Spare tire mounted today

[Redneck Teepee]

Have no idea what happened to my first post on this so I'll try it again. I got my spare tire mounted today after looking at several options that just would not work, underneath...too low and in front of my tongue box it crowded the jack and looked funny with the tapered box and then ballooning back out to a 27" dia. tire, so I mounted it on top of the tongue box with a swing up and out custom built bracket. The box basically holds the weight of the tire, and the square tube mount holds it in place and the tire in an upright position. The tire side walls ride on the box with no metal parts touching and is quite easy and light to fold forward for box access, I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I'm very pleased with the whole thing.

[pchast]

Neat idea! Thanks for the picture...

[AlgoDan]

Great job and well done, brilliant idea....

[tony.latham]

Red:

First of all, are there really any bonafide rednecks in CA?

But secondly, I really like your folding spare tire bracket. Could you get a picture, a big one, of the hinge itself?

Thanks in advance,

Tony

[Redneck Teepee]

Red:

First of all, are there really any bonafide rednecks in CA?

But secondly, I really like your folding spare tire bracket. Could you get a picture, a big one, of the hinge itself?

Thanks in advance,

Tony

Plenty of us rednecks out west Tony, it's a well kept secret though so don't spread it around. Be glad to get some detailed pic's for you in the am and will post here for all. Thanks for being interested...Larry

[working on it]

... I got my spare tire mounted today after looking at several options that just would not work, underneath...too low and in front of my tongue box it crowded the jack and looked funny with the tapered box and then ballooning back out to a 27" dia. tire, so I mounted it on top of the tongue box with a swing up and out custom built bracket. The box basically holds the weight of the tire, and the square tube mount holds it in place and the tire in an upright position. The tire side walls ride on the box with no metal parts touching and is quite easy and light to fold forward for box access, I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I'm very pleased with the whole thing.

Very nice, especially since it would've fit nicely on my single beam drawbar.... If only I had one like that, I could have mounted my spare on my front sloping roof, to swing down for dis-mounting. I couldn't put a solid mount there, because my wife couldn't lift the tire from that position (but on a hinge, could flip it down!). When first contemplating a location, I saw that, like you, I couldn't mount my spare under the trailer, for lack of clearance, and had already given up on finding a (cheap) swing-out mount, like on jeeps, so I mounted mine directly to the front wall (an advantage for a flat, non-teardrop front end), and I thought that was that. But, after I reluctantly, HAD to have a tonguebox (for balance/storage needs), I really couldn't find another place for the spare; besides, by then, I liked the look, and then again, the weight balance would change. But, like you, I didn't favor the appearance of the 27" diameter tire conflicting with the width of the box (although in reverse order from yours), and after I found a box of similar width (to the tire), I devised a sliding tonguebox mount,

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and kept the spare in its' original space (just unlock the base, slide the box forward, access the spare). A lot of work to make, sorta complicated, and a Rube Goldberg-ish solution (actually, I like those!). Yours is a much more straight-forward solution.

[Redneck Teepee]

Looks like your sliding box mount is the ticket for your application and a good job to boot. Got an Aunt and Uncle in New Summerfield Texas, not to far from you, plan on visiting them this spring/summer.

[working on it]

Looks like your sliding box mount is the ticket for your application and a good job to boot. Got an Aunt and Uncle in New Summerfield Texas, not to far from you, plan on visiting them this spring/summer.

Thanks for the nod. Your people are about 135 miles from me, not far in Texas terms...I've been thru there at least once, and close by several times. I used to drag race at Hallsville Raceway near Rusk, and at Cherokee County Motorsports Park even closer to New Summerfield, back in the mid '90s to about 2007. Both tracks are closed now; just as well, I never finished better than runner-up at either. If you come thru in March, there's a trailer gathering being organized for March 21-23, at Tyler State Park, just northwest of New Summerfield.

[Redneck Teepee]

Here you go Tony.... This first pic is how I mounted to the tongue, pretty straight forward with (2) 1/2" axle u-bolts from tractor supply, it can slide to and fro for a taller/shorter tire, I always build with a "what if" factor (just me) The second is the top of the assembly that consist of a shortened outer hitch coupler for up and down adjustment for fine tuning for tire width, again the what if factor.Third pic shows the bracket in the raised or upright position, you can see the stop against the coupler, the hinge which is fabbed from a 3/8 bolt and 6 bolt spacers, and a 1/2" nut welded to the coupler with a dog headed bolt installed to lock it in place against the 2 sq tube riser.The last photo shows the hinge and stop in the upright position, I took 2 spacers on each side and welded them together to make a longer spacer because of where the landed for welding purposes on the coupler and the last 2 welded to the bracket assembly. I used 5/8 X 1 solid stock because I had it in my metal barrel and makes it good and ridged, the tire does not move in the down position, the Teardrop shakes but the assembly does not move. Note the 45 degree angle on top of the 2" square tube, this sticks up into the inner rim area just a bit (1" +/-) and depending on a different application may or may not be needed. The best part of the whole build was the only thing I had to purchase was the 2 u-bolts at Tractor Supply for less than $8 bucks plus tax....Hell of a Deal!......Larry...AKA "Redneck Teepee"

[tony.latham]

I'm impressed! Thanks for the detailed photos.

