Ritter4.0

I have seen several swing down and swing out tire carriers. I wanna do something different and make one that swings up. I already have the gas struts, hinges and latches planned out. All I want from this thread are opinions. The hinges will be mounted to a beefy roof rack, the latches will be pins and rubber stoppers to keep it tight with my rear bumper.(it is not a stock bumper) The struts are from a chevy truck that extend pretty slowly, but may be assisted by heavy duty springs if neccesary. I have a hard time compressing the two struts at the same time ( I'm about 158lbs) so I have no doubt they could hold my 33" tire on a steely. The carrier will in no way be attached to the actual liftgate. When I start building it, which won't be for a while, I will turn this into the build thread.


Please tell me all pros and cons you can think of about this idea.

Thanks

87cherokee14

sounds like a cool idea, by why not just build a carrier into your hatch and beef up those lift shocks? i dont really see any advantages to it being independent from the lift gate if its going to swing up.

Ritter4.0

Because. Fiberglass hatch + 70lbs+ tire/wheel = broken fiberglass. lol

builtnotbought89'

I think u should keep an eye out from a metal lift gate & go that route! Either way sounds cool!

Ritter4.0

But then I will need to change my tail lights and stuff. Do you guys think the factory liftgate hinges could support an oversize tire? As in absorb the shock of potholes and stuff? Either way, I think I will stick with the original plan. I'm hoping to make the entire assembly removable for when I don't need it, so it's not blocking the rear window and stuff.

builtnotbought89'

Idk why u wouldn't need a spare EVER?!?! If ur planing on making it like a flip down but pop up, then where r u gonna mount the lift shocks???

4.3L XJ

You are going to have some problems with this. There have been some that built one that swings down. That makes more sense.

SeriousOffroad

My opinion...Bad idea.

Can you magine what will happen if the support(s) fail and you, or your spouse, or (God Forbid) a child is in the way.

Please don't do it.

xjbones

i agree with frank on this one.......i have a swing down tire carrier and i still make sure everyone is out of the way when i swing it down. my tire carrier it attatched to my rear hatch (fiberglass), and have had no probs with ant cracking....just have to spread the load across the entire thing and its super strong. btw my carrier is about 60lbs plus my 37'' mtr on a steel wheel and the huge highlift........no probs or cracks

X1994J

You think so huh? Been running this over a year now...



It can be done, easier than you would think.

xjbones

i got my idea from him^^^^^^.

no issues with mine for a couple months now

Ritter4.0

This is my DD right now, so that is why it will be removable

I dont want a swing down because it would get in the way of putting stuff in the back

I'm 18 and don't have a spouse or children

I will add a safety lock thing so when its up, it locks temporarily (thanks for that idea)



And yes, if the tire was on the hatch, stock hinges, and it pivoted up, I do believe the fiberglass would break at the hinges or where the struts would mount.

builtnotbought89'

?????

Ritter4.0

They will be mounted on the roof rack somehow. I just have to get the geometry figured out.

builtnotbought89'

I thought it was gonna hinge off the roof rack? Uve got a lot of planning ahead of u, & I'm not saying it can't be done but it sounds like its gonna be a big project!