Random Things From This Weekend- Planning the Future

[Rev_D21]

Did some digging through the junk yard today. I came across something that could turn into something else that is really cool. I snagged a spare tire carrier off a mid 90s Pathfinder. No, not the swinging gate but rather the actual piece the tire bolts to. My plan...placing a full size spare tire up in the front of the bed and removing the spare from under the bed. Check this piece out. It lines up with the bed floor quite well, it can also be welded to the bed quite easily. I think it would do wonders for the COG of this truck!

*Picture this welded and painted at the cab end of the bed*





In other news:

I started replacing the crappy Glowshift gauges I had with the VDO Vision series. They match the HB cluster perfectly with the black face, red needle and "thru the dial" lighting which I have already switched to LED so it matches the rest of the cluster coloring. Ignore the Sunpro vac gauge, I have the VDO vac gauge being shipped to me as we speak.






This concludes a day in the life of me.

[Nismovs]

Nice choice on the gauges, they look very much like oem. For the tire carrier. Wouldn't it get in the way for other stuff in the box? Would bolting it in work so you could take it out, or even creating a rail to slide it in and out with a locking mechanism?

Excellent idea though for mounting it in the box

[Rev_D21]

I could bolt it in I guess but the thought of drilling the bed doesn't sit well with me. I don't use this truck to carry things, I have a beater truck for that, so losing the space isn't a big deal really. I suppose bolting it in would leave me a versatile bed in the long run. I shall ponder this.

[seang]

Did your 2wd come with a full size spare?

[Rev_D21]

No, I will be upgrading from the dinky spare Nissan gave me.

[seang]

If they all matched, you could do a 5-tire rotation pattern.

Space is definitely the issue here, but you already addressed that. If you didn't build this, would a full size spare fit under your bed on the stock carrier? By full size, I mean 235/75r15 or similar.

[Rev_D21]

I remember that I had a full size 195/75R14 under the bed of my old Datsun 720. Since the HB has the same system as the 720 I imagine that a full size should fit with no problem. With regards to moving my spare to the inside of the bed; I am looking at it from a center of gravity point of view. I have read that battery re-location to the back of a vehicle assisting in handling response. I can only imagine the response a spare tire re-location will have.

[seang]

I can't see it hurting anything except bed space.

[StephenG]

I dont think it would help the center of gravity all that much. You are moving it farther backwards only very slightly but raising it considerably higher than the stock location. I think lower CoG is better than 50/50 F/R distribution.

[Rev_D21]

The spare will end up being located in front of the rear axle towards the middle of the truck when all is bolted up. You will be shocked at how heavy those dinky spares are, they sure do pack on the pounds.