The only issue I see there being with weight on the hinges is when the door is open. Might be kind of annoying to take it off anytime you open that back door, but to save the hinge life, it might be worth the little inconvenience.

 

that is not comparable. the door is shut when you climb the ladder to get to the roof rack. the gas can will still be attached to the door when you open it, that is when the hinges are doing all the work. that's why you will see swing away tire carriers and jerry can holders on after-market steel bumpers.

 

Yes you are right, it when you are swinging the door open that has the stress on it. The way I look at it is it depends on how much gas is in the can all the time and how much you open the rear door. For me I only keep about 3-4 gallons in there, enough to get me another 50 miles to gas station. Plus for the most part I do open the back door all that often unless I am camping or something like that. If the door cannot handle another 40 lbs on the hinges then there was a problem before the can holder. Besides, hinges are cheap from a wrecking yard.

 

Here is a picture of one unmounted and flipped up. The two pieces come together in the center by sliding a smaller diameter square tube inside the other. The it is attached to it using a 1/4" hex head screw. It takes just about 8 seconds to take of the can and then another 5-8 seconds to remove the front piece of the carrier. Then you can unbolt the spare tire. the back plate just sits on the spare tire bolts.

 

You drive a land rover, there were problems before it left the dealer lot. Plenty of people do what you have done, I won't because I'm doing everything I can to minimize mechanical problems with my truck. I took the tire off the door just to help the hinges alittle more. Your holder looks great, its just not for my truck.

 

How is the front "+" of the carrier frame attached to the back mounting plate portion? Looks like they both have a round center shaft, does one go inside the other and then us a pin or bolt or how? Does that mount point rattle a lot?

Do you have a pic of the mount behind the spare with the spare mounted without the carrier frame? I am trying to see how far out that back shaft comes in relation to the sidewalls on the spare tire.

 

I will take a pic once I get back to the camera. The junction of the holder to the mount uses a square tube that protrudes approximately 1" past the front of the wheel when mounted. I then had the stub that gets inserted into the outer square tube tapped and use a Hex head screw with a lock washer. This way it pulls itslef tight to the side and does not move around as much as a through bolt would. It does move around some but you cannot hear it while driving or going over bumps. The through bolt design is easier and cheaper but I like to pull it tight to reduce the squeaking that can come from it.

Plus it is 3" long on the stub so if needed you can move the carrier out from the tire for a fatter tire if needed.

 

Sorry to revive a very old thread but I want this.

 

I have not made one in quite a while. Maybe I will dig it up again as I just bought 2 more Discovery 2 after a few years away.