Spare tire swingout idea

[mankypro]

Hey folks,

Wondering if there would be a reason not to attempt to use a tire swingout arm from a full size Bronco on my F-250? Wonder if there is a way to mount this thing so that it doesn't just tear the sheet metal off the rig:

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Any ideas?

 

[69oiler]

there's no reason not to try it, looks like it would work. i will say that i took my spare tire off the back of my truck because it ended up getting in the way a lot, you need a lot of room behind and next to the truck to swing the tire out of the way so you can open the tailgate.

also, it sits in the way of the jack on my trailer when backing up at sharp angles.

if these are not issues for you then i'd say give it a shot.

 

[rubberfish]

Someone else did that just in the last year or so
didn't they? I can't remember who though.......

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Asked that question over at FSB - there's a reinforcement bracket around the tail light under the sheetmetal, that one will not be easy to install in one of our trucks, assuming you somehow manage to get it out of the Bronco. Also, there's the tailgate issue - apparently the Bronco tailgate is stronger than a truck one, as it has to support the weight of the spare wheel and its carrier, and also deal with the rear glass and its mechanism as well. You can probably install a complete Bronco tailgate minus the glass and its stuff, or you can source out the tailgate reinforcement bracket and try to fit it in the truck tailgate - here the situation is reversed, getting the bracket off the Bronco is fairly easy, but good luck mounting it on the truck. Last but not least - the Bronco carrier is made for 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern, and we got the 8 on 6.5 so a new stud plate will have to be fabbed.

All that said, this is one of the mods on my to-do list for the summer, will see how things go tho...

 

[mankypro]

The truth is that I want to have a rear bumper, combo tire, jack and gerry can mount swingout arm fabricated but cannot afford it at the moment...

Figured I could get my hands on the Bronco swingout easily. I'm just worried about what might occur with nothing to support it under the sheet metal...

 

[rubberfish]

Nope. Never mind.
Their's was attached to the bumper.

 

[69oiler]

i'd think if you took out the tail light you could reach in there and add either the proper Bronco reinforcement or something home made.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

i'd think if you took out the tail light you could reach in there and add either the proper Bronco reinforcement or something home made.

No can do, just ask Steve83 from FSB, he had the joys of dealing with the swingaway on his Bronco, I believe he ran out of his cuss-word vocabulary halfway through the teardown. He suggest, however, that for my heavy wheel I should cut the stock bronco bracket be cut in half, then insert it, then tighten it back together with another piece of steel and also bolts through the sheetmetal and all - sounds easily doable, and also makes removing the bracket from teh Bronco a piece of cake.

Then there's always the issue with the tailgate reinforcement, as our tailgates have no large access panels like the Bronco does.

 

[Agnem]

All the tailgate does is hold the tire to the truck so it doesn't swing out. Not a lot of stress there unless you go zero to sixy in 1.2 seconds, or slam into a tree, in which case a bent tailgate is probably a non-issue. Personally, I'd rather come up with something that bolts to the frame.

 

[riotwarrior]

Ok there is a reinforcement that is inside the fender of the Bronco....I have one cut out from a different bronco that had the carrier and my unit did not....

IT WONT just fit into the area it is supposed to it's spot welded in place on the bronco and I had to drill out those welds...One would have to either remove the 1/4 panel and weld it into place or cut the brace in two pieces and some how weld it in place, I will look for my brace later to see if I can get some pics up.

There is a brace inside the tailgate as well that is just bolted behind the latching mechanism it comes out when you unbolt the latch and remove the inner access panel.

I suppose if you cut a panel hole inside a truck gate you could work out how and where to place the latch to make this whole idea work....Again I will try to take some pics of the pieces for everyone.

 

[mankypro]

Man I can't win for losing, looks like my spare is going on a roof rack - then I can zebra stripe my truck and play Matahari...grumble