Mounting Spare on Back of T@B

YanniLazarus

Last idea (I'm doing this! ) 

1.  Cut the bottom edge of two African Mahogany 2x4's to match the roof curvature at the first three aluminum roof struts.  These will be 22" long. Finish exposed top edge with bull nose, and oil 2x4.

2.  Drill (3) 13/16th holes in each,  spaced 8" on center, for (3) 3/4 inch diameter tubes to run side to side. 

3.  Mount the mahogany side rails 12" in from the outside face so that thru bolts will just clear speaker enclosure. Use thru bolts at the two aluminum struts over the rear cabinet,  and self tapping screws at the lowest strut. 

While encouragement and discouragement are both welcome,  I do have three questions to start: 

I can get either stainless steel or aluminum 3/4 inch tubes.   Preference/ wall thickness for this roughly 5'span? 

And... what kind of stainless steel screws should I use for the blind fastening to the first aluminum roof strut? 

And... better to mount tire dead center or close to one side?  I am thinking (at this point...) that I'll use a strapping system to fasten spare to tubes, although I suspect I'll end up permanently mounting a plate with the factory original bracket to stiffen everything,  inspired by AnoldUR.

YanniLazarus

Progress report... I now have a beautiful piece of 2x4 mahogany for side rails, and 3 stainless steel tubes on the way... and am refining the fit of my template.  Will fasten to 3 T@B framing tubes.

AnOldUR

First long trip with the spare on the back. Traveled with our canopy on there also. No structural problems so far. No leaks during a torrential down pour. Need more miles on it before calling it a success, but I’m pretty confident.

Slackers

It looks good too!

AnOldUR

@Slackers ... Still think so?

I had some concern about the canopy rubbing on the fiberglass shell in the wind and scratching it. Harbor Freight had a hitch mount cargo carrier for fifty bucks. Thought I'd try using just the basket to hold anything strapped to the bars away the T@B's exterior surface. I think it will serve that function well, but I'm not sure about the cosmetics.

Or is it my ugly baby?

Dalehelman

Love those HF carrier racks.

AnOldUR

@Dalehelman ... Nice! I saw a recommendation to use this rack as a tongue carrier. That's what gave me the idea to try it for my project. I hadn't seen these pictures. That's a really nice and clean installation!

Sharon_is_SAM

Smart  idea.  How much weight will you be carrying back there?  

AnOldUR

Sharon_is_SAM said:

Smart  idea.  How much weight will you be carrying back there?  

Not much weight wise. Our pop-up canopy and maybe some camping chairs. Anything bulky but light that would otherwise take up room in the TV or trailer.

edit to add:
I like the top being open so we can carry oversized items (like the canopy) but would like to come up with a way to give it a more finished look. The projects (fun) never ends.

ScottG

I've always liked @Dalehelman's carriers better than the OEM versions. More than once I've pondered them as an excuse to learn welding.  ;-)

Verna

@AnOldUR, the roof is actually aluminum, from the front, over the top, to the bottom of the rear. But, yes, any rubbing will remove the paint from the aluminum also. 

AnOldUR

@Verna ,,, Thanks for the correction on that. I was confusing the roof with the sidewalls, but in hindsight it didn't make sense. The Azdel probably wouldn't flex enough to match the curvature of the roof. Now I'm wondering how many times I sounded silly saying that the roof was fiberglass.

AnOldUR

@Dalehelman ... I’m thinking of adding the Harbor Freight carrier to the tongue also.  Do you find the rack on the driver’s side interferes with dumping?

Dalehelman

Not really, but I have changed the 2 dump valves to a 1 valve system years ago. Which relocates the valve slightly.

AnOldUR

Dalehelman said:

Not really, but I have changed the 2 dump valves to a 1 valve system ...

Interesting. I’ll be looking further into that. My thought with using this racks up front is that I’d like to get rid of the large aluminum storage box that’s in front of my nuCamp box and replace it with two smaller ones on either side. As is, I can’t swing the tailgate of my Jeep open. Removing the box and moving the jack back should fix that.