Spare Tire Carrier Question

[mavman427]

I have noticed that the factory spare tire mount doesn't get much love around here, seems like everybody opts for the bumper-mounted spare tire carrier. Why is that? Does the spare tire block the rear window with the factory carrier, does it rip away from the body eventually?

 

[rsharpnm]

Mine fatigued and cracked the sheetmetal on the tailgate around the latch. Bigger spare tires make it worse. That being said, I still run the stock one with a 35" spare, but I welded on a support brace that puts the weight on the rear bumper while the latch just holds it from swinging now.

But that POS has gotta go soon...

 

[Dan's73]

In my experience, the stock carrier is OK if you plan on carrying a stock (or close to it) spare....anything larger really seems to stress the carrier, making it rattle & squeak even more than it did before. Yes, it can pull the rear corner from the qtr panel. Also, I've had a few that had to be tied, bolted, or otherwise "doubly" secured as the latch mechanism was worn out & the thing would pop loose just driving down the road.

Having said all that, I've still got the stock carrier on my '73 that's carried 32" & 33" spares for the last 8+ years without much hassle. Until recently it saw mostly on-road use and very light trails. First real trail I took it on, sure enough, I had issues. Since I hope to do more off-roading with it, I do plan to upgrade to something else to make it more solid, secure, & take all of that stress off of the body.

 

[76 bronco J]

>>> even with just a stock tire size or close to it I'd still switch to the bumper mount, so the truck can take a higher impact to the rear without doing any damage ..... this came into play when I was bumped pretty hard from behind one day in traffic & suffered no damage.....

 

[66ALRIDE]

I would recommend a bumper mounted holder.

 

[22213evl]

was one of the first things to come off mine when I bought it as the tailgate had cracks in it and had already been repaired b4.

 

[matt w]

i have a factory one to sell! heh-heh;D,,


...............,on my way administrator!!!;D ha-ha-ha

 

[redburns]

Mine fatigued and cracked the sheetmetal on the tailgate around the latch. Bigger spare tires make it worse. That being said, I still run the stock one with a 35" spare, but I welded on a support brace that puts the weight on the rear bumper while the latch just holds it from swinging now.

But that POS has gotta go soon...

Would you have any pics you could share?

 

[blakerj10]

I don't know if tire size has a whole lot to do with it. When I pulled off my factory spare, that thing weighed more than the 33x12.50 and aluminum rim combo that replaced it. I think its a hokey design. Bolt a tire to the body seems dumb/