The JK Factory Tire Carrier Sucks!!

wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Thank goodness that companies like TeraFlex are making replacement tire carriers for the god awful and extremely weak factory tire carrier. I mean, trying to carry anything more than a factory 32" tire will for sure result in catastrophic destruction. :eek: As you can see below, this is a shot of the Off Road Evolution Evolander JK that is carrying a 37" Nitto Trail Grappler installed on a very heavy ATX Chamber Pro II and mounted on a factory tire carrier. In addition to all the wheeling it's done over the last 2 years, it's also run the last 2 JK-Experiences with this setup - what morons! :naw:

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I personally tested out the door and it opens without any issues and it shows no signs of cracking, breaking or otherwise. Clearly, it was a terrible mistake for them to do this without first replacing the factory tire carrier with a $700 Chinese replacement! :crazyeyes: :D :cheesy:

NOTE: For those of you who missed it, I was being very sarcastic here. :crazyeyes: :D
 
I'm really surprised evolander still runs factory control arms. Except for front lowers. Imagine that rig with all 8 metalcloak arms. I bet it would really flex hard.
 
And by the looks of the picture, it doesn't appear that EVOlander runs the little spare tire bumpers.
 
It looks like the tire is resting on the bumper, Maybe that helps? Lol just saying cause the tailgate on my old 2 door didn't last even a year before it bent/cracked 😨
 
I can help but worry a little when I close my tail gate with my 35s and the whole tire wobbles. Are you saying this is of no concern? I do have a relocation bracket on the stock mounting plate in order to clear the stock bumper though. Maybe that is where the issue lies?

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Sharkey said:
And by the looks of the picture, it doesn't appear that EVOlander runs the little spare tire bumpers.
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RockyJk said:
It looks like the tire is resting on the bumper, Maybe that helps? Lol just saying cause the tailgate on my old 2 door didn't last even a year before it bent/cracked 
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It is critical to keep your spare tire isolated to prevent jiggling. Failure to do so is ultimately what will cause a break. You can mitigate jiggling with extended isolators, allowing your spare to rest on the bumper or by installing some kind of hitch extension.
 
Fragsrus said:
I can help but worry a little when I close my tail gate with my 35s and the whole tire wobbles. Are you saying this is of no concern? I do have a relocation bracket on the stock mounting plate in order to clear the stock bumper though. Maybe that is where the issue lies?

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NO. The wobbling is definitely a concern and is something that NEEDS to be addressed.
 
I ran my factory tire carrier with 35's for 3 years and dealt with a pretty nasty rattling sound when hitting bumps but no damage to the tailgate whatsoever. Finally removed my spare, and now silence :)
 
I installed the Daystar tailgate bumpstops but they dont seem to help much.

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Fragsrus said:
I installed the Daystar tailgate bumpstops but they dont seem to help much.

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And that's a shame. The original Daystar extended isolators worked great but somewhere along the line, they changed the material they are made out of. I have since used a control arm bushing to help extend a factory isolator and that setup works great. I'm sure this can be done with a hockey puck as well and I will try to do a write-up for it.
 
I'm still rocking the stock carrier with a Nitto 37 on a Slab. I don't wheel like the EVO Clan but it does have some trail time and still solid with no rattles or shakes. The day I put the big tire on it I did go and re tighten all the hardware for the gate and the carrier and found 3 bolts looseish from the factory and the gate stop arm was very loose. I Checked them after the last Slick Rock trip and all is still good. :thumb:

Note: I do run the Daystar Isolators - Without them the tire is rock solid and the isolators are the soft spongy ones that probably just soak up vibration.
 
So that it's clear, I still prefer and recommend a real tire carrier that is either mounted to the frame or solidly secured to the body. A solid hit to the spare from a ledge climb or drop can still do significant damage to the tailgate and rear glass - trust me, I have seen it happen. The only point I was making is that you don't need to spend $700 on a Chinese replacement carrier that I have personally seen break and on more than one occasion.
 
wayoflife said:
So that it's clear, I still prefer and recommend a real tire carrier that is either mounted to the frame or solidly secured to the body. A solid hit to the spare from a ledge climb or drop can still do significant damage to the tailgate and rear glass - trust me
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That is my biggest concern right now, and have planned on throwing it in the back if the trail dictates until I get the carrier I want. Being on a budget I felt there was better items to spend money on in the beginning.

wayoflife said:
The spare makes contact with the bumper and it is what is isolating movement.
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It just barely touches my bumper as well, almost like it was designed that way :thumb: and I'm sure I get some isolation from that.
 
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