Another escape

[racsan]

On the road to dayton ohio & back for a door, with the ranger trailer! did well, averaging 23mpg.

 

[racsan]

Considering a hitch mounted rear tire carrier, Building one as they are about $500 for what I want, Going to be able to swing away from the body to access the back hatch. The only thing im undecided on is the rear plate relocation, since its dead center on the back hatch & will be blocked . My thoughts are either : on the left side of the bumper, similar to the new bronco, or find a full-size van style cover with the plate in the middle. Im leaning more towards the bumper mount plate. Heres what Im going to build my version of:

 

[bobbywalter]

Considering a hitch mounted rear tire carrier, Building one as they are about $500 for what I want, Going to be able to swing away from the body to access the back hatch. The only thing im undecided on is the rear plate relocation, since its dead center on the back hatch & will be blocked . My thoughts are either : on the left side of the bumper, similar to the new bronco, or find a full-size van style cover with the plate in the middle. Im leaning more towards the bumper mount plate. Heres what Im going to build my version of:

View attachment 118407

how far are you from fresno?

 

[racsan]

how far are you from fresno?

About 2hrs/ 90 miles.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Considering a hitch mounted rear tire carrier, Building one as they are about $500 for what I want, Going to be able to swing away from the body to access the back hatch. The only thing im undecided on is the rear plate relocation, since its dead center on the back hatch & will be blocked . My thoughts are either : on the left side of the bumper, similar to the new bronco, or find a full-size van style cover with the plate in the middle. Im leaning more towards the bumper mount plate. Heres what Im going to build my version of:

View attachment 118407

If you have it on the car and take the tire carrier off... the plate stays on the car.

That is why I left mine on the bumper when I built a new bumper/tire carrier.

 

[racsan]

Yeah, Ive gave that thought too, If I could make a ranger step bumper work Id do that. I did have one idea- Ohio dropped the front plate requirement a few years back, I could keep one plate on the back hatch & the other on the tire carrier. But I will probably just put it on the bumper, left side like the newer mavericks.

 

[racsan]

Heres some parts im working with, the 2x2 painted metal was from work, scrap from safety rails, made one of them a hitch step, thats why its black. going to have the 12” receiver go over the “L” shaped part & have the spindle/rotor/tire mounted to it. Will have 2 mounting heights as I may get one of those hitch extensions with a accessory 2x2 above the 2x2 spot for the trailer hitch drawbar. Then I could change the spare tire hight if Im going to have a trailer behind me, dont nessesarily need it all the time and would like the option. Dont have that piggyback extension part right now anyways. Im only out about $30 so far and thats for the 12” 2x2 hitch part. You used to be able to get a 24” bar at tsc/rural king but a 12” is all they have now. I’ve measured backspace of tire to sidewall & will need to space spindle 4” from the upright, not sure if using 1/2 or 3/8. Id rather use 1/2 but Id need to drill 2 of the spindle mounting holes out to 1/2, where 3/8 wouldn’t need drilling. Yes the spare will free spin. I’ve considered a motor inside the rim to rotate the spare as Im driving. Ive never seen that done.

 

[racsan]

Started drilling holes in the steel, decided on 1/2” for everything including the spindle to the upright, started on those last 2 holes & drill was getting hot so I took a 2 hour break, went to finish drilling & the drill no longer works. Battery is ok, light comes on when trigger is pulled. Pieced it together as much as I could. I think it will work. Picked up a l.e.d. license plate light for when the plate is moved to the bumper. Kind of at a stopping point until I get another drill, my corded ones are 3/8”.

 

[bobbywalter]

thats a hike ... i couldnt remember where you live.

i am doing rig upgrades and maintenance at a fab shop....so ... maybe do some govt work

 

[racsan]

Got a new drill yesterday, another hercules/harbor freight one. Didn’t realize that it would takethe same battery, I picked the setup that came with a charger & 1 pack and also got another battery. Then get home & find out I didn’t need new batteries. Oh well, new batteries are 2ah, my older ones are the 5ah. so I should be able to run this drill constantly. Amazingly I still have the box with receipt for the old one, they really went up. I think the brushes went, new one is brushless, also has a 5 year warranty. old drill was 90 days.
Anyways, only place I could find the piggyback extension was on fleabay. price didn’t seem too bad ($30) so its on the way. Might try to relocate the licence plate today after I mow the yard. Heres what the part looks like that I just ordered:

 

[racsan]

heres a mock-up just as a basic “what it will look like”. not awful. will be a little higher with the dual receiver/extention.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Doesn't look like it will swing open far enough to get the hatch open... but I'm sure you measured.

Does the bottom of the tire... when mounted on the hub... rest on the upright? Doing that will likely eliminate any bounce that tire might want to do over bumpy road.

The tube's for the hinge... are they sleeved for the bolt or the tube's capped?

 

[Uncle Gump]

Last thing...

Your spindle/rotor/bearing assembly... sleeved and bolted to the upright looks heavy and honestly a bit cumbersome.

Have you thought about just another piece of tube welded to your upright with a flange and a couple wheel studs welded to it. Much lighter... way simpler... and far less a chance it rattles itself loose.

You could even press a drive hub out of a old unit bearing and use that for your flange to mount your spare.

 

[racsan]

yes, does swing far enough for hatch to open. Might make sleeves for hinge bolt, its just a 6” 1/2x20 bolt at the moment. tire is about 2” from the upright, can weld a scrap peice of 2x2 to the upright for a rest (hadn’t thought of that-thanks!) Not sure I want to cap the ends, looks better but then it rusts on the inside, unless you seal it air tight & fill with oil.
Yeah, the rotor/hub/spindle was from my 93. that assembled is quite heavy. I thought about rigging a small electric motor so it would turn as I drove, think I will scrap that idea, find a lighter tire mount (or just make one) Drat- I DID have the original spndles/bearings/hubs from the other escape when I replaced its parts for new (noisy bearings). The one time I dont keep old parts..,Most of the parts for this project were laying around or scrap from work. Still planning on how I will latch it shut.

 

[racsan]

And of course theres small gussets I will weld on. Picked up some 6013 rod today. Will need to practice a bit as I havent arc welded in a while. The whole assembly is quite heavy even without a tire. The ranger parts alone weigh quite a bit, the rotor/hub is one casting. I guess the rotor part could be cut off but Id have to use my “electric wheel of death” (angle grinder with cut off wheel) as I dont have a torch set, and cranking the welder all the way up just makes a mess & wastes rod.