So I took a page out of Boeinguy's book and modified it a bit. Like Boeinguy I used a Nissan Hardbody spare tire winch. I notched out the rear cross member to fit the winch and drilled the appropriate holes. Don't make the same mistake I did and center the winch on the cross member. Center the drop chain on the cross member or the tire will be off center and hang up on the frame.


I milled a slot in a piece of quarter inch steel and enlarged the hole in the middle of the plate then welded the piece of plate on to the winch so that I could use the stock Dodge jack handle to raise and lower the tire.


When I mounted the winch to the cross member it bent the cross member down about an inch when I picked up the tire so I welded a piece of .25x2"piece of strip steel to a 1x1x.25" angle and bolted it to top of the cross member with the winch bolts and two bolts on either side near the frame.


I built another cross member out of 2x2x.25" steel an placed it behind the stock cross member and bolted it to the frame for the tire to rest against. I drilled a hole in the custom cross member for the stock jack handle to go through.



I replaced the stock rusty chain with a new one. I also built my own tire holder but it didn't work well so I grabbed a tire holder off a 2nd gen truck out of the JY. I also reused the old springs from the CV joint in my front drive shaft as a tensioner for the spare tire winch since it had one stock from Nissan.

Seems like a good upgrade since I HATE the stupid stock cross bar set up. Enjoy.

As usual the stuff painted yellow is the stuff I did. Just for Ollie, Mark, and NJTman!

 

I like it!

 

So much easier with the bed off. The previous owner of mine put one on, but didn't center it. One of these days, after I die probable, I'll fix that.

 

Great job, Mr fusion. Love the yellow paint! If I ever am run over by a truck, and I see a bunch of yellow undercarriage stuff, I'll know who did it!


Nice fab work

 

Thanks for the input guys! Yes, much easier with the bed off.

 

It's not a huge problem but it was a PITA that I didn't want to deal with on the side of the road, in the rain/sleet/wintry mix, at night. I also figured that it would be a neat trick to spin the jack handle and kick the tire into position at the same time.

 

Looks nice..
How does the tire lock into the up position?
Could you drop the chain back through the rim and padlock it?
What is the capacity of this setup, would this work on a dually, the rims are considerably heavier.
Also will it clear a class V frame hitch?
Jim

 

Jim,

I have a Class V hitch, and my stock size 235/85r16's fit in there, although a bit tight. As long as your tire isn't larger in diameter than that, it should work, but I guess that would also depend on how your hitch is designed.

 

I'm not sure exactly how the mechanism in the winch works. I believe it has to do with gear ratios and a friction brake. There is a stiff spring attached to the bottom of an eye bolt attached to the chain. As the tire contacts the frame the spring compresses and holds tension on the chain and winch. I'm not sure what the capacity of the winch is but the stock Nissan tires are pretty tiny. The winch is pretty robust. It seems more than adequate for the stock application. It easily lifts a SRW rim and tire. I plan to check pretty frequently to make sure it stays secure. I would think it would work with a DRW set up. The chain secures via a little tab on the side of the winch frame. You could leave extra chain attached past the tab to secure the tire with a lock. Should clear a class V hitch unless you're running pretty big tires. It does tend to drop the winched in chain back through the center hole in the rim.

 

I really like this but if you can't find a Nissan Hardbody what have others used? I'm tired of the spare in the bed that's always in the way of something. Whats the largest diameter tire that'll fit between the rails?

 

I'd opt for anything with a chain. I've seen too many cable winches rot apart at the tire bracket and lose the spare at an inopportune moment. It sticks in my mind that early Ford Rangers might have had something useful. If you're really interested in a Nissan winch I'll snag one for you next time I hit the JY. I know one that has 6 or so Nissan Hardbodies in it. I dunno the next time I'll go there because I'm getting pretty tired of their generally poor attitude and bend over pricing. There are other JY's though.

Since you're out west rust may not be an issue for you and a cable winch would be fine. 2nd gen winch might work pretty well. Any winch is better than the stock setup.

 

Just thinking,
I have a spare 12-volt #500 Superwinch laying around that might end up under my truck.
A cable pulley system could lift it and the oem carrier could secure it.
BTW,
I have seen more than a few times at my tire shop, newer minivans with the cable winches jammed and they had to cut the cable with a torch to remove the tire and rim.
The winch​ probably has a worm drive attached​ to the chain sprocket, weighed cannot unwind the winch, it has to be cranked down.

My grandfather was a machinest he designed and patented a spare tire lift system that used a worm drive and 80 pitch industrial roller chain for domestic pickup trucks, he was way ahead of his time, this was back in the late 1950's.
Jim

 

Custom metal work...yellow paint...Cool!

 

The next time I put the spare under the truck I'll winch it up tight and jump up and down on it to make sure it stays put.

 

Better be careful you don't lose your "man parts" on a cross-member doing so....