another tire carrier question. is one hinge enough?

[thorridder]

yes the hinge mount is different, the second is more of a straight bar, the surf curves around more to the side of the body. and with that the mounts are farther back as in farther away from the back on the side.

and kinda yes it mounts in the same spot but not in the same way with the brackets.

i dont want to tear the thing to s**t again but i will and take a bunch of pics

i want it on the body but the father is not too hot about holes in the body, and neither is the guy thats actually helping me put it on

 

[fightman80]

I used to feel the same way about modifying my rig....but then I remembered...it wasn't a classic car....and after my mom wrecked the rear of it...it wasn't original anymore anyway!

Picks would be helpful, and if you can take pics of the body panels in question..that would be good too....just for reference.

My best advice so far....you're gonna have to extend the top bar so that it wraps around to the side of the truck. Then bolt the hinge where the Surf has it's hinge.

The bottom, may need to be tweeked to fit under the light....but should be doable...

Again...pics would help me for sure though....

 

[thorridder]

when we bought it it was 6 in. shorter in back because some wrecked it, couple years later hit a deer, couple years later i spun the back of it into the trunk of an Impala. its experienced for sure.

i will take pics tomorrow and see if i can mock something up with cardboard

 

[blcktpgsr]

that was a surf, totally different

My Surf/4Runner is only imitation and is no different than any other 4Runner. And maybe I didn't explain it clearly and hopefully this picture can better let you understand.

This picture shows the taillight removed, a 2" diameter hole drilled on the base to gain access for inserting the 2 rigid wall tubings that were later welded to tie in the body panel to the d-pillar walls. #1 encircled in yellow shows the end of the tubing at the d-pillar end...See 2nd photo for reference

 

[thorridder]

yes its still a 4runner, not a real surf. true. but the hinges are totally different.

and no didnt know you did that. so you put metal tubes to re-enforce? and ran the long bolts through those tubes? what did you do to the top? and how did you seal that hole back, or did you even? and what about water and rust in the bolt holes?

lots of questions yes sorry, i just want this to work so bad and more and more things keep stopping it

 

[blcktpgsr]

yes its still a 4runner, not a real surf. true. but the hinges are totally different.

and no didnt know you did that. so you put metal tubes to re-enforce? and ran the long bolts through those tubes? what did you do to the top? and how did you seal that hole back, or did you even? and what about water and rust in the bolt holes?

lots of questions yes sorry, i just want this to work so bad and more and more things keep stopping it

Yes steel tubings were welded in place to tie in the body panel and d-pillar together to form one solid unit both upper and lower mounts, and yes bolts thru these tubings also. I applied some rust inhibitor for the drilled holes and as far as sealing them, you can use some silicone around the hinges once mounted to seal from any water penetration.

Check my build thread for more reference.

 

[thorridder]

Ok so did you re-enforce anything for the top hinge?

 

[blcktpgsr]

Yes and in the exact same fashion as the lower hinge except ofcourse much shorter tubings were used. Again all explained in my build.

 

[KidVermicious]

i just want this to work so bad

This is probably part of the problem. You're trying to fit a square peg through a round hole, and you can do it, but first you've got to make the peg round or the hole square, and that's the part you don't wanna do.

Mounting a factory tire carrier with just one hinge won't cut it. Too much stress, too much torque from that tire getting knocked back and forth every time you hit a bump or go off camber. It'll be busted in a week.

You can make the tire carrier work, but you're going to have to mount it like it was designed to - and that means doing something similar to what blcktpgsr did and placing reinforcement inside the body panels. There's really no other way to do it right.

 

[thorridder]

Yes and in the exact same fashion as the lower hinge except ofcourse much shorter tubings were used. Again all explained in my build.

ok thats what i figured, just double checking

 

[thorridder]

This is probably part of the problem. You're trying to fit a square peg through a round hole, and you can do it, but first you've got to make the peg round or the hole square, and that's the part you don't wanna do.

but if you cut both and use my good friend hammer something will happen :bash:

im slowly figuring this out and putting all the pieces together. few people do this and i know others want to but dont have much to go off of.

 

[fightman80]

Blcktpgsr posted some great info for you to get started. The only other issue you'll have is extending the top tubing so it wraps around the back of the truck onto the rear quarter panel. You'll have to get creative with the welder, and a tube bender...but it's totally doable.

I would have gone this route, if I could have found the 2nd Gen Carrier you have....but couldn't find one...and decided to make my own drop down unit.

Post some pics of your carrier man....it will be much more helpful than us trying to blindly advise you to do something.

 

[Gerdo]

Blcktpgsr posted some great info for you to get started. The only other issue you'll have is extending the top tubing so it wraps around the back of the truck onto the rear quarter panel. something.

To get it to swing, both pivot points must be dirrectly over eachother.

 

[fightman80]

So the mount will have to wrap round the corner then right??? Blcktpgsr....do you have a pic of your top hinge mount?

 

[blcktpgsr]

Gerdo is absolutely right about this one..in order for the carrier to swing out freely without binding, both pivot points will have to be in line..meaning if you take a builders level and level both pivot points in relation with each other, the level is dead on vertical or atlest be within specs.

Here's of the original Hilux Surf

And mine

 

[thorridder]

ok so did some talking with my fab guy. its going on the body 100%. and here are a few pics, will most likely work on it thursday. talking with him he like the little pipe idea and so do i, but i would beef it up more, and talking about cutting about a foot out of it kinda where the license plate mounts to have less stress and to see out the back more beings there will be a 35" spare, and talking while its cut up drop it down so instead of like the silver one where he brought the latch bracket up, it would be centered in the existing plate mount on the hatch the tire would physically be lower, if you get that. and the top hinge mount has to be extended because it only has 2 holes and one is right in the gap where the body and hatch meets.

 

[fightman80]

Cool beans! Glad you have a fab guy helping you out with this! Can't wait to see how it looks!

P.S. Not sure how much wheeling you wanna do....but having the tire sit lower will kill your departure angles.....

That being said...you are running a 35" spare....and it might be more obstructive than my 33". I personally don't find mine to be too much of a pain....as it actually helps block people's headlights from my rear view!

Here are some pics of my setup:

Off the truck,

Some shots on the truck:

And a parting shot:

You may be better off doing what you're planning on doing....just shooting some ideas around for you.....

By the way...not sure what you were planning to do with your license plate...but I got a cheap license plate light and wired it to my power wire on the rear driver side tail light....eventually...planning on running an L.E.D light....

Anyway....can't wait to see what yours looks like...as I've been wanting a 2nd Gen Carrier for a while now! LOL!

 

[thorridder]

yeah thought about that too... if i shorten it it will help, just thought about lowering so ya know, i could actually use the back window haha but if its off to the side that will help. will do it all then see if i need to lower it later i think. just throwing ideas out