Tired of having to crawl under you truck to get your spare? Have a hitch that makes that fit a little snug? Or are you just no running the factory size any more? Well, if you have a B&W turnover 5er, the solution is simple.
Materials:
*approx. 2 feet of 2 1/2 inch heavy wall square tubing (about 1/4" works perfectly)
circular piece of 1/4"-1/2" roughly 9" in diameter
*2-4 wheel studs and lug nuts (locking nuts if you want more security, but it's not much of an issue where I live) Besides, the whole assembly comes out anyways, so if they want it bad enough, they'll get it.
*Rattle can paint
*IMPORTANT: These measurements are APPROXIMATE. I am assuming that you can use a measuring tape and figure it out for yourself. This is just an idea.
Take a piece of heavy wall 2 1/2 inch square tubing and grind the corners down till it bottoms out in the 5er hole. Then, get a piece of plate steel about 9 inches in diameter. Center the square tubing on the plate and tack weld it on. Now, find your center point on the side of the plate opposite the tube. Measure your wheel bolt pattern using the center point as a reference. *Center to center* Use at least two of the bolt holes, and drill holes big enough for factory wheel studs to go through; tack them on the back if necessary. Now, test fit EVERYTHING. At this point, you should have something that resembles a table with one centered leg. Now, measure 2 inches(?) from the bottom of the square tubing and mark this point. It will serve as the center of the 3/4 inch hole you'll drill for the hitch's lock pin to pass through. At this point, fab is about done. Just fit everything up one last time, and once you're satisfied, finish weld everything and paint the inside and outside of the entire assembly. Bolt up your spare and enjoy, as you no longer have to get on your back to access your spare. Whenever it's time to work, just pull the hitch pin, and the bed is wide open. No more roving spares slamming into the bulkhead when you stop, or rolling out of the bed when you forget to close the tailgate
. THis is how I built mine, and it works GREAT.
Notes: the length of the tubing you need will be determined by tire width, backspacing, etc, but ideally, you want the tubing to bottom out and the tire to be on the bed, that way nothing rattles. This setup will accommodate up to a 52 inch tire, so that's kind of a moot point.
11-23-2008, 12:54 AM
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