Anyone Running Duff Tuff Tire Carrier?

[CatskillCruiser]

Anyone bought and installed one of their Bronco?

https://dufftuff.com/catalog/early-bronco-heavy-duty-stock-bumper-tire-carrier/?img=50777

 

[JeepGuy]

Anyone bought and installed one of their Bronco?

https://dufftuff.com/catalog/early-bronco-heavy-duty-stock-bumper-tire-carrier/?img=50777

Yes, very straight forward install as long as your stock rear bumper is pretty straight. Street driven only so far and it is solid. Haven't had a chance to get this into the dirt yet, but the latching system seems very tight with zero rattle going on. Tire on there is a 35 x 12.5. I did add a third lug and the center round tube to help with the mounting of the spare.

 

[CatskillCruiser]

Yes, very straight forward install as long as your stock rear bumper is pretty straight. Street driven only so far and it is solid. Haven't had a chance to get this into the dirt yet, but the latching system seems very tight with zero rattle going on. Tire on there is a 35 x 12.5. I did add a third lug and the center round tube to help with the mounting of the spare.

View attachment 964552

Looks awesome, did you fabricate that center round tube?

 

[Soylent]

Looks like the one @ntsqd did?

 

[ntsqd]

No idea how Jeepguy made his, I rolled mine on a HF 3n1 sheet metal tool. Made it long enough that the wheel can sit on it and be spun without engaging the mounting studs. Cut a slot in the bottom of it so that dust can't collect there. Rolled a piece of 1/4" SS tube into a donut that *just* fit inside the tube, and welded it to the tube to strengthen the outer edge.
After making it I realized that a lock around the 1/4" tube and thru the slot would make it difficult to steal the spare. Since I built it to bolt on I used security torx bolts and a couple other invisible tricks to make it a real PITA to remove.
Only problem is that the lock beats on the wheel when located there, can see a mark on that wheel. On the round-tuit list is to drill a hole up near the top for the lock. Then it can hang in space and not hit anything.

 

[gnsteam]

Yes, I have the Duff carrier as well. It fits very well and seems to be very stout. I'm still in the re-assembly stage of my build. So no real world testing yet.

 

[CatskillCruiser]

Yes, I have the Duff carrier as well. It fits very well and seems to be very stout. I'm still in the re-assembly stage of my build. So no real world testing yet.

did you add a different wheel mount with an LED light in it?

 

[CatskillCruiser]

Looks naked without one...

 

[gnsteam]

did you add a different wheel mount with an LED light in it?

Yes. I added a 1/2 plate to the mounting surface. Giving me the added thickness so that I could press fit 3, 1/2 × 3" steel dowels into the plate and mounting surface. The dowels are positioned to match the inside diameter of the wheel opening. Giving me a guide and resting surface to postion the wheel and tire during mounting. Then I machined an aluminum mount for an led light for a third break light.

 

[JeepGuy]

Looks awesome, did you fabricate that center round tube?

Kind of. Nothing fancy about it. Went to my local drive shaft shop and asked for some sturdy tube in whatever diameter that is (Bronco is currently not home), then just welded it to the back plate. Same concept as Ntsqd. I wanted something I could hoist that tire onto before trying to line up the studs. There is a basic wheel spacer between the tire and mounting rack so it fits straight and the lower portion of the tire doesn't rub against the mount.

Here is my thread on the subject:
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/t...er-portion-behind-stock-chrome-bumper.328810/

 

[ntsqd]

It was only after I'd built mine that I realized that I could have built it something like gnsteam's where there was a single post to hang the spare on. A simple pin or post would work well for hanging the spare, but not so well for being able to lock it to the carrier unless more/other parts were added. In the end I prefer what I have for the ability to lock the spare on, but I wish that the simple pin/post idea had occurred to me before I started building.
I tend to find projects that cause me to use tools that I haven't used before (like the slip-roll and the ring-roller) or to use a tool in a way that I've never used it before (carbide router bits on billet aluminum anyone?), and the spare rest was one of those.

 

[BigB]

Looks naked without one...

Who doesn't like naked ladies? I think your Bronco looks a lot better without.

 

[gnsteam]

It was only after I'd built mine that I realized that I could have built it something like gnsteam's where there was a single post to hang the spare on. A simple pin or post would work well for hanging the spare, but not so well for being able to lock it to the carrier unless more/other parts were added. In the end I prefer what I have for the ability to lock the spare on, but I wish that the simple pin/post idea had occurred to me before I started building.
I tend to find projects that cause me to use tools that I haven't used before (like the slip-roll and the ring-roller) or to use a tool in a way that I've never used it before (carbide router bits on billet aluminum anyone?), and the spare rest was one of those.

My design is a little overkill and not feasible for most DIY'ers to build. I'm a Tool and Die maker by profession and I have the equipment available to do machining. As for a lock on the spare. My design does not have a feature to do so. I am going to use one of those locking lug nuts until I can come up with a better solution.

 

[ntsqd]

A little overkill as in the adapter plate was first blanchard ground flat?

I'm not convinced that everyone needs to be able to lock the spare on. I felt like I do, but that's more a comment about where I live than anything else.

If the pins are large enough of an OD to have a cross-ways hole big enough for a lock shackle in it/them, then three more pins at the quadrant points would limit where the spare can be moved to. I think that I shot for the OD of the tube to be .06" smaller than the hole in the wheel. One of those pins could have a lock thru the hole if the hole is oriented in a way that the lock shackle creates a block to sliding the spare off the pins.
At least, that's how I'd start thinking about it.

 

[Jdgephar]

I'm not convinced that everyone needs to be able to lock the spare on. I felt like I do, but that's more a comment about where I live than anything else.

Anyone smart enough to see the whole tire swing is held on by one bolt doesn't care about the lock on the spare, either.

 

[ntsqd]

Yeah, can't just look at locking the spare to the support. Have to look at the whole system and figure out how to immobilize each junction without making it a PITA for you to work on it. In my case that pivot bolt is torqued to 150 lbs-ft with red Lock-tite and then safety wired. That just made stealing the spare a whole lot more complicated in terms of the tools needed. You aren't going to stop them if they really want it, but you can make it too slow or painful to be worth the trouble.

When there is a accessible nut on such a bolt I've been known to drill the nut thru two opposing flats, torque it into place, then drill the bolt thru those holes, and drive a roll pin into the hole. If I want to be particularly evil, and I don't expect to need to work on it myself, I'll drive a second, smaller roll pin thru the center of the larger one. It's all about slowing them down, not stopping them.