DYI Spare Tire Bump

After installing my new Dick Cepek Trail Country EXP 33×12.5R15 tires and Mammoth Boulder Gunmetal Gray 15″ wheels I found that I wasn’t able to get the tire pressed against the swing-away tire carried as I was able to with my prior tires and wheels. I liked having the tire rest against the swing away – as it helped with bracing the extra weight of the tire.

After a little thought I decided I could make a tire bump… but what to use. The first thought that came to mind was a hockey puck, but there’s not a lot of material to work with to accomplish what I needed. As I stood in my garage thinking about materials I could use and where I might find them –  I noticed the wife’s stake hammer hanging on the wall of the garage.

So I grabbed the wife’s stake hammer and took it to my Jeep to see if it may do the job for a tire bump, and it appeared to be a perfect fit for the job. Next I cut the mallet down the center using a hacksaw, and popped it in halves.

Next was the tough part… how to cut a circular shape in the material. I tried using my hacksaw, but the half-mallet just kept slipping around. I tried securing it in a vice, but that didn’t work either. I eventually decided that it may be easier to carve – rather than saw. So I grabbed a wood chisel and began scoping out the materials until I achieved the shape I needed to wrap the bump around my swing away tube.

I then finished out the shape of the curved with a Dremel to get a nice clean fit. Next I drilled a hole into the bump and my swing away tube. With the hole in the swing away tube – I popped in a rivet nut and mounted up the tire bump and spare tire.

It turned out great and looks like it it came with the swing away.