After many hours in the garage and the use of primitive power tools, I've completed the proposed swing out. It took an upcoming Death Valley trip to light the fire under me, but I now have an extra 10 gallons of fuel at my disposal.

I was initially going to run the standard red toggle clamps you see everywhere, but then ran across Wilman's updated latch design. Instead of using a clamp to hold the up down/side to side movements, he isolated them via a pull pin and a lock tab. I don't have to worry about the clamp coming undone, the arm swinging open, or the arm lifting off of the spindle. I also saved about $30 going with the two spring pins versus one clamp and one spring pin to hold the gate open on an incline. Spring pins were acquired from McMaster Carr.

The spindle is an Iron Pig Offroad (IPOR) creation consisting of 1.5" cold rolled rod surrounded by oilite bushings and wrapped in a piece of 2" DOM sleeve.

The side supports are bolted through the factory receiver hitch making it a snap to remove if necessary, as well as sell in the future if desired.

The jerry can holder clamps over the rear of the cans, but I'm still debating if I like it or not. I'd rather shed some weight and go with a locking strap design but I haven't quite figured out a system for that yet. It is also locking which I desire.

Total funds spent came to around $150 including parts, metal, and shipping. Total time i'd estimate around 25 hours. I just acquired a plasma cutter so that will cut the time down significantly!















Initial conception:

 

looks good man i like the way it stays close to the cab. it doesnt seem big and bulky. good work.

 

it needs room to put more stuff...but i would LOVE to have one for some extra fuel! very nicely done friend!

 

Nice job!

 

Nice mod! I'm also liking the storage box in the cargo area too. Any plans/diagrams on how that was made?

 

Great job.. Hope no one rear ends you with those things full!!

 

Theoretically I could make a second swing arm that I could swap on and off...i.e. one that has a spare tire carrier, etc. But A) I don't need that, B) more weight out the back, C) Why load it up just because you can? I could possibly run a 60" Hi-lift across the bottom main beam, but when it comes down to it the hi-lift is a pretty wide piece of equipment and would either hang down or block the swing arm.

I pretty much built it around the sub box which made for more cuts, otherwise it's pretty easy to measure. Making the drawers/slides properly is the hardest part. I had to special order some extra long slides but at least they're rated for 100 lbs. Maybe someday i'll even carpet it in the correct color...I've made a few additions to it since these pictures were taken, namely tie-down points to keep things from flying since we all know 4runners have a tendency to buck up everything behind the rear seats .





There is enough room on the front left corner for a spare quart of oil and on the right 2 maglights in quickfists.



I hope no one rear ends me period!

 

Nice job man!!

 

Good work! Are you planning on adding a light to your license plate? I ask because my bulbs were out a couple months ago and I got a fix-it ticket from the friendly neighborhood CHP. Gotta love CA!

 

pretty nice setup there. I am not sure that being that low is a great thing, getting rear ended could be the difference between life and death. looks like a solid build though.

 

looks good! x2 on the license plate light. cops here have a heyday with that one, and won't pass inspection if they find it either

i bought a drop down tire carrier off a member here, he used a small, flat hella light that plugs into the flat, 4 wire harness from your tow package.

 

I like that idea, i'll have to try to find one...

 

sorry for the dark pic, but you get the idea. it's prob. 1 1/2" x3" and uses two studs with nuts to ground/mount.

good luck

 

Thanks for the pics, looks like he just wired it into a flat 4 connector...I'll have to see what the friendly neighborhood harbor freight has to adapt.

 

Pretty damn good for just primitive tools.

 

Hmmm I might have to steal your idea and do that for a tire carrier. I put my gas up top, and trying to lug a 35" tire/wheel to the top is just plain silly.

 

Please do, i'd like to see what you come up with! Gas can on one side and tire on the other would be sicky.

 

Looks good man, the only thing I would have done different is put the spare on there, but otherwise, great execution! Oh, and by the way, Prop's for doing your own!

 

got a better pic of the light in the day

 

I was able to wire my license plate light to my DRL's using my wiring harness for the driver side rear tails......I'lll to post some pics within the next couple of days if you wish.....