Making a tire rack maybe you will too?

[Jdesign]

I have been wanting to build a rack to store all the spare wheels and tires I have. Finally today I started taking dimensions and putting together something that would tackle the task of storing all the wheels and tires up and out of the way.

I took the basic width and diameter of a 18" tire, and based a CAD model around that, but I also kept in consideration that I will need to fit smaller wheels too.

Here is where I am currently(the dimensions may vary once construction begins):

I plan on purchasing wood, lag bolts, and other materials I might need and will try and post pictures up as I start to build them.

[jc43089]

I like it, I need to make something similar.

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

I like it, I need to make something similar.

And this is why I wanted to share!

[straight6pwr]

7 wheels per rack makes sense.

(I know you've actually planned the length correctly)

[KaiserRolls]

Wheel specs????

[YoungCR]

36" wide rack and 72" beams. I now have 96" beams but this racking is pretty cheap at menards, around $100. Just adding my setup for reference!

[jc43089]

Hmm, I have some of that shelving that I am not really using, good call!

[Jdesign]

straight6pwr said:

7 wheels per rack makes sense.

(I know you've actually planned the length correctly)

KaiserRolls said:

Wheel specs????

Well funny you mention that. I went to get wood the other night and decided I am going to change the width at the hardware store. This resulted in leaving without lumber as I want to configure the layout first. The reason the CAD only fits 7 wheels is because the rear beam is a 8' 2x4 which I figured to be pretty standard. After thinking about the width of the wall, and the amount of wheels, I think I might go down to a 6' now and build 6 racks instead of 4 like I originally planned. This should allow me to hold an extra 2 sets of wheels. 

Wheel specs are not configured, but the tires actually are. They are fairly wide - 265/35R18's -  and thats the reason only 7 fit. If they were 225-40's or something, 8 fit nicely.

[Jdesign]

Sweet tap dancing baby jesus. Math is hard.

Spent time making a CAD model so that I didnt have to figure Maths out. Still had to do maths.

As it turns out, my original design as seen above gives you the most bang for your buck and the least amount of cuts...BUT it also suffers from strength as the only thing that would be holding 2 sets of wheels from crashing down onto my car would be the threads of 4 very long wood screws. NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

So I went back and made some changes. I took the top header board and cut it down to fit the angled boards into the insides of the base. These miters allowed me to add an additional screw and they would now be fastened horizontally to distribute the weight vs vertically. I did loose about 3" of wheel storage but I rather have that than an insurance claim.

I had to use my "hauler" to get them to my shop as I built them at my work to prevent dust.

Here they are loaded up. 

I took some measurements and marked a chalk line across the wall, then went back and marked the studs with a stud finder. The studs in this wall are metal( I know this because I dry-walled it) So I am going to use these fancy anchors with 3/8's bolts. Im not a fan that they are phillips head but that's all Menard's and Home Depot had to offer. I marked the racks and drilled the holes. 

Now I just have to paint them, mount them, and enjoy the extra floor space.

If I ever build these again, I highly suggest you use chains and just skip the math angles. It wasted about 3 hours of my life.

[Jdesign]

I will add more pictures once the are painted and hung obviously.

[HipMF]

Jdesign said:

I spent a few years in "the trades" as an electrician and can tell you that toggle bolts will hold more than any other drywall anchor, by far. That being said, they are still relying on the drywall as a structural member, so it's not ideal, but should work. If you know where the metal studs are and can sink a couple anchors through them, you'll be golden.

[Jdesign]

HipMF said:

I spent a few years in "the trades" as an electrician and can tell you that toggle bolts will hold more than any other drywall anchor, by far. That being said, they are still relying on the drywall as a structural member, so it's not ideal, but should work. If you know where the metal studs are and can sink a couple anchors through them, you'll be golden.

Good to know. There will be a total of 10 bolts per rack, 5 on top and 5 on the bottom, with a pair (2) going into the same stud every 16" on center.

[Jdesign]

Almost finished!! 

Hanging these things on the wall SUCKKKKs.

I painted and drilled all the holes I needed to get them fastened to the wall. The anchors I bought required that I drill a 7/8's hole in the wall before mounting. As I mentioned earlier that I am drilling into metal studs. I used a step drill and by the end near the 30th hole, the bit was pretty much toast. I mounted these high up and out of the way (about 14' up-ish) and getting the whole rig in the air took two people on ladders and getting all of the anchors to seat into the holes in the wall took some finagling of a pry bar and a hammer.

(sorry for no pictures of this nightmare, my hands were full)

Once I am done I will post a total of the cost, and I can include schematics for those interested in making some of their own.

Here are some pictures that give you a good idea of the height and the mounting holes in the wall.

Yeah, Right behind all of my cars, so if there is a failure, its gonna be a big failure. This is why I will be adding safety chains.

 Here you can see that the front board is starting to flex outward from the weight of the wheels. I plan on running a chain front to back in the center to prevent this.

[jc43089]

That would be spectacular to watch if it broke and all of the tires came bouncing down together...

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

That would be spectacular to watch if it broke and all of the tires came bouncing down together...

Yeah....

I would agree if it happened when there was nothing under them. AND maybe if it wasn't my shop. LOL

I will add that they are not falling anytime soon. I can literally sit on them and it can hold my weight just fine. 

Each toggle bolt anchor that I used is 75lbs shear weight and 65lbs tension weight. That means I should be able to hold 750lbs shear and 650lbs tension minus the wood rack obviously. I am guessing the wood racks only weigh about 40lbs considering the average weight of a 6' 2x4 is 7.9lbs. 

The only fail point right now is the wood splitting from the 5" screws holding the racks themselves together.

[suspenceful]

Looking good. I still need to paint mine.

Why so high?! I feel like this makes loading/unloading wheels a pain.

Also, I used an additional 2x4 thru the middle instead of a chain like you talked about.

[KaiserRolls]

Chain would be ideal, also mount it with a hinge so when they aren’t in use (unless they’re always in use?) they can be folded flat against the wall.

^makes sense for those of us that don’t have what appears to be 42’ high ceilings lol

[Jdesign]

suspenceful said:

Looking good. I still need to paint mine.

Why so high?! I feel like this makes loading/unloading wheels a pain.

Also, I used an additional 2x4 thru the middle instead of a chain like you talked about.

So high because I wanted them up and out of the way, and because now I have room for 3 more racks underneath.

I though about a 2x4 in the middle, but I want to utilize as much storage space as possible.

KaiserRolls said:

Chain would be ideal, also mount it with a hinge so when they aren’t in use (unless they’re always in use?) they can be folded flat against the wall.

^makes sense for those of us that don’t have what appears to be 42’ high ceilings lol

Yeah I thought about that too and have spare hinges, but in this case they are out of the way and always in use.

[Jdesign]

All of them are up and holding. I plan on stopping at the hardware store tonight to add the center support chains. I think I am going too run the chains straight up to the metal beams of the building rather than using the wall. It will be stronger and allow me to place a wheel/ tire behind the chain.

**Note all of the extra wheels I need to mount/dismount tires are on the roof of the E36 LOL**

Oh and if anyone is looking for spare Bridgestone Potenza RE050A I RFT, 255/35/18R, I have one for sale.