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Home > Maintenance & Modifications > Swing Away Spare Carrier on a DCPU tub. Which one and how?

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blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17372

For most of the last decade I have had Sonic3D/Allisport carrier on my double-cab, although not so long ago I removed it and am presently running with no spare wheel carrier (it presently lives strapped down in the rear buck if I don't need the space or strapped to the Patrio rack if I do). My carrier is an early one, when it was still a Sonic3D carrier (although manufactured by Allisport) and on the whole it is a great product. It is one of very few which is designed to work with a tailgate rather than a door, it requires no drilling to fit, and none of the load is carried by the body. It is adjustable for different rim widths, offsets and tyre sizes, and it is strong enough to allow you to stand on it (closed or open) to access the roofrack. It is also strong enough to allow you to carry two wheels on it with a bit of improvisation. All of these I consider very good features. The only criticism that I have of mine is that the powdercoat was remarkably poor, and there were rust bubbles forming under the powdercoat within a year. By the time I took it off, it had very little powdercoat left and looked as though I had salvaged from Dai Woodham's Barry scrapyard (a reference there for the more senior members of the forum). If I ever refit it, it will be blasted and painted (not powdercoated) beforehand. There are however some general considerations you might want to bear in mind before fitting any swing-away carrier to a vehicle with an open back. First consideration - I am not aware of any manufacturer of quality carriers which makes on which will work straight from the box with an Ifor Williams canopy. The Nak one won't, nor will the Allisport one, nor, as far as I know, will the ORE one. The Nak and Allisport ones are especially designed for pick-ups, but nonetheless won't work with an IW canopy because the rear flap of the canopy fouls the wheel in the open position. It is possible to modify the Allisport one to get the clearance, but it is a shame that you have to do this to an expensive product. In order to allow it to work, you have to make it open much wider and also relocate the wheel on the carrier, and when you have done this it sticks further out to the offside when open which can be a disadvantage when you need access to the back at the side of a road at night (it obscures the offside lights and sticks well out into the road). Second consideration - most carriers have some form of "power assistance" to open them and hold them open. The Allisport one has a gas strut (with, it seems, a life expectancy of about five years - I have replaced mine twice) which works very well, but if you open the carrier without a wheel fitted you have to be very careful not to get knee-capped, since without the inertia of the wheel it is very aggressive! Third consideration - if you need access to the rear of the vehicle you need enough room to open the wheel carrier before you can open your IW canopy rear flap or tailgate. This is a disadvantage in carparks when Johnny Gormless has parked two inches from your NATO pintle, since you cannot get any access to the rear without moving the vehicle. Fourth consideration - if you tow, a swing-away carrier is a significant inconvenience. If you have an IW canopy, you will have to remove the wheel from the carrier and transport it separately if you want to have any chance of accessing the back without unhitching the trailer since you can't swing the carrier far enough to allow the flap to clear the wheel with the trailer coupled. This is a significant inconvenience, and is the main reason which I removed mine in the end. It is also worth noting that there are many situation you can get into off-road where it is not possible to open the carrier, which is a pain if you need access to the back. Fifth consideration - most (but not all) chassis-mount swing-away carriers are incompatible with most (but not all) rear bumperettes. Since removing my carrier I have fitted ex-military bumperettes and I could not refit the carrier unless I remove them. Following my experiences with the Sonic3D/Allisport carrier, I would without doubt choose the same carrier if I wanted another new one, and I would certainly fit one if I didn't have a canopy and didn't tow very often. However since I do both of these, it is extremely unlikely that I will ever refit the carrier to my DC, since it is more of an inconvenience for more of the time than having an unmounted spare wheel is. Personally I would also never fit a carrier which fits to the body, even partially, since I don't think that the body is strong enough for this on a vehicle which is used for arduous duties. I do personally feel that the Sonic3D carrier is the most satisfactory COTS offering at present, and is a nice blend of engineering, practicality, and aesthetics, and I do have in my head at present a design along the same lines as the Sonic3D carrier which would avoid the flap problems. It isn't a difficult problem to solve at the design stage, but realistically it is unlikely that it will get further than my head, unfortunately, since any rear carrier will still have issues with trailers. I am currently thinking that the MoD had a good idea when it mounted the wheel externally on the side of the TUL and TUM, and I think that this might be the way ahead, especially in conjunction with an external cage.

