MIG Welding Project: Building a Spare Tire Carrier with a Square Tube Axle!
When the XJ Cherokee’s six-year-old tire carrier began to sag, the time was right for a MIG welding project. (Any excuse will do!) Rather than scrap an otherwise perfectly good spare tire rack, I opted to install a versatile square tubing tire carrier “axle” kit.
*Note: Unfortunately, the Pivot King illustrated is no longer in the market. This installation was a decade ago. There are now a number of manufacturers offering similar systems online at Amazon.com and at 4WD retailers. A ready market exists for do-it-yourself spare tire and can carriers.
Designed as a platform for the do-it-yourself tire carrier builder, the Pivot King axle fits thick walled, 2″ square rectangular mild steel tubing, the most common tubing used in better tire carriers. While it took more time to retrofit the Pivot King than I spent installing the manufactured carrier, I’m now thoroughly convinced that the task was worthwhile. For quality engineering, the Pivot King square tube axle has no rival.*
Whether you want to construct a tire carrier from scratch or restore your existing assembly, this slideshow is the place to start. You will see my retrofit of the Pivot King and the necessary fabrication work. There’s plenty of MIG welding along the way. Enjoy the video slideshow!
