anyone make their own spare tire carrier?

[lakailimited06]

i had my new tires mounted yesterday and had the guys over at mavis put one of my old tires on the spare crap wheel...well i never got the key from the prev owner so i said just torch the end of the cable and let it fall out and ill keep it in the bed for now..

today took a few pics of the crossmember piece and the winch, just trying to think of a better way to remount it then trying to reuse the old winch...also whats the biggest tire you can jam under there? mines an old 285 75 16 and i had it pressed up there with a 2x4 on my jack and it barely fits between the hitch and exhaust...

anyways just curious to see if anyone here has or has seen any ideas..thanks

jason

[TOW RIG]

I red a good article in petersons 4 wheel and off road. Fred Williams has a 79 ford and built a tire carrier on the driver side rear of the bed. Im sure you could find it on their website. My 97 f 250 is missing the tire carrier underneath as well. Need to start looking for parts. It has the dual tanks so Im not sure if it will make it more difficult to find parts for it. If so I might go that route myself.

[66Bronco]

If you have the B&W turnover ball, do what I did and build a socket that fits in the hitch. I took a 10" round piece of half inch plate and welded a piece of 2.5" square tubing that's 1/4 inch wall. You need the heavy wall because the corner radii are rounder and have enough meat to grind it down to get it to fit in the hitch. Drill the plate according to your bolt pattern (I used four wheel studs) and bolt the spare down with lug nuts of your choice. I used factory lugs, so I've got spares in case I lose one. Since it fits between the wheel wells in the bed, it will accommodate up to a 46" tire. It's rock-sold, anti-theft, and can be removed in an instant.