Express/Savana Swing-out Tire Carrier DIY Starter

TeleSteve

Adventurer
I got tired of the "wood-work" and switched back on to this. Got my new Buyers box in...they build the $hit out these things...if you need a box these are beast! Got the rear stripped down so I have access to the door hinge mount points and got a little start on a wood template for a lower mount. Should be able to get a bunch of this done this weekend.
A couple of my thoughts on the rear swing outs. I have been thinking about this for a while for mine.
If you are planning a side mount ladder (similar to Alumness) you could incorporate the rear ladder rail into the swing out hing mounts that bolt to the rear door hinges.
Instead of latches to the bumper, I have been contemplating mounting to the rear doors on a sliding mount. So all you would have to do is open the rear doors as usual. But the bulk of the weight would bear on the swing out hinges. This may be a little tougher if your Buyers box obstructs the right door latch.
I am very eager to see what you come up with. Everything on your van so far looks great.
 

Len.Barron

Observer
No plans for a ladder. It's 10ft to the top of my hightop, I'm not putting anything else up there other that flexible solar panels so I really wouldn't have a need to access it other than washing which I'll do with a wand and moving a step ladder around. I still haven't settled on latch design/hardware...I'm hoping the "good idea genie" appears soon..
 

Len.Barron

Observer
So I confess that a big draw of these swing outs was that I've had a set of tube hinges that I won in a pirate4x4 giveaway like 7yrs ago...I've tried selling them a half dozen times and never got an offer...so I see this hoop and I'm like...oh yeah...I got just the thing for those..
And the hinges are a great fit for this...if I made the mount brackets properly the first time...then of sufficient thickness the second time...but hey they don't say "3rd times a charm" for nothin I guess, so my 3rd set of mount brackets are 3/8" and they are all they need to be. And while my second hoop isn't a perfect mirror image I'm really happy with how close I came, using different material, different bender and whatever other excuse is reasonable I don't know if I could have got it any closer, it's about 3/16" larger overall so I buried that on the low side where you'll never see it(particularly after the tire and box are installed) , the upper passes at exactly the point below the taillight on both.
Because of my flubbery I didn't get as far as I wanted but I'm happy with what I've got so far.
 

Attachments

  • k44_LI.jpg
    k44_LI.jpg
    1.5 MB · Views: 94
  • k45.JPG
    k45.JPG
    360.5 KB · Views: 96
  • k47.JPG
    k47.JPG
    308.9 KB · Views: 95
  • k49.JPG
    k49.JPG
    303.9 KB · Views: 96
  • k50.JPG
    k50.JPG
    322.5 KB · Views: 96
  • k51_LI.jpg
    k51_LI.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 94
Last edited:

whith

Active member
Ok, now I get it. I was wondering how they’d mount up. I’m guessing those are factory holes you mounted the brackets to?
 

Len.Barron

Observer
Ok, now I get it. I was wondering how they’d mount up. I’m guessing those are factory holes you mounted the brackets to?
exactly...the idea being these heavy duty body attachments will bear the load rather that an expensive/elaborate heavy duty bumper that has to extend around the body and up just to clear the door swing or just attaching something to/through the door which isn't built to handle that kind of extra weight. This is a pretty good mousetrap...I should of thought of it!
 

whith

Active member
Love everything about it. How far will you be able to open your doors once you have tires etc mounted? Probably not a full 180 degrees but past 90?
 

Len.Barron

Observer
Here's a link to what appears to be exactly the same hinges I used, mine too were sized for 1.75" x .095" wall tube, I just took a little off so they would fit in .120" wall:
The mount brackets are where the work is, I used some left over 3/8" x 4" steel flat bar, first I made a template from cardboard and cut the general shape and notch for the cast gusset on the hinge, then with a hammer tapped on the cardboard to transfer the bolt pattern to it and then used a hole punch, once I had the cardboard close I transferred that to plywood which allows you to account for the thickness then transferred that to steel. I made them each in two pieces to get the 90dg. If you can source some 3/8" x 4" angle that would make it easier. Fitting up the hoops is a two person job and getting the hinges parallel to each other is just plain a PITA...you will tack and cut a couple times before you get good alignment.
I've still got some finish work to do on the hinge welds but I need to move forward with latching, tire mounting, box mounting and a small rack on top of the box .
It's no small amount of work, but in the end I'll have dual swing outs with all that for less than the cost of a single aluminess carrier (not that there's anything wrong with their offering, I'm just unwilling to pay $975 for a single swing out).
 

Len.Barron

Observer
Finally got a little time to work on this again, still away's to go, but I figured out how to make a latch anchor to the body(rather than the bumper) using some 3/8" x 4" flatbar, also got the new latches roughed in, hopefully this coming weekend I can finish up the latch anchor mount and get the remaining gussets on the outrigger for the latch; then I can get going on the actual tire carrier and box installations. These 4xinnovations latches are legit...serious beefy design.
 

Attachments

  • k63.JPG
    k63.JPG
    315.5 KB · Views: 56
  • k64.JPG
    k64.JPG
    314.3 KB · Views: 58
  • k65.JPG
    k65.JPG
    319.5 KB · Views: 57
  • k66.JPG
    k66.JPG
    296.9 KB · Views: 56
  • k67.JPG
    k67.JPG
    333.1 KB · Views: 61
  • k69.jpg
    k69.jpg
    2 MB · Views: 61

Forum statistics

Threads
185,533
Messages
2,875,609
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top