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Side Mount Spare

Dave K.

Full Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2014
Messages
320
I have a Bronco that was originally equipped with the side-mount style spare--swing bracket lies along the RH side rear wheel well. I'm wondering if the bracket that mounts to the body is the same as the one on the gate?

Any other brackets I need to know about? If you have a Bronco with this option please post some detail pics if you have time.

Thanks, Dave
 

House

Minutia Militia
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Messages
2,394
No, they are completely different.
Do a search for Ranch Hand or Ranchhand, as that is the common terminology for that bracket.
 

Rustytruck

Bronco Guru
Joined
Feb 24, 2002
Messages
10,875
The side mount bracket usually just had a bolt through the spare tire carrier into that bracket. I have seen people custom mount the rear release to the side of the truck. You can't use both as the tire is mounted on the other side of the swing away when bolted on the side of the truck.
 

SevenT

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
May 23, 2009
Messages
496
Loc.
Southern Colorado
Ranch Hand attachment

Dave K.,

The Ranch Hand attachment was made to keep the spare tire from banging into the tailgate when out on the farm and unloading items out of the back and not driving considerable distances and speeds. It was never made to be a permanent location for the spare to reside. Best of luck finding a location to put the tire instead of on the back.

v/r,

SevenT
 
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Dave K.

Full Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2014
Messages
320
Thanks everyone for the information. What's interesting is that the tailgate on the truck doesn't have any holes for the spare tire bracket..... and they definitely weren't patched over or welded shut.

Cheers, Dave.
 

House

Minutia Militia
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Messages
2,394
I have seen that in the past, and it was one of two things
A) The truck was not equipped with a tire carrier from the factory
B) The tailgate had been replaced

Do you have the original window sticker or a Marti Report?
Do you still have the correct carrier with the welded on bracket required for the ranch hand?
 

FordFarmer

Contributor
Full Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
304
Mine wasn't ordered with the swing away carrier. Spare is mounted to the inside of the tailgate. Works great as I rarely have the need for what little storage is back there. I think you can still get the hardware from most if not all the vendors.
 
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Dave K.

Full Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2014
Messages
320
Thanks again everyone. If I could get images to upload I would. Gate may have been replaced but isn't aftermarket and is the same color as the rest of the truck--bleached out non-metallic blue. Truck was originally the light green and you can see on the side where the bracket went.

Anyway, if there's a source for the bracket(s) needed that would be ideal.

Thanks, Dave.
 

Scoop

Contributor
Have Bronco, Will Travel
Joined
Feb 1, 2006
Messages
10,580
Loc.
Cuchara, CO
Dave K.,

The Ranch Hand attachment was made to keep the spare tire from banging into the tailgate when out on the farm and unloading items out of the back and not driving considerable distances and speeds. It was never made to be a permanent location for the spare to reside. Best of luck finding a location to put the tire instead of on the back.

v/r,

SevenT

Just curious, why do you say the Ranch Hand was never meant to be a permanent location?
 

SevenT

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
May 23, 2009
Messages
496
Loc.
Southern Colorado
Ranch Hand Attachment

Scoop,

Check DOT rules and I bet you that the tire cannot be permanently mounted on the outside of the vehicle except on the back as the swing away does for the Bronco. I don't think you would want it there all the time and wind up catching it on a tight turn to the right and rip a hole in the fender. I just know that it was a farm/ranch attachment to make it easier to load and unload from the rear and not have the tire in the way. I don't make the rules, just mentioned how it was used and I never saw anyone use it as a permanent location. Thanks for the question.

v/r,

SevenT
 

73azbronco

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 11, 2007
Messages
7,796
Pretty sure there are no rules or laws on mounting a spare, but would you want a spare hanging on side that gets ripped off by a tree or rock?
 

toddz69

Sponsor/Vendor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 28, 2001
Messages
10,079
Scoop,

Check DOT rules and I bet you that the tire cannot be permanently mounted on the outside of the vehicle except on the back as the swing away does for the Bronco. I don't think you would want it there all the time and wind up catching it on a tight turn to the right and rip a hole in the fender. I just know that it was a farm/ranch attachment to make it easier to load and unload from the rear and not have the tire in the way. I don't make the rules, just mentioned how it was used and I never saw anyone use it as a permanent location. Thanks for the question.

v/r,

SevenT

I'd be surprised if DOT rules prohibited it - Jeep CJs had permanently mounted spare tires on body sides for years from the factory.

