Lifting spare wheel onto door mount

[erad]

I don't have a solution to lifting the wheel onto its mount on the rear door, but when fitting the wheel to the car on the ground, I have found the only real way I can do it is to sit on the ground and use my feet to lift, support and then rotate the wheel until the studs line up with the holes. Not good if you are in a good suit, but that is a very rare occurrence for me these days, so the probability of getting a flat tyre as well is rather remote. Having said that....

Interesting, but my wife's ZJ Outlander has steel wheels (I am a cheapskate and this was the cheapest car I could buy). Those wheels and (tyres 225/65/16) are significantly heavier that the Pajero wheels. And the spare being mounted under the rear floor, the mounting bracket has to be unscrewed far enough for the wheel carrier tray to lower and then allow the wheel to slide out. That is not too bad, but to put it back in is worse than lifting the Pajero spare onto the rear door. There is NO way that my wife could change a flat tyre on either car, and where we go at times, flat (cut) tyres are a possibility.

[Dicko1]

I don't have a solution to lifting the wheel onto its mount on the rear door, but when fitting the wheel to the car on the ground, I have found the only real way I can do it is to sit on the ground and use my feet to lift, support and then rotate the wheel until the studs line up with the holes. Not good if you are in a good suit, but that is a very rare occurrence for me these days, so the probability of getting a flat tyre as well is rather remote. Having said that....

Interesting, but my wife's ZJ Outlander has steel wheels (I am a cheapskate and this was the cheapest car I could buy). Those wheels and (tyres 225/65/16) are significantly heavier that the Pajero wheels. And the spare being mounted under the rear floor, the mounting bracket has to be unscrewed far enough for the wheel carrier tray to lower and then allow the wheel to slide out. That is not too bad, but to put it back in is worse than lifting the Pajero spare onto the rear door. There is NO way that my wife could change a flat tyre on either car, and where we go at times, flat (cut) tyres are a possibility.

That is the reason many become members of an auto club/roadside assist. Tyre weight is very difficult for women or the aged (OR PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED).

[erad]

That is the main reason I maintain our NRMA membership, but the last time I used them for roadside assist was in 1980, when my Citroen would not start and I flattened the battery. I flattened his starter battery and we were well on the way to flattening the battery in his truck when the Citroen suddenly fired up. Neither of us had a clue as to what was wrong.

The last time I needed roadside assist, I was only about 30 km from Parkes, but way way off regular traffic and I had a flat tyre in my Pajero. It took me nearly 2 hours to jack the car up and change the tyre - only to discover later that the tyre pressure monitor transmitter had come undone and let the air out of the tyre. I had turned the monitor off because it was beeping at me all the time, telling me that I had lost my caravan. No phone reception either. Al this because I have trouble breathing. That is when I decided to abandon the trolley jack I was using and bought the 12V hydraulic jack. Wonderful device - since then I haven't had a flat tyre. Oops....

[Pushbike]

After a bit of thought and a lot of mucking around.

The purpose of original post on this issue was to see what other Pajero owners experienced and what solutions or suggestions might come forth.
Some of the ideas required a bullbar winch and/or a roof rack, I have neither. I try to work additions and aids without changing the original factory setup.


My thoughts on the problem of lifting the spare wheel have arrived at some possible solutions:

These ideas are for a straight lift from ground to storage height, they do not directly apply for the situation of a attached trailer or other impediment to a straight lift ( see end note).

A winch system.
A 12 volt geared motor with winch drum could be located within the spare wheel mounting bracket on the door.
For a wheel weight of 40Kg and a 50mm winch drum gearmotor torque of about: T=r.F =(25mm/1000mm) x 40Kg x 9.8 Nm = 9.8 Nm
The installation of a 12 volt gearmotor winch could be within the existing bracket to which the spare wheel is attached.
You could source a gearmoter from a motor wrecker e.g a windscreen wiper motor or use a battery powered drill with Right Angle drill attachment.

A trapesoidal lifting frame with spring or gas strut assist.

This idea requires an effort in design particularly in the spring or gas strut application.
I have made some preliminary trapezoid design, that is required to move the wheel from ground to store position, but without some assistance from an energy source, say a spring. you are still required to lift 40Kg. Maybe a foot stirrup and cable over a pulley could be of use when you apply your body weight e.g. 80Kg to hoist the tyre. A stirrup travel distance of about 550mm would be required.

Trapezoidal wheel lift

A hinged lifting beam.

As I have a ready supply of waste timber and other bits I opted to build a prototype lifting beam system. No need for welding just some wood, screws etc.
My Dad left a legacy of a collection of screws, bolts, nuts, washers, wingnuts, steel and brass,mostly imperial, and tools etc. I thank him often.

First I tested if I could lift 36Kg (12 pavers) from ground to horizontal on sloping beam. This proved to be easy, so I went ahead with the build.

Mark 1 Lifting Beam:
The lifting beam, actually plywood sheet, 10mm x 350mm x 1200mm, was chosen for better stability during the lift.
The beam is hinged to allow the beam to move from below horizontal through to vertical. It is connected to a pine platform attached to a hardwood tongue. This tongue inserts into the tow bar receiver and is free to slide in and out.
The bottom of the beam has a pine block to act as a tyre rest. The beam also has 4 holes to allow for the removal/replacement of the wheel bolts. A hole at the bottom of the beam allows a prise bar to be inserted when the tyre needs to be lifted on/off the top peg.
A strap with a cam cleat / jammer is used to provide additional lift security.


