Hello all,

I hope I'm posting in the correct forum this time...

So, my friends are building me a sweet swing out tire carrier and we're trying to figure out how to lock the swing radius at different points.

It will need to be opened to a little more than 90* for the liftgate to pass so the first stop point will need to be there. After that, maybe have it every 20 or 30 degrees up to, but not further than 180*. I'd prefer something realtively automatic like a ratcheting system that would allow more selection but that would only be one way lock. We've thought about using a shock (ala liftgate), a slide bar, or a spring loaded pin.

I'm having a tough time finding many examples online right now - still looking though. Have any of you seen any good ideas that could help us decide? Pics would be a huge help!

Thanks!

 

Mine has a plate welded to the top face of the bumper, basically a circle. There is a hole drilled through the arm near the spindle. Pin slides in and out of it. Hole drilled through bottom plate. Open arm, press down on pin, and as you open it, pin finds hole in plate and locks it open.

There is another hole drilled to line up with it closed so that if the latch fails, it still won't open.

I've seen the tailgate strut idea before, looked cool/functional.