Old news but in case there are any doubters - TeraFlex Tire Carrier Break

beans

New member
No experience with it personally but it's more than just a bracket. You mount it to your bumper. You will need to either modify your stock bumper to accept it ( I believe I've seen people do it not 100% though) or buy the AEV rear bumper.

We already have the AEV rear bumper and have been looking into the bracket. The Bracket goes with the bumper but you don't necessarily need to purchase both from AEV. We have been researching their products and they seem to be a solid build however, we definitely wanted anyones experience with the bracket specifically before we drop 750.00. I'm pretty sold on the product already (especially since we have alot of their stuff and it's USA built) but, definitely want to hear from experiences since word of mouth in the Jeep world is a seriously valuable resource :) :)
 

beans

New member
"Acquisitions"? I'll assume you meant "accusations" and to that, all I can do is show you PROOF of what others and I have seen. Clearly, TeraFlex is aware of it enough that they have since modified their bracket and offer it to those concerned enough to contact them and request one. As far as vendors go, again, they are just supplying you with what you've demanded. Certainly, you have faith in what you got. I just hope you'll take the time to keep an eye on it just in case - for the sake of everyone on the road.

I think the main issue with many is that many people have 1000's invested in a product and get what is referred to as Cognitive Dissonance. This is, unfortunately for us homo-sapiens, is engrained in human nature. We see this in politics, in current contamination issues, market issues and will definitely see it in retail products.

People will defend something they are heavily invested in despite evidence, photos, charts and dozens, even 1000's of testimonies. I've done it myself, dropped a few hundred on something and defended it until my dying breath despite clear evidence to the contrary. It took an injury to turn me around.

We all have done it at one time or another, in this case I hope people realize this isn't personal but merely a strong warning from concerned fellow Jeepers :)
 
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NFRs2000NYC

Caught the Bug
We already have the AEV rear bumper and have been looking into the bracket. The Bracket goes with the bumper but you don't necessarily need to purchase both from AEV. We have been researching their products and they seem to be a solid build however, we definitely wanted anyones experience with the bracket specifically before we drop 750.00. I'm pretty sold on the product already (especially since we have alot of their stuff and it's USA built) but, definitely want to hear from experiences since word of mouth in the Jeep world is a seriously valuable resource :) :)

Not being a fanboy, but I think the AEV carrier is a well engineered piece. A lot of thought has gone into it. I didn't get it because it offsets the tire slightly to the pass. side, which my OCD can't take. I chose to run the expedition one bumper/carrier. The carrier itself is monstrous, and the tire is touching a lot of metal, and has ZERO chance to jiggle. This carrier will NOT solve the problem Eddie is describing (snagging when climbing a ledge) so if you do that often the evo carrier is probably a better choice, but the regular bumpers/carriers....I haven't seen a better design than the EXP1 for strength/security and AEV for portability. Personal opinion.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Even if you were a fanboy of AEV, I would be the first to say that their swing out tire carrier is a very good design and one worth considering. Same can be said of Expedition One and even the newer LoD carriers. The only thing I've never understood is the AEV rear bumper. While I'm not a full width bumper fan for practical reasons, I do think AEV has one of the cleanest and well designed ones for the front bar none. I just don't understand why they didn't create something for the rear that compliments it. What they have now is nice but it looks like it's made by another manufacturer.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
To kind of bring this back on topic, you can install an AEV swing out tire carrier without having to buy one of their rear bumpers. It'll work just fine with a factory bumper and still take the bulk of your spare tire's weight and put it on the frame. Best part is, you still get a single hand operation and can do this for about the same cost as a TeraFlex tire carrier. Just something to consider.
 

beans

New member
To kind of bring this back on topic, you can install an AEV swing out tire carrier without having to buy one of their rear bumpers. It'll work just fine with a factory bumper and still take the bulk of your spare tire's weight and put it on the frame. Best part is, you still get a single hand operation and can do this for about the same cost as a TeraFlex tire carrier. Just something to consider.

