Tire Carrier Hinges - again

[Box Rocket]

Thought I'd share this one. Just finished up this simple tire carrier on my Tacoma using the Competition 4x4 dual shear face mount hinge. Its probably one of the simplest hinges out there with a 1" bolt and brass bushings. I chose it over a spindle type hinge because of the dual shear feature and because it would work with my rear bumper. So far so good, but this is a pretty foolproof design with no bearings to worry about etc. If the bushings show wear over time they can easily be replaced. Food for thought.

[Brian1]

Just came across this thread and was surprised to see my solidworks design and bumper hnge was already posted by ScoutII in post # 51 and 53. I designed my hinge in 2005 and it was a combination of Durango4x4s design and 1 other company that I cant remember right now. It swings open very smoothly even when fully loaded. I have been very happy with it and have only had 2 main issues with it over the years. I was rear ended on a freeway by a car and my carrier took a good hit. The assembly still held together but it bent the swing arm up and pushed it into my hatch. It also bent the double shear attachment point in about 1/8" to 1/4". This taught me a few things which I improved on when I fixed my bumper. The first was the importance of the latch design. I see alot of bumpers with an improper latch design to secure the carrier. I think the best way is to pull diagonally down and back to apply forces in the directions it is most needed. My latch pulled the arm horizontally up against a backstop and the weight of the swing end rested on a delrin block. When it was hit, the cam latch bent and allowed the arm to lift over the backstop and hit the body. I now have a fully boxed in (full capture) with the original latch. My latch is also bigger than many I see on aftermarket bumpers, I believe mine is a 2k rated latch. Next was the double shear mount, the top tab bent in. Once I bent it back I boxed in the back side of it and added an additional gusset to tie it back into the main structure of the bumper. Before it was only gusseted in 1 direction mainly to support the weight of the carrier when closed. A trailer spindle never would have survived the impact it took. The other issue was I had to replace the bearings 1 time and it was probably due to the crash as well.

[seanz0rz]

Brian, I am interested in your latch design. Mine is dead simple and holds the swingouts in from horizontal movement (swinging) but not from vertical flex in the bumper. i need something that pulls diagonally into the bumper, not just in one direction.

[Brian1]

Mine only pulls in one way as well which I think is good enough but as I said above I think a diagonal pull would be better. I guess my main point was to fully capture the end. I also use a pin as a safety latch since my cam latch does not have the locking tab like many of the new ones do. This is my latch end-

[Al_Santos]

You are absolutely correct about the double shear preventive way of fabricating the tire carrier. I will surely incorporate that in my rear bumper build. Thanks.

[ScoutII]

Brian I found your pic's somewhere on the world wide web.

When I did mine, I looked a lot of different designs and pick what work for me. Since I built mine too, that left a lot or room for design ideas.

Here's a vid from last summer and you can see it handles some tough conditions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS-Pb...2&feature=plcp

[Box Rocket]

Here's a couple better pics of mine (not that cell phone pics aren't super )

dual shear boxed hinge


2K lbs latch with safety latch. Diagonal pull into the rear face of the bumper.


the swing arm also rests lightly on the top of the receiver tube. This helps support any downward force from added weight etc when closed.

[88Xj]

Sorry to bump this but I've got a few noob questions.

Whats the difference between this setup. I know this setup uses brass bushings which seem to be cheap to replace if the need so occured!

Here's a couple better pics of mine (not that cell phone pics aren't super )

dual shear boxed hinge

And this setup, (no idea what this setup uses)

Here's how I do my bumpers:

Both look stout and are double sheer, neither uses a trailer axle/spindle which I don't want to use! I'll be starting a tire carrier build soon and need to figure out the basics of which I should go with! It will be holding a 90lbs spare, 2 jerry cans (another 100lbs) & a high lift. Thats around 250lbs give or take.
I've been kicking around the idea of doing a double swing even...so I'm looking at some simple setups, that are strong and will stand the test of time, and that are easy to work on! Also they much be cost effective of course if I were to do 2 swings.

So whats the difference between the 2 posted above? And what is the 2nd on using for bushings/pivoting?

[seanz0rz]

looks like they all use bronze bushings to me.

[88Xj]

looks like they all use bronze bushings to me.

Wow your right..I got ahead of myself I think looking at only the top pick. In that pic you can't see the bronze bushing at all lol. My stock jeep tire carrier uses bronze bushings and it still works today being 24yrs old..so they must be decent right?