Rear spare tire mount

Try just bolting it on to the tire carrier, it should fit. I had 31s on my '94 about 10 years ago and had no problem mounting the spare to the stock tire carrier. I had MT Classic wheels at the time, which may have a bit less offset than the stock rims. If necessary try using longer studs in the carrier.

I don't recommend using offset spare tire mounts, like those sold by Tomken, etc. They space the tire away from the rubber isolators on the tailgate, the carrier will then flex and crack the tailgate sheet metal.

Overall best solution is a bumper/tire carrier combination.

Thanks for the info. I tried to just mount the tire to existing mount, and could barely catch a thread. I will try the longer studs, but it looks like the studs are a press fit or similar fit. I didn't take a real good look at how they were inserted or attached, but they should be capable of being removed, somehow.. Thanks again.

I should have mentioned that in general a 31" tire is the most you should mount on the stock carrier.

Yep, 31" is pushing it, depending on how you drive. I had a spare 31" mounted to my stock 92YJ carrier for about 5 years and eventually developed a crack in the tailgate from the stress.

I recommend going with an aftermarket frame-attached swing-out spare tire carrier, if it's within the budget..

Terry

92YJ

A 31 tore off the rear fenders on my CJ7 after about 3 years of my off road abuse...

I even saw one of those frame mount ones fail totally with a 33 on it last week. It was hangin' in sort of, but didn't survive the trip out of the bush.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Terry Jeffrey wrote:

Steve's?

Yup, it didn't survive the trip out.

Mike

Billy Ray wrote:

Was it you or Steve (or both) that have the Garvin 12 GPS unit?

Well..... it was cracked already and we gave it a good going-over when were off-roading.

Did you get it welded up?

Steve, I have the eMap unit.

Mike

Billy Ray wrote:

He is going to have to chop a hole in the bumper so the welder can get to the underside of the mount to fix it. Just welding it from the top won't do it although I don't think just rewelding something back the same that couldn't handle the stress in the first place will work for shit.

I think the design is flawed for that big of a spare. (33x10.5" mud)

Peter 'looked' like he had a solid mount on his. It was an axle spindle I believe that was meant to be welded in place.

Mike

Billy Ray wrote:

I am curious where the crack developed. Was it around the spare tire mount, or door hinge?

It looks to me that I would only be catching a couple of threads with the stock spare tire mount, with the 31 x 10.5 tire. Is it feasible to put longer wheel studs in the stock spare tire mount? I only need a 1/4"more thread.

I am not sure who you are answering, but yes you can put longer bolts in to hold it on.

In my CJ7's case the mount is on the fenders and they literally tore loose from the floor pan.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

JBo wrote:

As I recall I thought it was in the hinge bearing spindle. Mike probably knows a lot more about the details. I did not see it after the break so I don't know exactly where the failure occurred.

Another trend that's sort of evolved, because of the weight, rattling, expense & failure prone nature of some of these aftermarket bumper/tire carriers (even those "rated " for up to 38" tires), a lot of folks no longer carry spare tires. They've installed on board air of some type, keep a plug kit with them for punctures & rips.

The benefit is big, big reduction in weight on the rear suspension, like maybe 300 lbs, and a lot less cost. The risk is you'll rip a sidewall so bad you can't plug it enough to get off the trail. (I've nevers seen this happen, but....)

I started running 36" IROKS last month, up from 35s. I've decided to toss the spare, and keep it in the truck or on the trailer. I'll just run a small rear bumper so I have a strap point.

Yep, 2000 lb trailer spindle meant to be welded to the end of round tubing. I have it welded to a hole in the the narrow edge of a piece of 2" x 4" x

3/16" steel tubing. It has held up for a couple of years with a 33"x12.5" MT/R on a steel wheel mounted to it. I also occasionally have a rack with a 100 lb load, 5 gallons of gas, and 5 gallons of water attached to that carrier. However, out of sheer paranoia I ratchet strap the carrier to the roll bar when I have that much weight on it. I think what has made mine last as long as it has is the fact that I made it so that it closes against a bit of hocket puck that's bolted to the tailgate. The over-center latch I use to close the carrier forces it into the hockey puck so that it doesn't sway back-and-forth as the Jeep moves. I think that reduces the rate of metal fatigue, which is what I assume is happening to all those carriers that I hear about snapping off. True, each time I close and open the carrier, there's a minute amount of bending in the spindle area which I assume causes fatigue in itself, but I open and close it a lot less frequently that a "freestanding" carrier sways back-and-forth while driving.

/Peter