Rear tire carriers

I have been looking for a post on this topic I remember seeing recently but I cant find it...

Anyway... I was thinking about the different options for mounting a swing away tire carrier/ jerry can/ cooler setup. Several people sell or have fabricated some neat stuff. The other day someone made some negetive comments about the Hiem joints Protofab uses. I am trying to understand why this is bad. One of the big positives I see for it is that it is adjustable and easily rebuildable if it wears. With the hiem setup the "sag" could be adjusted out for a perfect alignment with the latching system.

Am I missing something? I know the hiem was not made for that use but why is it bad?

Greg

How on earth could a heim joint on a spare tire carrier EVER wear out enough to sag?

That is kind of my point... It isnt the Hiem I would think would sag... it is the flexing of frame under the weight of the tire and whatever else is attached to it.

I kind of like the idea of the Hiem... I just remember others saying it was not a good idea and I cant find the post where it was discussed.

Greg

Without looking at the carriers closely... I would assume they are mounting the rod ends with the balls supporting the entire load axially. IE trying to push the ball out of the socket the whole time.

Heims/Rod Ends are not designed to be used with high side loads.

I had seen the hiem joint idea and thought it was great. I have only heard negative things about it from guys that have non-hiem joint carriers. Maybe contact protofab and ask them.

The heim set-up is super sweet, highly adjustable. I cant think of anything bad about this scenario. The way the bumper is designed there really isnt much weight on the heim once the bumper is "shut and locked". Protofab uses interlocking wedges that keep rattles down and also provide some support so the load is shared with the heim. Its the sweetest design I have seen thus far for a tire carrier and/or gear rack...and despite the price, I believe a good value for a bomb-proof set-up.