I am looking to try my luck at building a new rear bumper with tire carrier. Does anyone have any advise what type of steel to use? C-channel? Fully boxed stell? Wall thickness? etc. Obviously I need it to be strong enough hold up against rocks but not too heavy.
As far as the tire carrier. I need it to swing away from the tail gate. What type of fitting should be used as the swivel?
As always, any advise is greatly appreciated!

I am using 2x4 .120 rec tubing for bumper and 2" square tubing for swing away and bought a kit from a to z fabrication for the spindle,tire plate, and latch. I have seen heim joints like wild horses. I like the ones from a to z cuz they are just wheel bearings so you can put a grease zert in the housing and they are sealed from crud.

last year we had a club build day at my old shop for rear bumpers with tire carriers. Someone with better tech skills than I, will have to post up the thread with the plans, material list and pictures.

Or you could search my posts for it.

OK, at work now and a real computer here is the links to our builds

The Build Plan: Cant find the plan thread. I know most of us purchased our hing and latch combo from EMS, the kit included a plate for the spare tire even. Cost was around $100 for the kit. We used 2 X 6 tube for the bumpers with 2 x 2 tube for the tire carrier racks and they are very solid.

the report: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1102

Here's mine:




Used 2x6x3/16" and 3/16" plate. Been a great bumper and has held up to a lot of abuse. The hinge is from Slee Offroad, but I am not sure he sells just the hinge anymore. It was the strongest I could find. I will say that if I were to do it again, I think I'd use a D44 spindle and hub. That way you can lock it into position anywhere.

The latch is key. Mine is convenient, but it does allow it to rattle and squeak. I'd get a HD cam latch of some sort to battle that.

Ahh, this will give you a better idea as to how it went together, but I would do it differently if I were to do it again. If you decide on something similar, let me know and I'll explain myself better.

Whatever latching mechanism you choose, make sure it does not interfere with the tailgate when you open it.

One cool one I saw was done by Addicted offroad. He sorta frenched in a female thread into the top of his bumper, then using a T-handle with male threads attached to the swing arm, he could thread it down and tighten it up nice. He did it at an angle, which is something I probably couldn't pull off, but it looked sweet!

Found the thread:
http://www.colorado4x4.org/vbb/showthre ... -bus/page6

Thanks for the links! Gonna pick up some steel this weekend and give 'er a go.