The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk AD Under bed Spare Carrier Variations?

Would like to talk under bed spare carriers for Advance Design for a minute. Every time I see a picture or illustration or read a discussion on them I archive it in my reference file and I see literally dozens of different designs.

So for starters if we could limit our discussion to the 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton model AD’s for now, which ones used which type for which years?

Perhaps there is a “spare carrier guru” out there that can clue me in on which ones belonged with which model/years? It appears that there are two distinct classes, those being the swing down type and the roller type. Also I’ve noticed in the illustrations that the bigger trucks seem only to hold a rim. And with modern day examples I’ve seen big trucks stacked three high, rolling down the freeway, that only have a spare rim with no tire, never quite figured that out.

At first glance it looks like the roller type was used on the early AD’s and the swing down type on the later models, is this correct, and when did the change take place?

There is so much fragmented information on this subject that one could write a best seller titled, “The Chronology of the Advance Design Spare” Wouldn’t you like to have one of those in your library, of course this would only sell to the purists amongst us right!
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Can't say on other models but my 54 1/2 ton has the swing down type.

Here is the way I see it. Up until 1950 the carrier slide down a slanted channel that ran parallel to the chassis of the truck. The sliding unit consisted of 2 pieces that looked like a big "U" mounted 90 degrees to each other. The end which dropped was supported in position by a "J" bolt in a hole in the rear sheet metal of the box.
After 1950 the unit was different in shape with the tongue having a flat spade-like shape and was dropped down at the right rear corner of the chassis. It was also held in place by a "J" bolt connected to the corner.
There are illustrations in the Chevrolet Assembly Manual.

From what little Ive seen, the 48-49ish and earlier use the sliding bracket type, and the later 50? and newer used the swing down type. I say this because my 41 has the slide down type as well as a decrepit 48 panel sitting in my yard. I also have a spare frame off of a 52-53 with the swing down type. Maybe it changed when they went from hucks to bendix?

As far as the big trucks go, can you imagine holding 80 pounds of tire and wheel up to lock it underneath the truck? The rims arent to bad, but the tires are HEAVY!

Jeff

Yeah but Jeff, what's the point in having a spare rim without a tire???
Don't see what the connection is with the Huck brakes, and the 1950 still had Huck brakes.
Got the manual Bill, that's some of the illustrations that I was referencing to. I believe that all of the drawings were dated June of 1953. There were many changes being made in the two ir three years prior to the release of the new models '55.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Well they did change with the Hucks to Bendix, but it didn't have anything to do with that. In '51 Chevy dropped the rear bumper as standard equipment and touted that you could now "drop the tailgate down completely so you can back up flush to a loading dock." I would imagine it had more to do with lower production costs. The old style slide out spare carrier stuck out a little in the back, so the re-designed swing out type was introduce. They also redesigned the rear taillight bracket so it mounted on the front of the rear stake pocket,allowing a completely flat rear surface with the tailgate down. It's not like the repros available today.

Bob

I didnt say the spare tire carrier and brakes went hand in hand, only that one detail changed so maybe others changed as well.

As far as the larger trucks went, Id bet truckers would carry a spare tube, not the complete tire. After disassembling one of these lock rim wheels, I believe these rotten old tires could be driven into the dirt, while the tubes in most of the big wheels I have around the yard are either rotting, punctured, or just flat worn out to the point most of them leak.

Jeff

Denny,

I know nothing about this topic, except about 1954 1/2 pickup and suburban spare-tire carriers (as described above). My 2-ton 54/55 COE has no spare tire, no spare wheel, and no spare carrier; however, all the wheels match in size, so I could "steal a spare" from the dual rear wheels, I guess.

You ask about why a spare wheel and no spare tire? Maybe it was simply a cost issue ( in 1951, no spare tire was provided as standard on any truck larger than a 1/2 ton ). It looks like a spare wheel was standard on all but 3700 and 3900 series trucks (Forward Control Chassis). You could buy an optional tire but maybe this was uncommon, especially for owners of larger trucks.

Tim

brjr51 is correct with his info. on the spare tire carrier!

Hey thar BR549, where did you come up with that bit of interesting information about the dropping of the tailgate and relocation of the taillight????? So Bob I take it that you believe the roller was used up to 1950 and was changed to the swing down design in 1951, that sound correct? I wonder if it was the same for the all the light duty trucks in ’51?
Come on Jeff, you know me, I’m sure you know I was just pickin’ at ya. I never had a new truck myself but I was talking to a buddy this afternoon that had worked construction his whole life and he’s had several new Chevy light duty trucks over the past 30 years, all 3/4 tonners. He said all of the pickups that he bought only had the rims mounted under the bed, no rubber.
Good job guys, this is beginning to gel, maybe this time we can get enough together to form a clear picture.
From what I’ve gathered from the Assembly Manual, although the side mount was an RPO the underbed carrier was standard equipment. Also from past threads it sounds like the side mount option was not available prior to ’53, does that jive with what you all have seen?
I don’t see any evidence of an underbed carrier ever being on my ’50, 3604 but when I get the bed off and the frame is exposed I may find something. I would really like to see a few pictures of a ’50, 3604 carrier that is if you’re sure It’s the original one.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Has anyone mentioned that the tires for the 17" wheel do not fit underneath the truck. They won't fit between the springs. I guess that is why the illustrations of a spare rim on the 3/4 and 1 Tons in the assembly manual.

