The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Under bed tire carrier

Looking for a picture of an under bed tire carrier for a 1953 3100. I do not have the side mount fender and noted there were holes drilled in the aft section of the frame which is where I would like to place a carrier. Suspect I will have to make one but need some info on how it mounts and ties together.
Thanks

Deegs

What’s you truck plans. Restor to look original or ok with some modern conveniences?

I just welded a modern cable hoist type to the cross beam. Easy to pull tire up and in no lifting.

I used an under bed carrier from a square body truck 74 to 87 I believe.Had to trim the one end slightly ,maybe a half an inch .The original ones are hard to find in my area .Mine was done years ago so I just got one from the junk yard .I also can’t remember if the top u shape braces that go across to both sides of the frame were part of it .Anyway here is a few pictures ,the picture of the pieces on the floor are from the net but is what I got from the junk yard.The wind up ones may be a better choice like said above you don’t have to crawl as much on the underside of the truck.

Here is a picture I found on the net also . I see it also has the two u shaped supports going across the frame.

Here's what my '51's spare supports looked like when I got it. Note that it's different from the picture that Kevinski posted in that the u-shaped brackets were bolted on just underneath the top flange of the frame as opposed to on top of it. Also Section 10 sheet 2.00 fo the FAM shows the two cross-supports bolted underneath the top flange of the frame. The difference in the FAM is that it's the low axle hump frame of the '54 3100's.
The second picture is of a truck in a wrecking yard that I harvested the spare holder off of. Note that one support was bolted underneath the top flange and the other on top of the top flange.

hcb3200
I am ok with some modern conveniences as long as they don't distract from the trucks appearance too much. Hiding a tire carrier is not a big deal in my opinion.

Deegs

This is a picture of my 56 but same concept applies. Got a spare tire hoist on amazon for 20 bucks at the time. 30 now. and a 5 dollar spare tire kit from the junk yard. has the extensions and crank handle(tire iron)
since its is straight out the back its just remove the license plate on mine and i have access over the tire. No getting under truck to remove or put it back in. Just welded it to the frame.

Here is a previous discussion of same topic, good info there

https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/1313943/2.html

I have a 53 3100. here is what the one I took out looks like.

Both of your bars were on top.

So what is the correct orientation? Is the over/under one in Hanson's photo correct? Is there a reason why the bars would be in different planes?

Who knows what correct. Without a confirmed original to look at it would be hard to tell. Lots of factors to consider. Different tire/rim sizes, different assembly plant, different year (especially between 53 AND 54). The actual history of both trucks I posted pics of is unknown. I do know that the bed on mine did not have original mounting blocks. Who knows what else was changed when they were doing that.

Probably does not make much of a difference as there is a lot of adjustment on the threaded rods that hang down .like Kevin said differences in rims tire widths and years .

When I dragged my 51 3100 home last May the under bed spare tire carrier was complete intact with an old spare up in it. I took these pictures to remember how it goes back together. It also had a unusual nut that was hold the rack up against the tire. As seen in the photos. The bolt with the flat steel at the end dropped down through a hole on the very back crossmember of the frame and was held in place with the cotter pin. Both frame crossmembers for the tire rack can be unbolted from the frame. The very back one is channel up. Second hole from the end of the frame.
The one towards the front is channel down. Forth hole from the end of the frame. Hope these help.
If you need more pics let me know.

Correction front crossmember was bolts at the 5th hole from the end of the frame.

They were both on top. I don't know if that's how they are supposed to be but I never had it off since 1980 when I bought it when it was 27 years old. It was just an old work truck when I got it. It was my construction work truck for 9 years in construction in SoCal. Nobody had tried to restore it before I bought it as far as I can tell.

Mine were bolted on the bottom of the top frame rail. The tire seemed to be tucked up in there nice and neat. It is an original style and size spare. The spare is in place in the rear photo of my truck. I never took the spare down out until a month or so back. When I removed the box to do final paint stripping. IMO those crossmembers on top of the frame would just be in the way of installing the bed cross member's.

That would be my thought as well. Did the forward spare tire crossmember share the mounting bolt with the bed? In other words, bolt going thru bed wood, bed cross sill, block frame flange, & then spare tire crossmember.

Does anyone sell the cross bars, carrier and assorted hardware for an original mount?