The tire weight on the frame is a definite plus imho, keeps the bulk of the weight off of the tailgate -- especially for some of the really big tires and possible vibration issues :D

Even if you were a fanboy of AEV, I would be the first to say that their swing out tire carrier is a very good design and one worth considering. Same can be said of Expedition One and even the newer LoD carriers. The only thing I've never understood is the AEV rear bumper. While I'm not a full width bumper fan for practical reasons, I do think AEV has one of the cleanest and well designed ones for the front bar none. I just don't understand why they didn't create something for the rear that compliments it. What they have now is nice but it looks like it's made by another manufacturer.

We checked with AEV on the rear bumper and it's definitely made by them but, it is strange that the front and rear are so different :dont_know: I have heard however, they are currently designing several upgrades to the rear including Hi-Lift jack mounts (which I think may be out already--not sure) and a couple other neat items. Perhaps they are thinking of changing the front to match the rear in the future? Here's an interesting video I found a few minutes ago (This thread has certainly created a need for me to do more research :D ) that gets into some of the detail for anyone interested--

Rear Bumper


Tire Carrier

 
To kind of bring this back on topic, you can install an AEV swing out tire carrier without having to buy one of their rear bumpers. It'll work just fine with a factory bumper and still take the bulk of your spare tire's weight and put it on the frame. Best part is, you still get a single hand operation and can do this for about the same cost as a TeraFlex tire carrier. Just something to consider.

Will this work with the EVO D-Ring/Frame Caps? I like mine too much to give them up.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
LOL!! Oh, I know it's made by them and like I said, it's nice in its own right, just weird that it looks nothing like the front. It just has the look that it's made by someone else.

Having said all that, if you wish to continue this conversation, I would be grateful if you would just start a new thread. Or, I can move your posts and make it a new thread. I would prefer to keep this one on topic.
 

jeepgreenjon

New member
Not to High-Jack the thread or anything but I thought I would chime in on the factory carrier. Im not sure exactly why but my factory tire carrier had failed when I was still running my factory tire. I would recommend irregardless of the carrier you have to always keep an eye on your carrier even if it is still the factory carrier with the factory tire and wheel. I had removed the carrier and JB welded it to "get me by" if you are familiar with the factory carrier it has flat bar that re-enforces the back side so I wouldnt have lost the tire however the JB weld snapped almost immediately after leaving my rough drive way. So I ended up going with the smittybilt bolt on tire carrier... not sure what people think of these but ill keep everyone posted on my experience Here is a picture of my stock carrier after the JB weld "fix" In my stock mounts "defense" I think it may have been hit or something by the previous owner as I noticed it right after we had purchased the Jeep.
131207_004.jpg


and here is the smittybilt tire carrier with my 35" tire on... thought it would be slightly better then replacing the broken stock carrier with another stock one but I could be wrong... only time will tell. Also might be a better option then the terraflex carriers that seem to break very easy, I know its a much cheaper option.

131207_006.jpg
 

beans

New member
LOL!! Oh, I know it's made by them and like I said, it's nice in its own right, just weird that it looks nothing like the front. It just has the look that it's made by someone else.

Having said all that, if you wish to continue this conversation, I would be grateful if you would just start a new thread. Or, I can move your posts and make it a new thread. I would prefer to keep this one on topic.

Gottcha-- not meaning to derail the thread. Apologies--Just looking at alternatives to your current nightmare since we are in the market and definitely don't want anything dangerous on our rig :D You can move them if you want or whatever works, I got some helpful advice so far so it's probably not necessary. Up to you man :)
 
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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
In my stock mounts "defense" I think it may have been hit or something by the previous owner as I noticed it right after we had purchased the Jeep.

I am glad that you added this caveat as honestly have a hard time believing that just happened without some kind of hit either on the trail or otherwise especially being that you were still carrying a stock wheel/tire.
 
I don't see why not. The AEV tire carrier simply attaches to the frame and you still have that :yup:

Thanks, :thumb: I thought there was some top/bottom bolt interference with the EVO D-ring bracket that was inside the frame. but it's tough to tell from pictures, and I've never seen an AEV carrier in person.
 

