Cheap spare tire mount for 35" spare

nondem

TJ Enthusiast
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Joined
Apr 17, 2021
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197
Location
Tallahassee, Fl. USA
My buddy put 35" tires on his LJ and used one of the spacers that look like this to allow the OEM spare mount to fit his oversize spare:
1658110995898.png

The ones like that I'm finding for sale all specify 33" tires max. I think I see why because on his LJ the upper edge of the tailgate looks to be bending out away from the jeep a bit. Nothing major but I certainly don't want to do that to my TJ. He's only had it on the LJ for a few hundred miles.

So, I'm waiting for my new set of 35's to show up and of course I bought 5 of them. I'm not sure what my long term plan is for the spare but I need somewhere to haul it for now. Right now I'm hoping it'll fit in the back of the jeep(w/o the seat installed) so I can just pile my junk on top of it.
Based on the specified weights of the tire and wheel combo I bought the spare should weigh in the neighborhood of 85-90lbs.
This type of carrier specs that it works for up to 35" tires and it's cheap enough that I might buy it just till I figure out a long term solution.

1658110948716.png


Other than being thicker metal it it's very similar and connects to the same mounts the OEM one does and it would seem it would be just as likely to cause the problem my buddy is having.
Has anyone used this type w/a heavy 35" spare w/o issue? They are cheap enough that I may buy one as a temporary solution....but as I said - i don't want to damage my tailgate.
 
You need to secure the tire with extended snubbers more than anything. The reason your buddy's tailgate is starting to bend is his unsupported tire is too much weight for the tailgate to support through bumps and the tailgate is starting to give. Just the other day I saw a JK cruising down the open road with his 35 bouncing up and down on the tailgate on every bump. It was cringy to watch.

The exogate/morryde is a good choice but it will exacerbate the snubber problem and that will need to be addressed.
 
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Just the other day I saw a JK cruising down the open road with his 35 bouncing up and down on the tailgate on every bump. It was cringy to watch.

I know exactly what you mean - if that guy driving the JK was seeing what you were seeing, I would bet he takes the spare tire off immediately until getting it straightened out.
 
Nothing wrong with the stock carrier IF you take the weight off the hinges. After 8 years with a 35" spare and steel wheel, my 05' tailgate hinges still worked perfectly. I have 5 years on my current setup with zero issues.
p.s. Ignore my skinny arms in the bottom pic. I was on a low carb diet. ;)
SPARE TIRE MOUNT (2).jpg


rubi spare bumper (2017_11_20 00_38_12 UTC).jpg


RUBI skel 8 26 2 (4).jpg
 
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The back of the tub over the rear axle is much better for weight balance but does take up precious cabin space.

If I were to use a tailgate mounted one, the Rusty’s looks like the best one IMO.
 
I have the HD tire carrier pictured at the bottom of the first post.. the Rugged Ridge. By itself, it's a pretty scary affair because the spare is cantilevered on the carrier and not touching the tailgate at all. Not something I would do on stock hinges with a 35.

I replaced the stock hinges with the Rugged Ridge Sparticus HD setup and the rear gate is now rock solid. It closes with one finger and hasn't needed realignment since installing the HD hinge setup over a year ago.

I have been looking for a carrier option that mounts in the stock location, but isn't cantilevered out like the Rugged Ridge, but haven't found one yet. RR makes a nice one that works with the Sparticus setup, but it is JK or JL specific.
 
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