22nd Dec 2021 3:55pm

Grenadier Member Since: 23 Jul 2014 Location: The foot of Mont Blanc... Posts: 5804

Thank you all. Interesting considerations Blackwolf. Hadn’t thought about towing difficulties (which I do do fairly often) or supermarket difficulties. Not thought about that. Like you, I tend to bung the spare in the back. I’m restyling/thinking the DC in the New Year, and it will soon have a HD hood set and 110 Fkat Dog Rax. And as mentioned above, a lockable drawer. As such, the wheel could go on the rack for any long journeys when space in the tub is required. But after your post I am thinking of just keeping things simple, adding a few D-rings and just strapping the spare into the tub. But, with a HD hood set in its way, part of me was wondering about a Wolf side mounted option. They’re only £150, keep everything out of the way, and do (let’s be honest) look cool. However, in any regard I will have to think how I may be able to mount the Fabbri rack to the back if there’s no spare wheel. If I can fashion a way, then it does offer the extra bonus that it can be transformed from ski carrier to bike carrier. No need to spend £500 buying a Thule. Monsieur Le Grenadier I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list..... 2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey

23rd Dec 2021 8:32am

Grenadier Member Since: 23 Jul 2014 Location: The foot of Mont Blanc... Posts: 5804

I’ve worked out how to mount the Fabbri without the spare wheel. Luckily possible with a tub, not with a door. I’ll trial it with my Fabbri. If it works, and I then hinge the tailgate to side open, it will also be openable as well, with the rack mounted. Not with bikes on in summer, but without bikes and/or with skis mounted, no problem. It would just mean putting shoes/helmets into the drawer before loading the bikes in summer (or vice versa, unloading the bikes before accessing the drawer). But in winter it would be accessible fully mounted, what’s more, the rack could be mounted or removed in minutes. We don’t ski all week, so it would be good to remove it during the week. This is excellent news. Decision made. Going to hinge the door. Add a drawer system Mount the spare flat on the drawer with d-rings and ratchet straps Add terrafirma split rear NAS style steps Use Fabbri rack as and when required (including summer bike option) Thanks all for making my brain figure this out….  Monsieur Le Grenadier I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list..... 2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey

23rd Dec 2021 9:06am

doncarloz Member Since: 29 Oct 2017 Location: Styria Posts: 60

After initially liking the idea (and of course the look) of a rear mounted sparewheel carrier I discarded that idea aswell, when I realized that I'd need my sparewheel probably 4-5 times a year when I'm either traveling or going to an offroad park. For that occasions I'm mounting it on my diy-drawer system. Click image to enlarge ___________________________________ 1993 D1 200 Tdi 2015 110 DCPU 2.2 Tdci 2017 RRS 3.0 TDV6

23rd Dec 2021 10:20am

Grenadier Member Since: 23 Jul 2014 Location: The foot of Mont Blanc... Posts: 5804	Yup Doncarloz, that’s the look and direction I’m going to go down now. What frame have you got? Monsieur Le Grenadier I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list..... 2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey
23rd Dec 2021 12:35pm

doncarloz Member Since: 29 Oct 2017 Location: Styria Posts: 60	@Grenadier: That's a diy bed rack to mount my RTT over the rear tub. Click image to enlarge ___________________________________ 1993 D1 200 Tdi 2015 110 DCPU 2.2 Tdci 2017 RRS 3.0 TDV6
23rd Dec 2021 12:43pm

Grenadier Member Since: 23 Jul 2014 Location: The foot of Mont Blanc... Posts: 5804	Ah yes, seen that before. Very nice.  Monsieur Le Grenadier I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list..... 2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey
23rd Dec 2021 1:00pm

LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324	How about one of these to solve your spare wheel problem: Click image to enlarge It would mean that the spare is lifted up, out of the way, leaving most of the load bed clear. Darren 110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
23rd Dec 2021 10:03pm

blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17372

I'd forgotten that option, though I do now remember seeing them before. It is quite a good idea but won't work on a Puma with the stepped rear boxes. I think it also relies on a fastening at the cantrail level, which won't work on a pick-up. I notice that the maker, Raptor 4x4, claims it fits 90 100, and 130 Defenders and says nothing about the stepped wheel boxes. Since nearly all 130s have Hi-Cap tubs, I wonder how it works in one of them. https://www.raptor4x4.co.uk/raptor-4x4-int...0-130.html

23rd Dec 2021 11:25pm

LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324

They're made by Raptor 4x4 but I came across it on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372073445361?ep...Sw0VtegquA I don't think that installation in a stepped tub Puma would be an insurmountable problem to be honest, and Grenadiers proposed stick set could provide a high level fixing point with a bit of ingenuity. Darren 110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia

23rd Dec 2021 11:31pm

Tribord Member Since: 20 Apr 2013 Location: France Posts: 220	You don't need one of those wheel carriers to mount in a DCPU. Just one length of metal bar bolted to the hood sticks is required. Click image to enlarge
30th Dec 2021 8:41pm

blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17372	That only works if you have hoodsticks! Click image to enlarge
30th Dec 2021 10:51pm

Chugga90 Member Since: 07 Sep 2014 Location: Bucks Posts: 208	^ Coombe Martin?
31st Dec 2021 8:20am

blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17372	Yes, apart from there only being one "o" in "Combe"!
31st Dec 2021 9:10am

Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018	I tried a number of options looking for a solution. Unwin track and clamp: Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Then modified: Click image to enlarge Not perfect but more a long term work in progress. I quite like the Raptor solution and think I may look to adapt that to the Unwin tracking and a pair of legs to chock the bottom of the wheel...
31st Dec 2021 10:15am

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