My spare tire winch setup

jeff_in_rc

jeff_in_rc

New member
After about killing myself trying to get my 35” spare back on the tire swing and the fact I don’t want to get another hernia, I’ve had 3 in the last 5 years, I have been thinking of a way to lift my spare using a winch of some sort. So I buy a 2000 LB, 12VDC ATV winch with a wired remote and start kicking around ways to make this work.

So I get together with a fellow club member this past Saturday and we kick a few ideas around and before you know it we were cutting steel and welding parts together, it’s good to know people that were machinists before they retired, that and he can weld.

The first thing we did was cut a piece of receiver stock and weld it to the tire swing, then figure out how tall of a piece of 2” stock we would need, then we added another piece of receiver stock to the top of the upright in a “T” and cut another piece of 2” for the arm above the tire.

Then George asks “how were you going to mount the winch?” So we kick a few ideas around and decide on a piece of ¼” flat stock welded to the end of the arm and we also decide to make the winch removable by using keyhole slots! How cool is that?

We get everything cut, drilled, keyholes made and welded together then it’s on the lathe to make the buttons for the keyhole slots. George take a piece of aluminum round stock and puts it in the lathe and a few minutes he has made the buttons and we bolt them to the winch and test fit it to the mounting plate, perfect fit.

Now I put all the parts together, mount the winch, connect the remote and run the leads to the battery and give it a test, and it works perfectly! No more lifting my spare! Woo hoo I am very happy.

Here are a few pics showing the parts and how it looks all together, so what do you think?
Thanks for looking!

GREAT IT WORKED!

tire winch 001.jpg

tire winch 002.jpg

tire winch 003.jpg

tire winch 004.jpg

tire winch 005.jpg

tire winch 006.jpg
 
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Very cold Idea, now is that whole winch mount removable or is it just the winch that is?


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My idea was similar but my plan is to use a ratchet strap with a sling that you just roll the tire into to lift it. The sling itself would be much like the tire straps used on a tow dolly which aren't expensive and can be bought at many truckstops.
 
Napalm90 said:
Very cold Idea, now is that whole winch mount removable or is it just the winch that is?

Sent via carrier pigeon
Click to expand...
I think you meant cool, right? LOL

Yes, the winch does remove from the mounting plate using keyholes and the buttons on the back side of the winch, ref pic #4.

So I have the main stand with the "T", the arm with the plate, the winch, and it's controller. I have a HD bag that I put the winch and controller in and I am going to find some foam tubing to put the bars in.
 
I know Olympic 4x4 make a rear bumper with a winch mount built in. I never liked it but I did like the idea. I will need something like that also.
 
I am in a similar situation, don't always have 3 men and a boy available to lift the spare. On the trail I would normally have others to help but when working on the Jeep or when rotating tires I just can't do it by myself, I have tried make shift ramps but no luck, was thinking of a block and tackle in the garage but my jeep doesn't fit in the garage. I have a 37" in spare.

I was thinking about a davit that slides into the receiver with a block and tackle or even just a ratchet strap (but they only ratchet oneway so might be problematic). Jack tables and motorcycle lifts don't lift high enough (I think).

Anyone else solved this problem? - Interested in how you did it.
 
ridg3runner said:
My idea was similar but my plan is to use a ratchet strap with a sling that you just roll the tire into to lift it. The sling itself would be much like the tire straps used on a tow dolly which aren't expensive and can be bought at many truckstops.
Click to expand...

You know what a truck stop looks like? I'll bet you you've never been to one though....:)hahahahah
 
One option we came up with was a long steel pole that you would put thru the center of the rim and put in a hole on the spare tire mount and lift it that way, but again your lifting the spare so we nixed that idea. Thought I would throw the idea out anyway in case one of you likes it. :)
 
Many good ideas already.

Here is my method using a floor jack for a 35" tire/wheel, should work just as well for bigger stuff:

With the jack all the way down I can lift the tire onto the blocks, wifey then jacks the tire up while I hold it from falling off. Jack lets me exactly center the tire on the carrier post. Works really well for tire rotations.
 

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I thought there was a rule that you aren't supposed to run a tire/wheel combo if you can't change the tire and mount the spare by yourself?!? :bleh::thinking::cheesy:
 
Sharkey said:
I thought there was a rule that you aren't supposed to run a tire/wheel combo if you can't change the tire and mount the spare by yourself?!? :bleh::thinking::cheesy:
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Heck, I can get the spare off the carrier and change a tire no problem, just can't lift the old flat tire/wheel back on the carrier. :bleh: Would have to hide it in the weeds and come back with floor jack and wife, pretty lame I know. :naw:
 
Sharkey said:
I thought there was a rule that you aren't supposed to run a tire/wheel combo if you can't change the tire and mount the spare by yourself?!? :bleh::thinking::cheesy:
Click to expand...

Yes there is! And I can I just choose not too :D

Actually the tire isn't that heavy just lifting the first 2 feet is the hard part. Maybe at the Suds and Grub we should throw around some 40's :D
 
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