Mounted a 37” Spare in My RamBox Bed

[clazer]

Summary: 37” ridge grappler on factory Rebel wheel mounted vertically on the Driver wall of my RamBox bed.

Why?: I’ve used ratchet straps previously to secure it vertically for years, but wanted something more permanent. With the RamBox setup, a flat bed mount or Baja mount takes a ton of the available space. Behind the driver, it doesn’t make any new blind spots. Bumper mounts are super expensive, make my truck longer, and block my rear view camera.

Parts: 1-5/8” or 1-3/4” piloted hole saw

ORI356000

ORI Off-Road Innovations Urethane Flat Universal Spare Tire Mount 7/8"-9 Coarse Thread 9-7/8" Long

2 x 7/8”-9 nuts
Bit of primer or paint to cover bare metal
A dremel helps
10 and 8mm sockets to pull the cargo rail and Rambox

Steps:
1) Remove cargo rail from bed wall (may not be needed with a 35” tire.
2) Disconnect RamBox wire by reaching up behind the taillight from below and separating the connector. Kinda a B.
3) Remove all RamBox contents, the remove all (13?) screws holding it in. Pull it out. There are some YouTube videos with more details

4) Find where you want your wheel center to be. I popped the wheel center out and pushed the tire so it was almost touching the front of the bed then made a mark. The flat spot where the rail sits worked for me.

5) Drill through both layers of the boxed bed rail. May need to make room for the welds on the mounting nut- this is where I used the Dremel. Paint the bare metal.

6) Mount the 7/8”-9 nut from the RamBox side.


7) reinstall RamBox. Drill hole through RamBox from inside the bed.
8) Install tire bar and use Dremel to give it room to pass through the RamBox liner.

9) Right now I’m using two pieces of treated 2x6 sitting in the rail channel to make it stable. I’m thinking I’ll cut out part of the rail to avoid the new hardware then bend the aluminum rail so the tire can sit flush, then reinstall the cargo rail. Open to ideas.

10) Use two 7/8”-9 nuts as a lock that’s only accessible from inside the RamBox- anti theft! I considered drilling a 1/4” hole through the threaded bar and installing a retainer pin, which would accomplish the same thing.

Anyway, let me know your thoughts on steps 9 and 10. It’s super stable right now. Rock solid.

Also, was thinking about weatherproofing the hole in the RamBox liner, but haven’t figured that out yet.

 

[PurpleRT]

A dab of black rtv should seal the hole just fine in the rambox. Maybe a rubber washer on the bedside part of the hole.


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[clazer]

Drilled a 5/16” hole in the end of the all thread for a 1/4” retainer pin. Anti theft installed! Also bent the aluminum rail and cut holes for the hardware. Now everything sits flush.