Idea for spare tire swing

[Sethybaby]

Alright, I'm hesitant to post this cause I wanna be the first one to try it, but i know a lot of you guys are good welders so i don't want to hog the idea.

My main beef with most swing out racks is ho far away from the truck the tire ends up. I'm a really symmetrical and color coordinated person, i can hear 1 string out of tune in a stage full of guitars and all my lego projects are color correct and as scale as possible.

so i've been trying to think of a way to snug a 33 up against the tail gate and hold a jerry can at the same time. I think I've got a good plan here.

The basic idea was to cut down the sport trac gate until it resembles an airgate then start from there.

I'd love it if I could get some input and suggestions for it.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

The problem is that the ST tailgate isn't that wide to have the tire offset like that without hitting into the bedside/ taillight.

Here's a picture of mine for reference...

Without the tire and bare metal to see easier...

You're not gonna get the carrier any closer to the tailgate then this. I have just enough room for 1/4" thick rubber/ foam isolator strips on each bar of the carrier that are sandwiched between the carrier and tailgate.

Are you trying to turn your tailgate into something similair to this ?...

http://www.discounttruckaccessories.com/cilist_SubCategory2_Spare%20Tire%20Carrier%20by%20Tiregate.htm

 

[Sethybaby]

Alright, well i just went take some measurements and i should have 14" left of width after the 33 is on.

here's a better drawing.

That aftermarket gate is pretty similar to what i want.
I'm thinking now just completely take off the tailgate and make some nice flat weld plates that use the bolt holes for the tailgate latches and hinges and then making the swing gate the entire tailgate. that leaves me with the room for a spare and a jerry can right up against the back of my truck.

 

[Sethybaby]

another view

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Ya, that's similair to one of the designs I came up with when I was researching for mine.

Quite a bit of fabrictaion to match the factory tailgate to seal it with the Tonneau cover or Cap.

You'll need some thick gauge flat steel sheet to be strong enough and steel tube (round for the right side pivot) and square or rectangular for the rest to seal and look good.

I'll see if I still have the drawing I came up with and upload it for ya. I may need to re draw it as I think I threw it in the burn pile after I made my swing out tire carrier.

 

[Sethybaby]

it was a slow day. had a lot of time on my hands.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Nice job, what are you using to do that? I've played with Google Sketchup alittle when I designed mine.

 

[Sethybaby]

Heh, I've done these for years, you're gonna laugh. MS Paint. I love my Corel Paint Shop Pro X10, but for 2D Im a wiz on MS Paint.