Well it works fine, I think a take apart or lose pin hinge would make it easier to store, in parts, within the Pajero.
The weight of the prototype is about 6Kg and is quite bulky.

Mark 2 Lifting Beam:
So as to minimise the weight etc. I decided to design a lifting beam utilising an existing short spade that I was carrying in my camp gear.
First I converted the spade to lengthen it with a "telescopic" handle.
I made a new tongue for the tow bar receiver and a "wheel carrier" platform that attaches to the blade of the spade.
This version weighs about 3.5Kg complete.
It works well, just requires some simple assembly, no tools, before deployment.




Regarding when a trailer is attached, a "side" ramp, from ground to tow coupling, with a channel cross section may be configured to enable a wheel to be rolled up to the mount point or just below followed by an assisted lift with a winch etc.

[Shopping Trolley]

I'm loving the idea of using the shovel in the Mark 2. I wonder whether Mark 3 could be modifying a long handled shovel so that it gets used to load and unload the spare, safely lift the tyre when changing, help a bogged Prado and put coals on the camp oven at the end of the day.

[old Jack]

I'm loving the idea of using the shovel in the Mark 2. I wonder whether Mark 3 could be modifying a long handled shovel so that it gets used to load and unload the spare, safely lift the tyre when changing, help a bogged Prado and put coals on the camp oven at the end of the day.

If you had a fitting that inserted in to the towbar receiver, that was height adjustable, that then used a plywood flat platform, that could also be used as a jack base plate, and then use the shovel or recovery track as a ramp from the ground to the platform.

You would then place the platform under the spare wheel and adjust to the correct height, then loosen the wheel nuts and wriggle the tyre away from the rear door so you could rotate the tyre 90 degrees, so you can then roll the tyre down the recovery track or shovel, to the ground. You would then reverse the process to put the wheel back on the rear door.

As for using a long handle shovel to aid the removal and fitting of the wheel on the vehicle, this is a practice that has long been taught by many 4wd clubs and is suitable for 4wders that have strength and back issues. Basically the tyre is rolled on to the shovel blade, and the shovel blade is then used as a sled to slide the tyre in position and then as a lever to lift the wheel up on the studs. It takes a bit of practice but the technique works.

OJ.

[Shopping Trolley]

If you had a fitting that inserted in to the towbar receiver, that was height adjustable, that then used a plywood flat platform, that could also be used as a jack base plate, and then use the shovel or recovery track as a ramp from the ground to the platform.

You would then place the platform under the spare wheel and adjust to the correct height, then loosen the wheel nuts and wriggle the tyre away from the rear door so you could rotate the tyre 90 degrees, so you can then roll the tyre down the recovery track or shovel, to the ground. You would then reverse the process to put the wheel back on the rear door.

As for using a long handle shovel to aid the removal and fitting of the wheel on the vehicle, this is a practice that has long been taught by many 4wd clubs and is suitable for 4wders that have strength and back issues. Basically the tyre is rolled on to the shovel blade, and the shovel blade is then used as a sled to slide the tyre in position and then as a lever to lift the wheel up on the studs. It takes a bit of practice but the technique works.

OJ.

What I had in mind was fixing a piece of steel or timber to the handle to turn the shovel into a crucifix which the spare could be strapped to just like Pushbike did. The shovel then becomes the lever to lift the spare wheel into position. Recovery boards could be better but they may be too short to get sufficient leverage to make the job possible by one person especially if they have pre-existing back problems. Hitch set up will require thought.

I am a strong believer of packing things that have multiple uses and the long handled shovels is the second piece of recovery gear I pack (tyre deflater is no1).

[Pushbike]

How to use a Mark 2 lifting beam:

Try to perform this operation on a level pavement if possible.

1. Assemble the complete apparatus.
2. Remove the bottom centre wheel bolt.
3. Insert the tongue into the towbar receiver, but not all the way.
4. Raise the beam (spade) to a vertical position and slide the assembly / tongue forward so that the wheel rest slips under the tyre.
5. Secure the wheel to the lifting beam with a safety strap as a precaution.
6. Remove the remaining two wheel bolts and maintain a steadying hand on the wheel.
7. Using both hands slowly lower the wheel and lifting beam to the ground taking care not to crush fingers etc. under the beam handle.
8. Release safety strap and roll the wheel onto its' tread, ready to wheel away.

Refitting is the procedure reversed:
1. Making sure that a wheel mounting hole is aligned centrally at top of the beam so that it will drop onto the spare wheel mount locating spigot.
2. The wheel is against the wheel rest before you lift and you have applied the safety strap.
3. Disassemble the apparatus and pack for stowage.

A few more pics of the Mark 2 wheel lift beam:

[Pushbike]

Something screwy going on with my attempt to edit a post No.19 above. It would not allow me to save an uploaded pic. Pop up box said I was not authorised to save/edit the post???
Anyway here is the pic.