So here is what kinda of prompted lowering the lip on the bed

Got a jeep drawer through some parts trades. Keeps all my junk secure and no bungee cords holding it down.

 

Picked up a couple of little 5 liter NATO gas cans. Figure I would use them for fuel for my trail chain saw.
Cleaned up pretty good after a few minutes with a wire wheel

 

Looks great, do they seal? Can you get replacement seals?

 

they seal great, no leaks during my test. I think you could make replacement seals if a good rubber gasket material was found

 

Threw the spare up top to see how it would work (i know it raised the COG) and to see how the rear visibility would be (always going to be a challenge on this thing.
Not sure if i like it or not.
Before

after

still fits in the garage:

need to make a rear swing out again sometime.

 

^^^ I hope its strong enough.

I never get tired of looking at your sweet rig (in my best Napoleon Dynamite voice).

As for the tire carrier, I too am going to redesign my existing, and make a new one with some added improvements. One thing I struggle with is visibility out back. There really seems to be no way around blocking the rear view. I really just need to get a back-up camera.

 

Thanks RBX.
The tire on top of the cage didn't last 12 hours. woke up, looked at it and said forget it.

 

Robb,
If you strap the tire to a location that you don't like or is a nuisance to deal with, perhaps that will motivate the tire carrier fab sooner then later....well, that's how I usually work anyhow....haha.

 

I have a guy not too far from me that can do a swing out or something pretty easy for me..right now it is a lack of $$$. So hopefully in a couple of months..

 

Hahahaha, "Forget it!" X 2000000, ON LOVING UR RIG!

 

Worked on the tow rig today and Discovered another reason Daimler Benz sold Chrysler for only $9 billion (they paid $36 billion)
The factory hitch on my Dodge truck was bent so I picked up another one and thought it would take an hour or two to replace. No way.. you have to undo the bed and raise it enough to slide out the factory hitch. What a PITA...

 

Robb,
I was a collision technician/AutoBody tech in my past life. Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep... Not the most thought out designs. If you peel back the door opening trim gasket where the door meets the body, measure the distance between the spot welds on the pinch weld, then measure on your Toyota, crazy how many more welds are on foreign cars then American. That's just a small example of construction. I have as hard time buying a new American car, I'm a bit jaded.

 

The tire on the roof rack always sounds like a good idea till you see it up there. Haha.

 

Oh I am sure. Stuck with the Dodge for awhile. Its paid for so I can deal with a few things.

Yessir...one reason it was up there less than 12 hours.

Might do something like Marshall did on his Trekker






It would be pretty straight forward
I think I have enough tubing for a friend of mine to bend something like it up..

Another possibility is go with something like the
CBI mount again
http://www.cbioffroadfab.com/product...-premium-model

Which is nice because it could easily be taken off and on.

 

I dig the fold down carriers seems to make putting an oversized tire on or off the carrier easier then a swing out like mine. But I like the ease of dropping the tailgate and swinging the tire out for daily operations. I'm starting to design a new carrier and have been toying with a dual swing/fold down mechanism. Not sure if I can pull it off but we will see.

 

one that could go both ways would be pretty cool..

 

hahahahaha

Sent from my iPhone using YotaTech

 

I wonder if you could rig it up with a strut or closers to help lift all that weight?

 

Maybe some coiled springs at the hinges

Sent from my iPhone using YotaTech

 

Seems like I break a mirror ever time I hit the trail. Got this idea off a thread om Marlin.
Cut down a set of **cough** h33p quick release mirrors.

Twist the knob and swing them out of the way