thread - retro fitting 2nd gen tire carrier on a 3rd gen 4Runner

[thorridder]

as the title says, this is me taking a stock tire carrier off i think an 2nd gen 94 4Runner and making it fit my 99 3rd gen 4Runner. i have taken advice from many places and this it what i came up with.

this is a back home behind the house kind of job, no fancy tools or know how.

what was used:
oxygen/acetylene cutting torch
arch welder
hand grinder

1. have to cut part off the top hinge so it will clear the hatch when it opens

2. with the way the carrier sits on the body and having to clear the hatch the top hinge has to be out quite a bit so i got some 2.5" flat steel and did an S bend on it so it will be flat against the body and so it holds the hinge out without using spacers. it is a 12" long piece but will not end up being that long in the end, better to cut after than to stert over because its too short.

3. took the license plate cover to figure out where the latch needs to be. it has to cover the release handle some. we cut it out and will have a pic of it all tomorrow. will also have 2 pieces to cover flat over the indented area so it looks better.

only work about 2 hours today, got cold and dark, but should have it all up and mounted tomorrow.

 

[xskydivingdudex]

Looks good so far dude, if u can make it work and it's not too hard I may have to steal this idea since I can't see spending 1200 on a bumper that allows a tire swing

 

[thorridder]

thats why im doing this. its so much to buy one with a swing out on it. i got this for $50 off CL and will spend maybe $25 more at Lowes and it will be on. and its a real Toyota one not from another truck. then i will make a rear bumper and be happy. and from talking with others, i know more people want to do this they just dont, but i love this stuff.

 

[fightman80]

That looks good man! I love my tire carrier, but would have loved to do something similar with mine.... didn't think it was doable though, until I had seen the guy with the Taco Runner do it.... it was too late at that point....as I had already build my swing down carrier.

Can't wait to see how it turns out man!

 

[thorridder]

alright got a ton done today but not 100%.

4. this is a pic of what i had done so far on the latch for the truck, still needed a little more but this started it.

5. next was holding the carrier up to figure out what needed cut. the plate steel is pretty thick so we just blasted 4 holes through it will the torch. then put it up there and marked them off and drilled the holes in the body.

6. this is a pic of how it will be bolted on

7. got the top bolted up, its only bolted to the sheet metal but still very strong.

8. used a hole saw to cut out under the passenger light to access the cavity there to put the bolts in.

9. drilled the holes and bolted it up. it needs spacers behind so i used more plate on the outside 2 bolts and used 4 washers on the one for the back. didnt do ant reinforcing on it but it is still very strong and IMO i dont really think it needs any.

10. lined it up and drilled the holes

11. got some spacers behind it, only 4 in now but after decided it needed all 8 bolts when it was finalized.

12. put the plastic covers on and trimmed the top. have about 1/2" of clearance from the corner of the hatch to the top hinge.

13. got i all on and closed and driving today. is great on the in and out of it, very sturdy and lifts the truck up when its moved.

not sure on what im doing about the old license place mount, will figure it out tomorrow. im taking the stock lights, wires, and plugs from mine and making them fit the new license plate holder so there is no confusion with parts. getting all the final bolts tomorrow with locking nuts and a crap ton of washers. seems to work very will, little vibration when driving.

 

[fightman80]

Looking good.... Only thing I'd add....definately paint it...but maybe also ad some 2 way tape, or some sort of foam between the mounts and the body of the truck. This way, any vibration won't cause the paint to wear away, and then rust beneath.

As for the licence plate.... how about making a mount for it so it sits in front of the rim???

Again, cool project man!

 

[thorridder]

its coming off tomorrow and getting painted when i go to lowes. i have some weather stripping to put behind the metal that touches the body and will double it up and put silicone where the holes are.

and the plate is gong there but i my have list the screws.... but it will be getting a matching rim and it would scratch it if the plate was there, and it needs lighted. i will probably do that stuff tomorrow or monday. and thinking about moving the CB antenna to the swing, and will put a light in a cavity behind the tire so there is a camp light

and i will cut and bend up some stainless and put a buffer around it so it doesnt scratch the body either, thats the pretty up part. the metal sticking out just looks bad....

 

[BigFishAllDay]

This project kinda reminds me of these bracelets:



You know how you just kinda slap them on there?

