The New Ride

[Casey]

thanks guys! I ordered up a can of that mopar paint and that should be perfect for what I need

[Casey]

Having a tire carrier like this built from a friend of mines dad who is a professional fabricator. Should look pretty good and then I won't have to have a big spare tire inside!

[OldGreen]

Still the prettiest body ever put on a Jeep.

I would have to agree.


Great looking pic of the new ride. Looks very familiar.

I even had those wheels! JK wheels now.

[Casey]

Is there a good place to pick up a heavy duty hinge and a nice heavy duty latch for a tire carrier in town?

I figured maybe a trailer shop or something like that would carry nice latches, maybe

I found a few on line but would rather go pick one up and not wait on shipping.

[OldGreen]

Often, people will use a trailer spindle for a hinge. . .as far as the latch...you can either make a spring loaded one with some tension on it or go to Grainger for a lever operated one.

Carr Lane makes a bunch of them. . ."toggle latches" I believe is what they are called. Get one that is several times stronger than you think you will need it to be.

[Casey]

oh yah I didn't even think of Grainger, they seem like a good bet

[Casey]

It has begun

[mattawajeep]

I don't remember if I have a more detailed thread on my tire carrier build, but there is this:

http://www.peakputters.com/forum/viewto ... sc&start=0

After a lot of researching, and looking at hundreds of spare tire carriers online I decided that I didn't want a cheapo hinge. Got mine from A-Z fab, it has bearings which are replaceable (probably never going to be needed as it's so sturdy and smooth). A lot of the cheaper hinges, and most units that don't use bearings start to wear out and then things start rattling.

Latch choices are a lot easier. As long as it's strong enough, and has a secondary catch just about anything should be good to go. Whatever you choose for a latch you might think about building it at the same angle I did. It pulls the swing out both down and towards the vehicle, pretty much assuring that it's going to stay put and never loosen up.

[Casey]

I've read good things about AtoZ, I actually have their hinge bookmarked right now

and i did see the angled idea on another build and I will probably go that route as well

[Roman]

All the pivot parts are available from Ranch&Home, for about the same or less money than even AtoZ wants.

[Casey]

okay, I'll check them out as well, I'm sure all heavy duty hinges will work with proper gusseting and support

[Casey]

finished product, 1 down 4 to go!

[TJDave]

^ Oh.
When I saw that pic of the two wheels I thought, man what a great job cleaning that wheel up! It really looks great now.

I did not realize that was the "before" pic.

As long as you like it, that's all that matters.

[Casey]

Yah, I like them both ways but I think the darker grey look will look better with the color that my Jeep is, but taping those triangles off is not easy to get the two tone look, the corners take some tricks to get tape on and they still weren't perfect

[Wrench]

I would use PVA in those situations (polyvinyl alcohol). It is designed to be a mold release, but also works very well as a liquid mask.

[Casey]

I got most all of them taped now! haha
I'm not worried too much about them being perfect, from about 10ft they look perfect so I'm fine with that

[Casey]

I know what I'm doing this weekend

[Casey]

got the lift on today! Looks way better in my opinion, went fairly easy, biggest problems were the stock front shocks and getting the rear springs in, ultimately wasn't bad

hoping to go on some runs soon once I get it all aligned up and check brake lines at flex etc.

I'll try and get a better picture in the light tomorrow!

Before



After

[SquirrelCrusher]

Looks pretty sweet

[TJDave]

Looks very nice. Comfy too.

[Casey]

yah I really like how it turned out! It rides really smooth too

now i just need to get my rear bumper all buttoned up and it'll' be good

[Casey]

got the tire carrier built, bumper back on, looks much better now!
took it out with my brother for a little testing and of course had to take some "poser shots" haha

[tobyw]

Just one man's opinion, but I would do what you can to get that spare tire moved up and in... It doesn't take much of a drop ledge on the trail to end up having an anchor back there. Maybe even think about adding some angle to it to match the line of the rear window, although that is more for aesthetic value.

[OldGreen]

I am hoping that Toby's point is moot. . .because the design parameters of the build wouldn't permit dropping off of a ledge that would hit said tire.

I guess it all depends on who you try and follow through the woods. . .

[mattawajeep]

I am hoping that Toby's point is moot. . .because the design parameters of the build wouldn't permit dropping off of a ledge that would hit said tire.

I guess it all depends on who you try and follow through the woods. . .

That and if you follow the line of the rear body panels and gas tank, it should be far enough out of the way. I think it's in a good spot. Should keep you from tipping over backwards.