Denny the story about the tail light being relocated to the front of the stake pocket is valid. I don't know where to find it but I have seen it done that way on 100 point restored trucks. With the bracket behind like most of us have it there is interference between the license plate and the bumper brackets. I've had to trim my plate so it won't rub on them.

The Engineering Features for '51 states the tire carrier was changed to the swingout type for all Series 3000 trucks. It states that when a truck is delivered with a wheel but no tire that a special bracket is bolted to the support bar to support the wheel.
Along with the taillight, the tailpipe was also changed. It was a bit shorter and curved down more to provide rear clearance. When the rear bumper option was chosen, the '50 and earlier taillight was used, since the license plate would be obscured by the bumper with the re-designed bracket.

Bob

My '50 3100 has the slider type and is original to the truck. Or more correctly, the slider track is original to the truck, I bought repro carrier parts. The story that I have heard is the reason the original slider carrier parts are so rare is that they were a PIA to put the spare back up. So on the roadside the carrier parts and the spare got thrown in the bed, later the carrier was thrown to the edge of the driveway and later still thrown in the dump.

Thanks Nifty, that's helping to verify that the slider was used up thru '50. I'd sure like to here from some 3600 owners.
Denny G

In my 1949 Advance-Design Truck Price Information there is no listing as an option an under bed spare carrier. This leads me to believe it was standard equipment.
As to the other options and prices a chrome grille was $10 with a .40 delivery and handling charge. A combination fuel and vacuum pump was $8.00 with .30 H&D. It also states that the dual stop light option was a requirement for the State of Washington.

I had the same issue when I went to mount my spare. After some head scraching, we found a second set of holes in the frame that were a couple of inches from where the drop down carrier was mounted. So we relocated the carrier to those holes which moved the carrier to a more diagonal orientation, and the spare fit right in.

Denny,

It looks like the cross bar (7.778 STRAP- wheel carrier) was the same for 1/2 and 3/4 ton through 1950 (at least for the strap - 7.778).

Yes Tim, I've found that the "strap" or the part that actually carries the tire appears to be the same. I found a 1/2 ton track and a 3/4 ton track and they're different and they mount differently.
I've been asked a question about the Burbs and what the carrier looked like and where it mounted. I'm not familiar with them maybe you can shed some light on that subject. But I'm pretty sure they stand alone?
Denny G

This topic is being discussed in two places.

Factory Assembly Manual, section 10 - sheets 2.00-2.05).

For all models of 54/55 3100s, the wheel carrier was basically the same - the bolt goes up through a cross-brace between the frame side-rails (and, I have no hole in "rear sill" in the 3106 Suburban).

The 3600 is different (Denny's model of interest).

Denny,my 1951 3100 Chevy truck has the same tire carrier as this one. tire carrier
I purchased one for my 1951 suburban,and it is exactly the same as well.I don't have it on the suburban,but it's suppose to be the correct one.

Tim

Hey Denny,

it's looking like you have a Tech Tip to write now.

-W

Now see what cha got me into George! Just kiddin’ buddy. Woo, believe me I’m not the expert you may think I am. All of that came right from the parts books at TOCMP, there for anyone to see. This thing gets to be like a bag of worms when you get into it and as disorganized as I am, I’m not the one to sort it out.

All I’ve been able to sort out is mostly for the 1950, 3604. From what I glean from the parts books it appears that GM standardized the straps as much as possible on both the sliders and the diagonal carriers. There are a bunch of different cross members, hangers and brackets listed. I found that the early pickup sliders used the same strap for the ½ , ¾ ton pickups and it looks like the panel also. The track rail itself was the same but the difference in the tracks was in the way they mounted at the front and back. The front track bracket mounts on top of the cross member on the 3100 and on the rear of the cross member on the 3600. The rear bracket on the 3100 track is tall and the 3600 is short. Since I couldn’t find a 3600 track for my truck I took a 3100 track, removed the brackets and using the measurements from a borrowed 3604 track, made up the new brackets for a 3600 track. I think this thread was about a carrier for a panel I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to mention that the 3658433 track was listed for the 3604 pickup and the panel also. The 3104 stands alone. The wheel carrier centering plate is also different for the 3100 and the 3600 due to the different size tires.

And as I noted from what I found in the parts books, the replacement diagonal strap appears to have been standardized by the time the 1929-57 parts book was printed. That makes sense because all they needed to do was change the hangers and draw bolt to accommodate the different models. This new design which carries thru to this day in one form or another was much simpler to make and use and created a universal design. I do happen to have a 1946-72 parts book and it only lists one cross strap, pn 3820375 for all from 1951-72 so again they standardized the replacement part for a couple of decades. Well that sure simplifies the under bed carrier situation for the ’51 and later trucks of all models

Gotta go for a fresh cup of hot steaming delicious coffee, and then feed the livestock,
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

That is how it starts Denny, you start wondering about something... then you start going down into the rabbit hole collecting information... then you find conflicting bits of pieces of information.

-W