Rear Tire Mount Bumper/Sleeping in Rig

[Travis Adams]

Hey Folks!

I'm new to the page, and new to overlanding with just purchasing a 1st Gen Tacoma. I'll try to keep it brief.

My current setup is with a canopy on the back and sleeping in the box of the truck. I'm really wanting to get a rear bumper with the tire mount swing, but I'm not sure how it would work with sleeping inside at night. I can't imagine there could be enough room between the tire and the canopy hatch to get it open in order to unlatch the tire to swing it back.

Just wondering if anyone has rigged up a fix for this scenario!

(I apologize if this has already been brought up, I certainly tried to dig for it)

 

[Boort]

@Travis Adams

Hey Folks!
My current setup is with a canopy on the back and sleeping in the box of the truck. I'm really wanting to get a rear bumper with the tire mount swing, but I'm not sure how it would work with sleeping inside at night. I can't imagine there could be enough room between the tire and the canopy hatch to get it open in order to unlatch the tire to swing it back.

Just wondering if anyone has rigged up a fix for this scenario!

Welcome from another 1st Gen rider. I've been sleeping in the back of my Tacoma for nearly 20 years and can say a lot will depend on 2 things:
1) Where do you camp?
2) Design of swingout and it's latch.

Regarding #1 if you are wilderness camping you just lock it open before crawling in to the bed for the night. If you are "camping" in locations where you need to look like you're just parked and the swingout needs to be closed then on to #2.
Design of the swing out. some are designed to allow for Rotopax, hi-lift, or other "thin" items to be mounted between the tailgate and the swingout. These designs could give you enough room to open the glass and push open the swing out. I'd look form a system that has a large easily accessible T-handle like this one from AllPro ( https://www.allprooffroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/swingout-6-510x600.jpg ) so you could loop a piece of paracord over the handle and pull it from inside.

All else fails see if you can fit through the Beer window.

Boort

 

[Travis Adams]

Excellent idea. Thanks! That seems like it would be pretty easy to set up with the gas cans on the side. Could rig up a cord that mounts up to the back of the frame for the gas cans with a handle.

Thanks again.

 

[Great Out There]

Just got back from King of the Hammers race and saw a swing-out tire rack from Wilco on display. It fits ANY vehicle and mounts to the 2-inch receiver hitch!
This is a cool idea since it requires no modifications to your rig - and you can remove it when you sell/trade!
Has room for a Hi-Lift jack, Rotopax, and a storage rack above the tire. Check out WilcoOffroad

 

[Travis Adams]

Thanks a ton! That's a super sharp unit, and something I can fully support. I was trying to balance out getting a new steel front bumper/winch, or a new rear bumper with swing/tire mount. Looks like I can have the best of both worlds.

 

[trikebubble]

I have the Hitchgate on my truck. It was exactly what I was looking for. It is the offset model so it swings out completely to the side of the truck. If you have a tailgate, it allows you to open it. I have a dual fuel can holder, and Hi-Lift attachment on it (along with the trendy old Maxtrax and Trasharoo) I put a padlock through the pinlock hole in the evening, so someone can;t come along and close/latch the Hitchgate and lock us into our camper. The only downside is that this set-up prevents me/us from stealth camping in a parking lot with the Hitchgate closed. Though that really isn''t a concerns for me/us anyways.

 

[Travis Adams]

That looks like an ideal setup. Do you notice any rattling or anything of the sort from it? and do you mind saying how much it ran you?

 

[trikebubble]

That looks like an ideal setup. Do you notice any rattling or anything of the sort from it? and do you mind saying how much it ran you?

No rattling or anything of the sort. It uses a wedge-locking system to keep it tight in the receiver hitch. I cut down a quad-cane from work and put it under the swing-away for added support when we are camped out for a longer stay. It's not really mandatory to do so, I just like to reduce stress on the hinge if the Hitchgate is left open for an extended timeframe.
I think I paid about $1K for the complete set-up. I didn't have a lot of options for the Tundra, so it was well worth it.