Tony

[KCStudly]

The design is pretty slick, but I have two basic concerns. How do you suppose that the tire resting on the tongue box will do over time? I assume that some chaffing will occur unless the tire does not touch the top of the TB.

The other thing is the set screw holding the hinge assembly to the stand post. In my experience, set screws will find a way to wear themselves loose in a joint like that where there is any free play. So is the set screw the only thing holding your hinge assembly and spare tire onto the trailer? I wouldn't trust that over the long haul.

Don't get me wrong. I think you have 90/ct of a good solution for your situation, but that 10/ct might bite you.

I work with industrial equipment and I can't tell you how many times I have seen set screw joints (usually in a keyed shaft joint) that have failed under high cycle rates. Every bounce, jolt, and vibration will attempt to shift the metal under the dog point of the set screw and will exploit the clearance between the hitch sleeve and your post. Best case is the assembly will slide down and get loose on the post. Worst case is it gets loose, you hit a good bump, and it bounces off down the road into oncoming traffic.

Maybe.
Just saying.

Adjustability is good, but it adds weight. Once you figure out what geometry works best for this set up, I would slim it down and at least tack weld it with some fat tacks. You can always cut the welds later if you need to make a change.

[SmokeyBear12]

Nice design. Well engineered. I've tussled with where/how to mount a spare. Haven't tried anything, though.
One question: Doesn't that add a lot of tongue weight? Is tongue weight of no concern? I'd be more concerned about that than what it may do to the storage box which is easily replaceable.

[Redneck Teepee]

[quote="KCStudly"]The design is pretty slick, but I have two basic concerns. How do you suppose that the tire resting on the tongue box will do over time? I assume that some chaffing will occur unless the tire does not touch the top of the TB.

The other thing is the set screw holding the hinge assembly to the stand post. In my experience, set screws will find a way to wear themselves loose in a joint like that where there is any free play. So is the set screw the only thing holding your hinge assembly and spare tire onto the trailer? I wouldn't trust that over the long haul.

Don't get me wrong. I think you have 90/ct of a good solution for your situation, but that 10/ct might bite you.

I work with industrial equipment and I can't tell you how many times I have seen set screw joints (usually in a keyed shaft joint) that have failed under high cycle rates. Every bounce, jolt, and vibration will attempt to shift the metal under the dog point of the set screw and will exploit the clearance between the hitch sleeve and your post. Best case is the assembly will slide down and get loose on the post. Worst case is it gets loose, you hit a good bump, and it bounces off down the road into oncoming traffic.

All valid points KC, .... My final step is to add some security (locks) to the assembly in 2 places, one of them being the support shaft where the set screw tightens to and the other being the tire of course. The hitch coupler on the 2" sq. tube will have a lock to secure both the coupler and the tongue box (if you can't lift the tire up you can't get in the box) with a lock that will not let the coupler come off should the set screw loosen, or someone loosen the set screw to steal the whole enchilada. I am a big fan of the "Hockey Puck" style locks and use them on just about everything as they are "almost" theft proof when encased properly. My main concern for the adjustability, is my spare has a different back spacing and is slightly wider than the 2 main tires which are 1934 Chevy truck/car spoke wheels, these are very expensive if you can find a good one that will cleanup, so I settled for a 70's chevy 6 lug truck wheel. When I throw the flat on to the carrier I want to be able to properly carry it. The set screw also takes any rattle or movement out of the mechanical clearances. As far as tongue weight, that was a given once I decided to mount where I did, both of my tow vehicles will handle the additional weight without any problems, I can still lift it myself, but I let the jack and wheel take care of that part. As far as chaffing the top of the box, I did considered putting a 1/4 X 1 strip of UHMW that I have in my "File 13" barrel, and will play that one later if need be, I'll kinda wait and see if it really has an effect on the top of the box after a trip or two, the tire and fabbed bracket is so solid with virtually no movement in any direction that I'm pretty confident it will be ok.....Larry

[Redneck Teepee]

Nice design. Well engineered. I've tussled with where/how to mount a spare. Haven't tried anything, though.
One question: Doesn't that add a lot of tongue weight? Is tongue weight of no concern? I'd be more concerned about that than what it may do to the storage box which is easily replaceable.

I would suggest you weigh your spare and the necessary hardware to mount it, and decide if your tow vehicle would be able to handle it. For me the little added weight is not a concern. Thanks for the admiration Smokey

[bbrider]

I borrowed from your idea and made mine somewhat different as I am running full size wheels and tires on mine. Here is a pic without the tire mounted.