swing out bummper/tire rack build

[binthere]

well......................here is a build on your typical rear bumper/swing out tire rack. i go by rocnrol on the site and i am doing this for my dad, binthere. nothing fancy,just good looking functionalality. as with most of these builds, the question is what to use for the pivot hinge. i decided to use a stub trailer axle, and cut off the wheel flange. then we drilled two holes thru the bumper, and welded in the stub.

bumper material is 1/4" wall 2"X4" tubing. couple of crappy cell phone pics of todays progress. tomorrow we will add the two jerry cans, and hopefully paint.

[socal]

heres the one that came with my jeep. dont know if its home made or not but it works great

[binthere]

Sorry for the delay, but here's the rest of the project!!

The first one is the bumper. After we removed the triangle hitch from the drawbar, we welded four bolts to the bottom to fit the drawbar holes and then added two pieces of angle iron to the top to fasten to the crossmember. You'll notice the spindle sticking up on the right.



The second one is the swing-away with the spindle hub on the left, and the spare tire carrier in the center.



The next one shows the bumper and swing-away with the spindle.



The last one is a fairly good shot of the back of the swing-away showing the tire carrier and the jerry-can racks.

[the-mace]

That looks good. I was thinking of doing the same thing but found a bestop tire carrier.

What did you use for a bushing that goes over the bolt for the pivot?

[binthere]

Jerry,
It's just a short spindle with tapered bearings for a trailer. We just cut the wheel bolt flange off, then welded it to the frame. Because it is cast, my son put a strap around just to make sure the hub would not crack at the weld. Hope that answers your question!!
Chuck

[Roberto Flores]

What a useful idea! Thanks a lot! Just one more question: which is the collour of your jeep bodytub? Harvest tan?

[Jax]

Nice rack binthere,
Welding looks strong, clean & functional.
The original side mount was not a good place for clearing tight spaces & there was a lot of stress fracture on mine. I also went with a swing away tire/Jerry Can carrier & I'm very happy with that load in back instead of on the passenger side.