Tire rack suggestions

Not exactly a late model question but I'm sure plenty of you guys will have ideas. First time mounting a tire rack in a brand new trailer and never really payed much attention to how other guys do it. Our old trailer had a tire rack in it and it was hung with carriage bolts going all the way through from the outside. I don't really want to do that. I'm thinking of just using 1/4-20 self tappers that will get me through the wall of the u-channels in the wall but I'm concerned about strength given that is probably only about 12 gauge steel that I'm drilling into. Do I go this route and just make sure that I use a bunch of screws? How do you guys do it? Don't want to drill holes all the way to the outside but also don't want to unload to the site of tires and crushed hood, roof, and decking.
Thanks in advance.

Maybe nutserts ? Or how about a bar connecting the right side rack to the left side along the ceiling so the screws act more like dowl pins instead of holding the racks back
Tight to the wall ?

Mine are secured with screws and the strongest two sided tape I've ever seen.

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Originally Posted by Matt49

Not exactly a late model question but I'm sure plenty of you guys will have ideas. First time mounting a tire rack in a brand new trailer and never really payed much attention to how other guys do it. Our old trailer had a tire rack in it and it was hung with carriage bolts going all the way through from the outside. I don't really want to do that. I'm thinking of just using 1/4-20 self tappers that will get me through the wall of the u-channels in the wall but I'm concerned about strength given that is probably only about 12 gauge steel that I'm drilling into. Do I go this route and just make sure that I use a bunch of screws? How do you guys do it? Don't want to drill holes all the way to the outside but also don't want to unload to the site of tires and crushed hood, roof, and decking.
Thanks in advance.

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I personally wouldn't trust screwing thru the metal to hold something that is the heavy and bounces/vibrates as much as a tire rack going down the road, just look how many of the floor screws and etc are always coming loose after a while. I'd use a nut insert or something, but anything to get some more thread instead of just some 12 gauge steel thickness for threads. Nut inserts can eventually loosen some and allow them to spin and not allow to remove the bolt easily later on but generally can't pull out due to the large flare on the back side but could eventually get pushed in as most don't have a large lip on the front side. You could always drill a hole and weld a nut in the tube, but I'd be fine with nut inserts.

I'm not worried about anything coming loose (red loctite) as much as I'm worried about threads getting stripped/ripped out with no more threads than will be caught. Nut inserts would work except I have a 3/8" piece of vinyl between the inside of the trailer and the rail. If I have to take the inner wall off to put nut inserts in, I guess that is an option.

ive only ever installed 2 racks and i didnt want to drill all the way through either, but like billet said, that thing takes a bunch of abuse and all i felt comfortable with was the carriage bolts. Once i was done, i touched the bolts heads up with paint that matched the trailor and never thought anything else about it.

Some very high dollar trailers have tire racks just screwed to the trailers frame work, particularly most of the alum ones.

The tire racks are an add on and they arent taking the sheeting off etc.

A bunch of these.

http://monsterfastener.com/item/hwas...dDTBoChgHw_wcB

I drilled small pilot holes and use a 3/8 self-tapping bolt and Loctite. Used 3 bolts on top and one on the bottom of each wall mounting bracket. The bolts on the top are more heavily loaded than the bolts on the bottom, which is why you need more. After 3 years, they are still tight.

http://www.elcoconstruction.com/Prod...ews/Tap-Flex-R

Elco Construction/Decorah Part #: ESU320005MC