It looks ghetto-rigged to me. I was really hoping you'd take your time with it and do a nice clean job of it, with a write up that others could follow.

BUT, I will give you credit for doing it... trying something new and making it work. Good job on that part.

 

[LDForget]

as long as you can make those spacer plates look better, or non-existant, i think it looks great.

 

[fightman80]

I think LDForget has a good point.... what if you left the flat bar in...but filled in the gaps with weld, and then grinded everything smooth? Then do the weather stripping / sillicone on the back??

I'd use black sillicone (Permatex works good), just so it doesn't discolor.....

Again, I like the project.... some prettying up will make it look much better! Can't wait to see what's next for it man!

 

[Volley]

Very nice project. Agree in just cleaning it up a bit but awesome job of making this work. I have tire carrier envy!

 

[thorridder]

come on guys :sobbing: work in progress... you have to get it on there and make sure everything clears and mocks up before making it pretty. im not going to do it half a$$. 2-3 days it will be cherry. back to work :banana:

 

[98_4runnerSR5]

I would definitely do some reinforcing on the inside. That's a lot of weight to just be hanging on sheet metal and the body...

 

[PoRunner]

I think it's looking great. I second the notion of reinforcing it for sure. I have always wanted to do this so props for actually doing it.

 

[thorridder]

got it all on today. did two layers of foam between the body and metal. painted it all in matt black and looks pretty sweet.

used 4 3/8 1.5" for the top hinge to the body
used 3 3/8 2' for the bottom, used spacers behind but the longer bolts make it easy to get the nuts on.
used 4 3/8 1.25 for the center of the hatch plate, also has 7 washers between the body and plate per bolt
used 2 3/8 2.5 " for the very top 2 on the plate, would nee 12 washers, but i used something else

got it all on but couldnt finish, got called to move a bunch of stuff

 

[gannonrt]

I think it's looking great. I second the notion of reinforcing it for sure. I have always wanted to do this so props for actually doing it.

I third the reinforcements for the sheet metal. The link below is from a couple that overland in a '98 4Runner with a heavier than normal roof load that seems like it would be comparable to the stress you would be putting on the rear quarter panel sheet metal with the tire carrier.

Living Overland: Reinforcing the Roof

 

[thorridder]

well it didnt get done. seeing it in person changed my mind. i was going to make a skeleton inside to hold it all, but didnt. it is held on quite strong. it flexes yes, but nothing that i am worried about at all. i can do a vid of it opening and closing and watching me lift the truck with it swung out. at some point i may do something, but its done now.

 

[98_4runnerSR5]

well it didnt get done. seeing it in person changed my mind. i was going to make a skeleton inside to hold it all, but didnt. it is held on quite strong. it flexes yes, but nothing that i am worried about at all. i can do a vid of it opening and closing and watching me lift the truck with it swung out. at some point i may do something, but its done now.

I'd seriously spend the time to reinforce it! 2nd gens had the inside pillars that were reinforced to hold the extra weight. Our 3rd gens weren't meant to hold that weight and it's definitely going to give you problems in the future if you don't.... Last thing you want is to rip off your body paneling or to have it collapse/bend on you... That's a lot of weight to be held on with no supports. Props for getting it on there though!

 

[thorridder]

yes i know. bad bad. but you gotta trust me here. if its done right its fine. when its out, the bottom being at a 90* holds it. when its in it is being held by the C where the top bar rests, and the latching mechanism. when doing it. if i didnt feel good about it i would have made something on the inside. if i feel like anything is wrong with it, it will be fixed, but i feel 98% sure with it, because nothing is 100%.

 

[fightman80]

I'm gonna have to side with Thorrider on this one. You're not driving around with the carrier open. The lock down bracket takes some of that load when it's closed.

I got a lot of criticism from people when I built my tire carrier. Most of the guys were telling me that the hinges I used would buckle, and fail, but 3 years later....and no issues at all with the hinges. All the issues that arose were related to my latch point, and the hinges were never a problem.

Back to Thorrider's carrier, the upper hinge plate has decent surface area, more so than the stock mounting. The lower is bolted at a pretty solid section of the rear quarter panel. I'm no fabricator, but I don't see any issue with this.

Make sure you post some pics of the carrier finished man!