Is anyone running an ARB twin wheel carrier with barn doors?

[nick_the_fish]

Reason I ask is that the ARB catelogue states that

"LHS Wheel Carrier - LHS Carrier Does Not Suit Barn Door Models"

and i'm wondering why. Does the ARB wheel carrier open out to 180degrees o does it only open partially? Is it that the barn doors don't open properly with a twin wheel carrier mounted on the bumper? Or is it just that you would need to open both wheel carriers to open the LHS door? I can't see why it would suit the right hand side but not the left?

Any ideas anyone?

N

 

[nick_the_fish]

Surely someone must be running the above set-up?

Anyone?

 

[fbnss]

i don't know if @clivehorridge could shed some light, he has barn doors on his 80 and a single arb wheel carrier

 

[clivehorridge]

I think the reason they say that is convenience.

Initial access to the load area on trucks with barn doors is the LHS door, the smaller of the two.

For wider access, the second larger door opens to give full width load ability.

With an ARB LHS swing out, you’d have to unlatch the swing out every time you need any access to the load area.

I’ve just got the RHS swing out on mine, and I agree a LHS carrier would be a bit of a pain IMO.

 

[clivehorridge]

Here’s a couple of pics of the back of mine, I’ve got a ladder on the small door and a RHS swing out.

The swing out catch is very easy to use, click it opens, and it simply slams shut, so it’s not a bother. But with the LHS carrier, even chucking in a pair of gloves or going for a toolbox would need the swing out to be opened....

 

[nick_the_fish]

Hi @clivehorridge thanks for sending these through. I agree that it would be inconvenient but would be happy to put up with the inconvienance if it meant I could carry both wheels back there, because we really don't have any other option.

What is the opening range of the wheel carriers? Do they go past 90 degrees? I note the wheel carriers use gas-struts to control the opening so I assume that is what is limiting their range? could a longer strut be used to increase the range or is there something else stopping it?

N

 

[denboy]

Is this more a question of - how far the wheels on the 'hangers' fold back and therefore how far you can open the rear doors??

I run with twin real wheels on the back - but have the lift up, drop down rear hatches... happy to take a photo of how far the wheels fold back when open,,,

 

[nick_the_fish]

Hi @denboy

Yeah that's what I was trying to say, evidently unsuccessfully

If you could take a photo of the wheel carriers fully open that'd be awesome. Is yours ARB? What do you think of them?

N

 

[clivehorridge]

Hi @clivehorridge thanks for sending these through. I agree that it would be inconvenient but would be happy to put up with the inconvienance if it meant I could carry both wheels back there, because we really don't have any other option.

What is the opening range of the wheel carriers? Do they go past 90 degrees? I note the wheel carriers use gas-struts to control the opening so I assume that is what is limiting their range? could a longer strut be used to increase the range or is there something else stopping it?

N

The carriers are limited by the bumper itself, as the pivots are internal not external, you’ll know what I mean when you see it... I’ll try to get a photo of what I mean a bit later...

It goes to 90 degrees, no further. The gas struts are great. Especially when you open the swing-out on a side slope with the opening side facing down hill.

A wheel and tyre is heavy and takes some controlling without them.

 

[nick_the_fish]

brilliant thanks Clive

 

[denboy]

PM sent

 

[clivehorridge]

So, in the closed position you can see a rusty line where the arm hits the inside of the frame by the pivot, this only happens when there’s no gas ram... (AMHIK )

In the open position 90 degrees is the max

In the open position (from the outside)

That’s it folks, as you can see, mine is overdue a refurb so apologies for the dirt and rust.

You’ll also notice the rubber top cappings are missing... they were unsalvageable at the first refurb.

It’s 12 years old now.

Tip: when installing this ARB for the first time, grease all nuts and bolts because 5 years later they will be solid rust.

 

[nick_the_fish]

brilliant cheers Clive. Fair play for a 12 year old bit of kit that's still looking pretty good!

My current plan is to get an ARB bumper and modify the wheel carriers. Looking into it with some fab guys who are into this sort of thing.

Will keep you posted...

 

[nick_the_fish]

@clivehorridge Is there anything to stop us chopping a small section out of the bumper where it stops the wheel carrier (the bit that made the rust mark if you like). By the looks of it its only a plate. The some slightly longer struct to allow a bit more movement. Due to the leverage effect it may only need to be a few mm to get quite a few degrees of additional opening on the door.

 

[nick_the_fish]

Right, managed to sort this so updating the thread in case anyone else had the same question.

The answer is, yes you can fit an ARB bumper with twin wheel carriers to a 105 series Land Cruiser with barn Doors.

The issue ARB warn against is that the door handle cover (above the number plate in the photo below) stops the swing arm from closing properly.



The solution is to take it off and fab up a new thinner handle



As you can tell i'm no fabricator (I might get something made up that doesn't look like it was done by a toddler) but it'll do for the time being. Also need to tidy up a bit of wiring and general gunk back there. No modification to the actual mechanism is needed. This is literally just a bit of 1mm steel bent into shape to stop rain falling onto the mechanism.

Hope that helps someone somewhere along the way.

A bit of ARB porn for you

 

[clivehorridge]

Sorry, missed your last question Nick, but you seem to have worked around it.

Looking good!

I can’t stress enough about keeping the pivot bearing well lubed. My bearings are shot to pieces again, must look into some kind of redesign...

BTW, you seem to be missing a Romanian flag on your back windows...

 

[Patto13]

Hey Nick,

Setup looks unreal!

just wondering if you have a photo of it fully open up and how it's been for you as thinking of doing the same setup on my 80!

Cheers,

Pat.

 

[nick_the_fish]

Hi Pat,

Welcome to the club.

I've had a look through my photos but I can't find a photo with just the wheel carriers open i'm afraid. The truck is in the barn and out of action at the moment, but i'll pull her out in the spring and get a photo for you. (remind me in a few months time)

So far I have been really impressed with the ARB carrier. Its a cracking bit of kit, very expensive, but for me worth the money.

If you have time pop over to the 'Introduce yourself' section and introduce yourself.

Cheers

Nick