In the one picture I posts that is how it is. But those bolts were just put up through the bed cross member to transport it. The bed had been taken off prior to myself purchasing it.

Here's my under the bed tire carrier. It is complete. Truck is 1953 3100. I just removed mine and do not plan to carry a spare tire. If more detailed pics are desired, I can take some.

Certainly looks like a lot of variations from year to year. Gray Ghost your looks like it been there a while

Crummy, I'm pretty sure it's original. When I got the truck, the original spare was still on it. I needed a lot of heat, Kroil and the impact wrench to break the nuts free! My carrier matches the drawing in the FAM (section 10, sheet 2.00) with the exception of the supports, which are shown under the frame rails. Mine are bolted on top of the rails.

Ours look identical to each other parts wise. Cleaning and stripping mine was able to find what I believe is the manufactures marks. Each piece had something different. I find different markings on a lot of small pieces that I remove.

Crummy, Speaking of manufacturer's marks on small parts, here's a pic of the rear fender supports. Marked AS&W Co. (American Steel and Wire Company - From Illinois) Interesting to research the history of these companies.GM contracted with other manufacturers to supply lots of small bits.

Same on mine! Yes I find them very interesting 🤔

My 53, 3/4 ton has the spare tire mount in place without the wheel. I removed it years ago. It carried the original size wheel.it was on the truck when I bought it about 17 years ago. The thick wire holds it up because I lost the nut.

Might be 1/2-11, or 5/8-13, readily available at hardware store.

Ed

EdPruss, Thanks, I don’t know why I had never replaced it!

I think you may have that backwards Ed. 1/2”-13 or 5/8”-11

I put a coupling nut on my truck with fingers welded near the top the nut. That way I can easily grab the fingers to turn it by hand or grab it with a wrench below.

The mid 80s carrier I put on my truck has a nut like this.Has a nylon inner and the hole I guess is for the tire iron to spin it off.

My spare carrier came to me with a giant wing nut. I think I had to drill out the bolt to get it serviceable to use again. Easy enough to weld a new thread section on. I don't recall the exact size, but I don't think it's larger than 1/2-13. That nylon nut is a good idea, as it's not going to rust on to the bolt and could be loosened more easily with fingers than a steel wing nut. I may have to look into that.

Rather than start a completely new thread I thought I’d just add my question to this one.

Found a spare tire carrier off a 1949. Will it fit my 1950?

Thanks

If you found a carrier off a 1949, that's pure gold. I think either type will fit, but don't recall when the change happened. The 50 may have come with the slide out carrier like the '49, or it may have the swing-out carrier like the '51 and later trucks.
[on edit] it looks like the'50's use the slide out carrier like the 'earlier trucks. So yes, your '49 carrier will fit your '50.

Thanks Kevin. I know the ‘51 differs from the ‘50, but was hoping the ‘49 would be the same.

Per Chevys of the 40 website, the slide out came on '41 thru '50. I have their slide out on my truck. Love it.

https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/13307/Chevrolet_Spare_Tire_Carrier_Assembly_Under_Bed.html

How much did it cost? Is it bolted in place or does it require welding.

The link you posted says that it isn't currently available and that they're taking names of interested parties to decide whether or not to produce it.

The one I showed and have did not include the slider tray which faces down which the carrier slides forward and backward on.



I spoke with Chevs of the 40s and it really sounds like we will not be seeing it in the near future. Sounds like never to me. Last amount they posted was $225 + freight.

Just saw a used one on Flea Bey out of a '49 for a mere $950. Wow!!



Here's another pic taken from Chevs of the 40' catalog. That big upside down flattened U shaped bracket, is right side up when in place on top of the spare tire.

There is a good reason why these are so scarce. They are a major pain to get a wheel in and out and buttoned back up. I can imagine many of them were discarded right after the first flat repair. A wheel fits just fine laying in the bed, and doesn't move around much at all.
I have side mounts on two of my trucks. If I didn't, I would pull a cable hoist model from a modern truck from the junkyard.

For as often as I and hopefully others get a flat, I would not want a spare constantly sitting in the bed. Now, if I didn't have the carrier, then yes for a cable hoist. But really, it's not that difficult to deal with, especially if you carry a tool bag in the truck.