One consequence of getting the second spare out of the boot was how to lift the wheel on/off the frame. I’m neither tall nor strong and generally travel solo. I used to use a ramp to roll it out of the boot.
My engineering brain kicked in and came up with a ‘drop in davit’ concept. The Weldbeat frames have a hollow upright as the primary member so I reckoned a steel tube would drop inside. All I needed to do was run some numbers on diameter and wall thickness to find a suitable tube.
Anyway it turns out 38mm OD exhaust pipe met the criteria with a safe working load of 40kg. The wheel weighs 25kg. I engaged an exhaust specialist to bend a section of pipe. I then fitted back to back exhaust clamps to provide the depth stopper and two eye bolts to hang a four part tackle arrangement. No welding required.
It works well and only weighs 5kg all up. I’m chuffed as it helps with the fuel can on the other side.
PS: I proof load tested it by hanging off it myself (78kg)
PPS: I centred the wheel lift by adding a soft sling threaded through the rim holes rather than hooking the carabiner to them.
#sprinter4x4 #rockwallaby
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| Full rig |
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| Rig in place on cargo side |
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| Wheel lift |
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| Fuel can lift |
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