6.5L Turbo Diesel Blazer Project

[More Power]

Hitch mount spare. Are you going to make it swing down to meet the tire to save lifting spare into place?

The receiver hitch mount rotates down and to the rear using a locking pin, allowing the hatch and rear gate to open without interference. It's amazing how much room was freed when moving the spare to the outside. The tolerances found in 2" receiver hitch components needed to be addressed - it was a little wobbly. We addressed that with a couple of ratchet straps on the backside of the tire mount that pull it down toward the hitch. The straps can't be seen from the rear, and they make it rock solid.

[DmaxMaverick]

The receiver hitch mount rotates down and to the rear using a locking pin, allowing the hatch and rear gate to open without interference. It's amazing how much room was freed when moving the spare to the outside. The tolerances found in 2" receiver hitch components needed to be addressed - it was a little wobbly. We addressed that with a couple of ratchet straps on the backside of the tire mount that pull it down toward the hitch. The straps can't be seen from the rear, and they make it rock solid.

I think I recall you had previously used a hitch mount cargo rack or some such, and touted the "stabilizer" that came with it. You can use the same hardware for your spare mount. That part (U-bolt and bracket) is also an item available separately at HFT or truck accessory store, or on Amazon for $10-20.

[More Power]

I think I recall you had previously used a hitch mount cargo rack or some such, and touted the "stabilizer" that came with it. You can use the same hardware for your spare mount. That part (U-bolt and bracket) is also an item available separately at HFT or truck accessory store, or on Amazon for $10-20.

Yes, I thought about the Harbor Freight hitch tightener like the one I use on Lil Red.

It would take some of the wobble out in this application, but it's primarily a one-axis (up/down) tightener. The straps take out the up/down slop and side/side (spare tire side to side movement due to slop in the other axis). The spare is quite heavy and has a lot of leverage on the receiver, and we plan on some rough off-highway travel this summer.

Yes, moving the spare outside is a huge improvement! I built my own swing-away spare tire carrier for my Tahoe back in 2016, using plans I copied from a gent over at Expedition Portal. It's worked flawlessly over the years:...

I like your swing-away spare mount a lot, and a swing-away was our first consideration. Then, Sarah looked at some of the commercially available ones. The nice ones are out of reach in price (between $1k-$2k), and to be honest I have enough projects this summer to think about fabbing one... In fact, I didn't think far enough ahead on the steps I'm installing now... It's taken about 3 days to complete the fab/prep work. The hitch mount for the spare was just $100 delivered.

By the way Casey, what do you do about the rear license plate? I'm thinking about either fabbing or buying a relocation plate holder for Sarah.

[arveetek]

I like your swing-away spare mount a lot, and a swing-away was our first consideration. Then, Sarah looked at some of the commercially available ones. The nice ones are out of reach in price (between $1k-$2k), and to be honest I have enough projects this summer to think about fabbing one... In fact, I didn't think far enough ahead on the steps I'm installing now... It's taken about 3 days to complete the fab/prep work. The hitch mount for the spare was just $100 delivered.

By the way Casey, what do you do about the rear license plate? I'm thinking about either fabbing or buying a relocation plate holder for Sarah.

Yes, commercially available bumpers/tire carriers are stupid expensive. I don't have a lot of money tied up in my carrier, but probably 4 or 5 days of fabrication time.

My license plate is in the stock location. The tire is up and to the right, and doesn't block the plate when viewed from straight behind.

Casey