I can recall several Broncos in my hometown as a kid in the '80s that had theirs mounted on the 'ranch hand' bracket permanently (in fact one of those trucks still does today - 35-40 years later). The hassle of changing the tire from one side of the carrier to the other probably ensured it wasn't something you did very often and once you had it mounted in one configuration or another, you probably kept it mounted that way for awhile.

Interesting point on the 'ranch hand' bracket - I've never been able to find a mention of it anywhere in any official Ford documentation.

My dad designed and built a carrier that switched from the back of the truck to the side (like a ranch hand bracket) in about 30 seconds. We used it a lot to haul mountain bikes, pull trailers, etc. back in the day and yes, I still have a depression on my rear quarter panel where somebody (me) hit something once with the tire and pushed in the sheetmetal slightly.

GT Technology here in AZ built something similar as well - theirs used a bolt to secure it while my dad's used a homebuilt eccentric cam assembly.

Todd Z.
 
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Dave K.

Full Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2014
Messages
320
Would be great to find one of these brackets if I could--I guess more of a novelty than anything else but it would come in useful for my application. Besides, I would rather put a bracket where the holes are than fill them in....

Thanks for the ongoing inputs. I did speak to a guy up in the UP of Michigan who once had this set up and he used it constantly on and off road--and yes, he caught it in the woods a few times just as early CJ owners did with the sidemount spare on the RH side.
 

Scoop

Contributor
Have Bronco, Will Travel
Joined
Feb 1, 2006
Messages
10,580
Loc.
Cuchara, CO
. . .

The hassle of changing the tire from one side of the carrier to the other probably ensured it wasn't something you did very often and once you had it mounted in one configuration or another, you probably kept it mounted that way for awhile.

. . .

This was my thoughts on the issue. It's not easy to change and would be a lot of work to do for a temporary use only. I had a 69 with the Ranch Hand bracket - I drove it daily for 7+ years and never put the spare in the Ranch Hand position.
 

KeithKinPhx

Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
444
I have the opposite experience. I had a rattling tailgate and upper door. Found it to be quieter without the spare hanging off of it so I moved to the side. Left it there for almost 5 years. Never once got it caught on a tree or pedestrian even though I used it as a daily driver back then. It is a unique look like no other.
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
34,833
Scoop,

Check DOT rules and I bet you that the tire cannot be permanently mounted on the outside of the vehicle except on the back as the swing away does for the Bronco. I don't think you would want it there all the time and wind up catching it on a tight turn to the right and rip a hole in the fender. I just know that it was a farm/ranch attachment to make it easier to load and unload from the rear and not have the tire in the way. I don't make the rules, just mentioned how it was used and I never saw anyone use it as a permanent location. Thanks for the question.

v/r,

SevenT

Let me know if you find those rules. And the date on them as well. Grandfather clause prevents forced retrofitting. If it was legal at the time, it is still legal today. There are hot-rodders who look for certain year chassis (pre 1912?) that pre-dated fender laws. They can make a legal fenderless hotrod in places that would normally require fenders.

Also DOT is more of a commercial commerce thing. Using the vehicle for commercial activity (truck driver). Most of what you deal with these days is FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards), I don't know what the old name for this was. These are the rules that state the vehicle is safe enough to put on the road. And there are other things, like EPA, that get there hands involved as well.
 

Rustytruck

Bronco Guru
Joined
Feb 24, 2002
Messages
10,875
I couldn't find anything about a side mounted spare in California or federal. I did find a clause that the spare had to be hung on a bracket or mount designed for it.
 
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