Tire carrier lock?

[Imagineer]

Whereas it's way down the priority list for getting this new-to-me '97 road worthy, I've designed new bumpers to make, the rear of which will be outfitted with a swing-away tire carrier.

I'm curious if folks that run swing-away carriers, have a key lock of some sort to secure their carrier?

Sure, it will be a small inconvenience having to manage an additional key and fumble with the lock whenever I need to open the tailgate, but it will provide some peace of mind. Back in '86, my older sister's nearly new S-10 Blazer got the right rear corner destroyed because some A-hole unhooked the spare tire carrier while the car was parked. One hard left turn and it swung open, hit the stops and buckled and ripped the quarter panel

 

[TheBoogieman]

I never had a need to lock mine. It was Smittybilt and nobody wanted to steal it.

 

[basedbb69]

I don't have a lock on mine, but I put a slam latch on mine so if I did leave it open it would close itself. I've only forgot it once lol. Scared the shit out of me when it closed.

It's also double latch cause my friend who got me into jeeps has broken 3 different tire carriers at the latch so I made this one super rigid. Kind of inspired by the PS rockbrawler design except theirs looks clean