jeepgreenjon

New member
Thats why I was torn between replacing it with a stock carrier or moving to the smittybuilt. I have faith in my stock hinges so either option would work for me. I just couldnt find any evidence to why the stock carrier broke. One thing I did notice on the stock carrier tho is that the white metal or cast aluminum or whatever it is they make them with has really been disintegrated by all the salt on our roads... likely not an issue for 95% of the people on here but with all the salt they dump on our roads up here it eats everything... not the reason why the stock carrier broke however. Weird part is the tailgate isnt dinged or anything either from a possible hit. Its a weird one im sure, just another reason to always give your vehicle a good circle check.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Thats why I was torn between replacing it with a stock carrier or moving to the smittybuilt. I have faith in my stock hinges so either option would work for me. I just couldnt find any evidence to why the stock carrier broke. One thing I did notice on the stock carrier tho is that the white metal or cast aluminum or whatever it is they make them with has really been disintegrated by all the salt on our roads... likely not an issue for 95% of the people on here but with all the salt they dump on our roads up here it eats everything... not the reason why the stock carrier broke however. Weird part is the tailgate isnt dinged or anything either from a possible hit. Its a weird one im sure, just another reason to always give your vehicle a good circle check.

It's aluminum and it should be noted that not only are there over 1 million JK's out on the roads today, many of them are in your neck of the woods. Of course, this is to say nothing about all the folks in the USA that live in the east cost. God only knows that when we bought our 2-door from our friend who lived in Niagara, NY, the whole things was a rust bucket. My point is, if salt were really a cause to your break, it would be an issue that effects far more than 5% of the people on here. Fact of the matter is, you're is the first break I have seen that is said to have happened with a stock tire and no other cause that you are aware of.
 
and here is the smittybilt tire carrier with my 35" tire on... thought it would be slightly better then replacing the broken stock carrier with another stock one but I could be wrong... only time will tell. Also might be a better option then the terraflex carriers that seem to break very easy, I know its a much cheaper option.


Strictly speaking from a physics perspective: I don't like these carrier/mounts. The stock carrier controls the "wiggle" at bump-stops that are distributed across the door. The Smitty carrier put's all the "wiggle" control forces on the face of the carrier and transmits it to the carrier mounts. I have seen three cases of the spot welds failing and/or fatiguing and all three used the Smitty mount with 35s. I know of several other guys running 35s and one 37s on the stock carrier with the Daystar bumps and they haven't had an unprovoked issue, (hitting something).


edit to remove some of the quote for ease of reading.
 
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jeepgreenjon

New member
Strictly speaking from a physics perspective: I don't like these carrier/mounts. The stock carrier controls the "wiggle" at bump-stops that are distributed across the door. The Smitty carrier put's all the "wiggle" control forces on the face of the carrier and transmits it to the carrier mounts. I have seen three cases of the spot welds failing and/or fatiguing and all three used the Smitty mount with 35s. I know of several other guys running 35s and one 37s on the stock carrier with the Daystar bumps and they haven't had an unprovoked issue, (hitting something).

Thats good to know. As Eddie has stated the Factory Carriers hold up very well, and I have never heard of any factory carriers breaking other then my own. I thought I would try the smittybilt and see how it holds up (checking it often) if or when it breaks I will be looking into other options (likely an O.E or a bumper mounted carrier) . I just thought I would show my factory one, and its crack as I said I know salt isnt the reason why it broke, likely took a hit as some point in its life.
 
Thats good to know. As Eddie has stated the Factory Carriers hold up very well, and I have never heard of any factory carriers breaking other then my own. I thought I would try the smittybilt and see how it holds up (checking it often) if or when it breaks I will be looking into other options (likely an O.E or a bumper mounted carrier) . I just thought I would show my factory one, and its crack as I said I know salt isnt the reason why it broke, likely took a hit as some point in its life.

Just listen for a bunch of squeaking and creaking coming from the gate... It's the first sign of spot weld failure. Personally, I would try to find another stock carrier and use good bump-stops over running a Smitty one, (Because of the failures I have seen.)
 

jeepgreenjon

New member
Just listen for a bunch of squeaking and creaking coming from the gate... It's the first sign of spot weld failure. Personally, I would try to find another stock carrier and use good bump-stops over running a Smitty one, (Because of the failures I have seen.)

Good to know and good information for anyone looking at replacing a perfectly good stock carrier with a Smitty or teraflex product thinking they are preventing a future failure. Im glad stuff like this gets posted and shared for everyone to see! Im not going to get butt hurt over a product I bought when people have evidence to show its down falls.
 
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