Cut a half inch off the ones you have and then clean up the cut end with a grinder. 3" will be too short.
They aren't threaded deep enough to work.
YJ swing away carrier
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I'd keep an eye on those brackets....the rating on those casters definitely isn't for sideloading. Not saying it won't work, just that a spare has a tremendous amount of leverage on a carrier and it's better safe than sorry.
--Ian
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They aren't threaded deep enough to work.
This..^^ The 3"ers worked although I'd like the threads to be just a bit shallower so that there would be no threads inside the knuckle.
I'd keep an eye on those brackets....the rating on those casters definitely isn't for sideloading. Not saying it won't work, just that a spare has a tremendous amount of leverage on a carrier and it's better safe than sorry.--Ian
This was also a concern of mine back in my 1st post IIRC. The thickness of the metal on these casters is 3/16" at best. I believe the Pathfinder hinges were 3/8" or more so there's a huge difference. I ran into another issue last night so I my be doing away with the casters all together. Explanation in my next post... -
Maybe you can weld a gusset under the bracket to give it added support. You'd have to also make a bigger base for the bracket.
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Last night I set to it again. I bolted the hinges to the knuckles using the shorter bolt and everything looks good. So next I take the carrier out and set it on the bumper to try and mock it up in place and plan out where my brackets and mounting holes need to be. I had re-attached the latch assembly to the bottom of the carrier as well so I'd be able to mark out the catch's placement also.
As I'm looking at it, something just doesn't seem right. Then I see it... the top 1/2 of the top hinge is sitting at about the top edge of the tub.
If you look at the 1st picture in this thread, you'll notice that the OP from JF... does... not... have... a... bumper... OY! My double tube rear bumper pushes the carrier up so that the top hinge is sitting where the tub edge rolls over... not going to get a bolt through that. So I go inside and eat some dinner while I contemplate this new conundrum. I came up with an initial idea last night but I've expounded on it more this morning. Of course the EASY solution would be to ditch the bumper all together so that the carrier can be mounted lower like in the 1st pic above but I don't like the idea of an exposed fuel tank... especially in a collision. Sooooooo....
Last night I decided on a plan of action. I planned to cut a sheet of 3/16" (20.5"x9.25") plate to cover the rear passenger corner of the tub from the edge of the tailgate to the edge of the curved corner. This would be high enough to accomodate the top hinge. It's a bit tight with the rail on there but it should be enough room to slide the corner of the soft top under the rail. At first, I was only going to make the plate about 6" wide so that I wouldn't hit the tailgate hinges but I figured just make it wide enough to put the hinges and tail light on top of the plate as well. So I measured and marked out the cuts on the plate I had left over from my seat mod and then laid out the backer plate for the lower hinge and the pieces for the L-bracket for the top hinge. I will try and get it to my cousin today so he can cut it to size and possibly weld the bracket if there's enough time.
Then today, I was thinking, "Why use the casters as hinges when you could 1. Weld tabs to the plate for hinges or 2. Modify the Nissan hinges and weld those to the plate." So, evidently, this project may drag out a little longer as I try and decide exactly what to do. What do y'all think? As far as I can see, the casters will more than likely be relegated to the recy pile.
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