New spare tire carrier

[babysilk]

Hey all, just ordered this online. It isnt quite what I wanted but for the price I couldn't pass it up. I LOVE the fact that it folds down so I can still open the hatch. I know it's made for trailer tires and not a 37" tire but I am going to beef it up a bit. I am going to drill holes in my 1/4" thick steel bumper and then may also have my neighbor weld on it a bit. Not to mention lock tight on absolutely every bolt. What do you guys think?

Update: Hey all! After my first attempt trying to mount this spare tire carrier I had my doubts. Left it on the work bench for a few days and gave it some thought. Added a few washers on the inside of the pivot to eliminate any unwanted space. Drilled four holes through my rear bumper to mount the plate. lock tight on everything. Locking washers with nylon threaded nuts. Chained around my steel bumper for a few reasons. Protection against thieves(not my main concern), eliminates the tire from rocking side to side, and lastly in case SH** hits the fan...... I'd rather drag the tire and do possible damage to my own truck then to put any other motorists in harm. Still have access to the window while having the tire stay in its current position. Also have access to the rear hatch. There is a hitch pin that after being pulled allows the tire to swing down towards the ground. Last thing I am looking for is a longer hitch pins to make removal a bit easier.

 

[tallsville]

if your neighbor can weld. why not have him fab something up for you?

 

[red85k100rs]

I had a van with a spare tire carrier on one of the back doors. It was hard on the hinges. maybe not the same but...

 

[1997SCEBFEX]

+1 on beefing up/rigidizing.
it says 70# capacity; sure your wheel/tire plus gravity and physics will be [much] more than this.

Look forward to pics of progress.

PanHandler.

 

[babysilk]

tallsville- He works sun up to sun down every day and I have only met him a handful of times.

I won't know for sure what course of action I am going to take until it arrives and I can really look it over. I will be sure to take pictures of the project

 

[walnuts4x4]

 

[babysilk]

Pictures added

 

[GAINMOB]

can u give the link you got it from...i wouldnt mind have a 5th 26" rim as a spare

 

[babysilk]

Ultra-Fab Folding Spare Tire Carrier for Trailers and RVs - Bumper Mount Ultra-Fab Products Trailer Cargo Control UF15-954730 here you go!

 

[SWWAFordGuy]

I was looking at something similar for my 1st Gen. I haven't done the research into this yet but, is there some reason why a rear tire swing gate like what was found on the older full-size Bronco's and a smaller version on the Bronco II wouldn't work on an Expedition?

Mounting something like that changes the overall look of the truck but so what? You don't have crawl underneath in the mud and gunk to retrieve your spare.

Basically, what I want to know, is if I found an old rear tire swing gate off a Bronco or Bronco II, can it be mounted to an Expy? Is there enough frame back there to support that weight?

 

[MikeA]

Basically, what I want to know, is if I found an old rear tire swing gate off a Bronco or Bronco II, can it be mounted to an Expy? Is there enough frame back there to support that weight?

No way to mount it to Expedition, in stock form

 

[SWWAFordGuy]

No way to mount it to Expedition, in stock form

Well that sucks. Had anyone here modded the rear of an Expedition to mount one? If so, what was done? Not looking for any kind of bumper mount but an actual rear tire carrier swing gate that would work.

On a side note, what was changed or left out or whatever that would not allow a rear tire carrier from an old full size Bronco to be mounted? I know the tech has changed since the Broncos were first made but the body size is close to an Expedition, width, height, etc. Probably some internal frame work was changed that wouldn't allow anyone to mount that without some serious mods. Either way, be nice to know.

 

[MikeA]

I have 78 Bronco's, both have the swing arm tire carriers, even if you modded them, it still will not work, the rear corner of the expedition is to thin,above the tail light, needs to wrap around as it does below the tail light, then you may have better luck making a swing arm work.

Your talking about 2 totally different vehicles that have nothing compatible in 20+ years apart.

Now if you can fabricate parts, then the possibility to make a swing arm, from scratch, for the expedition, is very high.
If I sat there long enough, I would be able to make one work,from scratch, but I think it is a waste of time/ money and hours, for myself to do, because I am happy where my spare tire is now.

So, I say if you really want a swing arm tire carrier for your Expedtion, build one from scratch. It is possible.

 

[SWWAFordGuy]

Well, it was just an idea that something like that could be mounted to the rear of an Expedition. Good to know that there is now no way for an older carrier to be mounted there. Still sucks a little, lol. Don't have the mechanical knowledge for build one from scratch and now that I know what there will be required mods to make it work like an older Bronco, not a project that I want to pursue. Thank you for the insight and information, that really helped point me in the right direction.

 

[Texpedition45]

Well, it was just an idea that something like that could be mounted to the rear of an Expedition. Good to know that there is now no way for an older carrier to be mounted there. Still sucks a little, lol. Don't have the mechanical knowledge for build one from scratch and now that I know what there will be required mods to make it work like an older Bronco, not a project that I want to pursue. Thank you for the insight and information, that really helped point me in the right direction.

I wouldn't say it won't work. That's on my list of mods. I'm taking the interior of the csrgo area apart and looking at what to reiforce to add the tire carrier from an FSB Bronco.

Here's the biggest obstacle I've observed so far, more so than the reinforcements:

There isn't any space above the tailight for the upper hinge to attach to as the rear hatch gets in the way.

Now the dilemma is: do I clearance cut the corner of the rear hatch around the passenger side rear taillight, or find a way to modify the upper hinge to somehow clear the hatch and also work?

 

[SWWAFordGuy]

I wouldn't say it won't work. That's on my list of mods. I'm taking the interior of the csrgo area apart and looking at what to reiforce to add the tire carrier from an FSB Bronco.

Here's the biggest obstacle I've observed so far, more so than the reinforcements:

There isn't any space above the tailight for the upper hinge to attach to as the rear hatch gets in the way.

Now the dilemma is: do I clearance cut the corner of the rear hatch around the passenger side rear taillight, or find a way to modify the upper hinge to somehow clear the hatch and also work?

Would it be at all possible to build up the hinge that would go on the body, spread the arms a little and mount the bottom hinge to the bumper without causing too much torque issues? Meaning the body and the bumper don't actually move the same although they are on the same frame. That would put the hinges straddling the light. But, that would take some metal work and light engineering.

It would appear that to make a carrier work from a Bronco or similar would mean adjusting the position of the tail lights on the Expy to facilitate the mounting of the bracket to be above and below the light. That would be a lot of body work and some rewiring on both sides to line up the lights. That option is probably a bit more than most would want to do.

 

[Texpedition45]

Would it be at all possible to build up the hinge that would go on the body, spread the arms a little and mount the bottom hinge to the bumper without causing too much torque issues? Meaning the body and the bumper don't actually move the same although they are on the same frame. That would put the hinges straddling the light. But, that would take some metal work and light engineering.

It would appear that to make a carrier work from a Bronco or similar would mean adjusting the position of the tail lights on the Expy to facilitate the mounting of the bracket to be above and below the light. That would be a lot of body work and some rewiring on both sides to line up the lights. That option is probably a bit more than most would want to do.

I completely agree with you. I've been putting it off for a while now for that same reason. Aside from just getting it on there without deforming anything, the body work to make it look good is a daunting task.

The other option I've been looking at is the tire carrier behind the bumper using the old tow hitch (like with 80 series land cruisers), or the bumper mounted Tomken option.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/cheap-swing-out-tire-carrier-for-stock-bumper.683674/

At $284 from Quadratec it seems cheap enough to take a gamble and see if it'll work on our vehicles.