losdudes

I have the same question, today I rotated all five tires and putting the spare back on kicked my 64 years old back. Has to be a better way. I was wondering if someone makes a small hoot that would mean nut to the bumper or hitch.

dahreno

There is a manufacture that makes a rear bumper with bracketry to mount a small winch. The whole tire mount swings to the ground, you then mount the tire, winch it back into place. I remember not liking the bumper, I think it was an Olympic Smuggler bumper.

Mark Doiron

Well, you don't say why you're lifting your tire, so let me contribute something that may reduce the need. First off, if you're wheeling (most common reason to damage a tire), then there should be someone to help you because you're with a buddy, right? Okay, maybe not always. But worth considering. Flats on a street? In 208,000 miles all over North America, the only flats I've had were when with a buddy and not necessarily on a street. Sure, it can happen, but it's pretty darned infrequent.

So, that leaves the most common time when you may want to pull that spare 35" tire off: Rotating tires. At my age (67), it's a challenge to lift a 35" tire and wheel. I don't even try. But, to rotate tires I use a four tire rotation. The fifth tire (spare) and sixth tire (second spare) are both tires that I've used in the past that still have plenty of tread life. Since if you actually wheel you'll want to change tires that are still fine for the street, but maybe not so good off road, you can repurpose those as spares. And, once you've done that you don't need to include them in your tire rotation. Just rotate the four on the ground, minimizing how much you jack up the Jeep. I sit on the ground, straddling the tire between my thighs. Use the legs to lift the tire about a half inch, then push onto studs. Works great, and saves wear and tear on my poor, old back.

ShutterBug

There are plenty of things I like to take care of myself on my Jeep. I've removed and replaced bumpers, added skids, even a full axle swap. Changing my oil and rotating my tires ain't one of them. I take my Jeep to a trusted local mechanic. He does my oil changes, greases my control arm bushings, rotates the tires, and gives it a once over. It's worth the $65 once every three months.

losdudes

Thanks for the ideas. I put the unused spare into the rotation and may rethink the tire rotation. I agree about the flat tire I really haven't had a flat in maybe 30 years..

dahreno

Unlike some of you, I drive around and fix things for work. I have had plenty of flats on road, more than off road by far. I don't have as much problem with the 35's as I do with the 38's on my other Jeep.