mounts on the driver side.

To move it adds complication to mounting the bumper.

To block it from view is illegal.

Post by **landshark** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:57 pm

Ah ya, forgot about that nugget.. you could mount it somehow to the center of the tire i guess..

which brings up another question. why does the license plate holder flip up? My guess was if you had to drive with teh tailgate down you could flip up the license plate and have it showing when the gate was down.

Post by **rooster** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:04 pm

That's a good theory, I bet your right. I decided to take mine off and weld in all the holes when I painted my bronco so I'm not really worried about where to mount the license plate

Post by **Eck** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:10 pm

rooster wrote:Eck I really like your square tube bumpers, what did you do to make the hinge for your tire carrier?

There are a few places out there that sell hinge kits along with the tire carrier plates. Here is one that comes with everything for the one side. (https://www.comp4x4.com/Heavy-Duty-Rear ... s-Kit.html) - I think you would need to buy an additional hinge if you were going to do a dual swing, but if you are just going with the one side-- this should be everything you need other than tubing.

Post by **rooster** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:13 pm

Thanks! That should be just what I need. What size square tubing did you use on yours?

Post by **Eck** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:15 pm

rooster wrote:Thanks! That should be just what I need. What size square tubing did you use on yours?

Reach out to Kinder-- he was the one that actually did all the fabrication of my tire rack-- I just bought parts, drilled holes, and helped with designing what I wanted. He bought the tubing so should know pretty much what size and about how much was needed.

Post by **rooster** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:16 pm

Ok cool thanks man

Post by **Justin** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:50 pm

Ruff stuff has another good option:

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/STIRES.html

It's what I used when mine got done. It's essentially the same thing without the tire plate if you can make that yourself. There is a BRONCO discount code for 10% off as well.

Post by **Jesus_man** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 1:33 am

I just ran across what could possibly be a cheap alternative to building a hinge if you can find the tube cheap in someones scrap pile.

It's 2" and 1.5" x .25 DOM sleeved together:

Then capped with a huge bolt and nylon washer:

I think the critical thing when building these is to keep them from bouncing. Metal fatigue causes the shank to shear off and now you'd got 100+lbs of tire and steel bouncing down the highway...

I used Delrin plastic to carry the weight when it's closed.

Post by **ZOSO** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:26 am

Jesus_man wrote:I think the critical thing when building these is to keep them from bouncing. Metal fatigue causes the shank to shear off and now you'd got 100+lbs of tire and steel bouncing down the highway...

I used Delrin plastic to carry the weight when it's closed.

YES!!!! We saw this up on gordons gulch run a few years back. I believe it was Ryan(rtreads) had his break off while on the trail. Find a way to make it double shear.

Post by **ZOSO** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:27 am

landshark wrote:Ah ya, forgot about that nugget.. you could mount it somehow to the center of the tire i guess..

which brings up another question. why does the license plate holder flip up? My guess was if you had to drive with teh tailgate down you could flip up the license plate and have it showing when the gate was down.

You are correct. It's so if you are driving with the tailgate down hauling something you can flip the plate down and it can be seen.

Post by **landshark** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:57 am

Sorry for the double hijack. I have removed my tire carrier as it was using a spindle and bent about to fail. Changing it to double sheer, rebuilding the mount and adding derlin rests to help with the bounce and weight.

Depending on where you live I would check local fabricators they usually have the parts precut and save you on shipping.

Post by **rooster** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:14 am

Thanks for all the great info guys!

Post by **BNC04** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:55 am

Mine is on the drivers side. Justin and Kirk did the fab and paint, I did the design and cheering:)

You can see the section of 2 inch receiver hitch that is added to the plate for the tire. My plan is to build a license plate bracket and integrate a mount for a LED light for a backup, rear flood light. Right now, I have the plate zip tied to the rim of the spare tire. The license plate can move from the bumper receiver to the receiver in the tire carrier as needed.

Brett

Post by **Justin** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 8:05 am

landshark wrote:Depending on where you live I would check local fabricators they usually have the parts precut and save you on shipping.

Most plastics suppliers have Delrin pieces in their scrap bin as well. You can buy it cheap-a buck or two a pound.

Post by **rooster** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 11:43 am

Bnco4. That looks bada**. Thanks for the pictures! What size tubing is that?

Post by **BNC04** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 12:55 pm

rooster wrote:Bnco4. That looks bada**. Thanks for the pictures! What size tubing is that?

Thanks !

The bumper is 2x5 OD and the rack is 2x2 OD. I don't recall the thickness off the top of my head. Maybe Justin or Kirk do. It's plenty stout though!

Couple more pics prior to paint to see better.
The bumper was doubled up in a step in the center just to be different:)

Used the same material for sliders

Brett

Post by **rooster** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:11 pm

That looks sweet!

Post by **Justin** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:26 pm

The 2x5 is 1/4". I don't remember what the 2x2 is.

Post by **Kinder** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 4:39 pm

I thought the 2x5 was 3/16, I'm too old to remember. I think i matched the thickness what ever it was.

Post by **Justin** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:41 pm

It's 1/4. I've got a chunk of it out in the garage.

Post by **BNC04** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:58 pm

kinder wrote:I thought the 2x5 was 3/16, I'm too old to remember. I think i matched the thickness what ever it was.

It doesn't really matter, " it's only Brett's truck". lol

www.ColoradoClassicBroncos.com