Looking at purchasing the tire carrier from OrFab, but when I looked at the install instructions, it seems pretty intensive. Had anyone installed on of these and if so could you give me your impression of same.
I already have a custom bumper, but need to go to a new tire carrier as I am getting 35's soon and need to haul the spare.

 

Check out Brent's write-up, its pretty much dead on.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-write-ups-39/fab-tire-carrier-install-53792/

 

I'm putting mine onn this weekend...hoping I have no problems...

 

i'm picking up mine on Friday. i am NOT doing the instal however. but i will let everyone know how the build quality is.

 

i have a tire/can carrier and love it. i did not do the install because i dont have all the right tools like a 90 degree drill. the build quality is great.

 

I have the tire carrier only version. The hardest part of the install was drilling the holes from the inside out. It's a great piece of hardware and is very solid.

 

Wow, first in that did the tire/can carrier install myself

First off I wont lie, its a project, initial instalation toom me from 6pm-3am, so set time aside.

Secondly, if you arent comfortable cutting into your beautiful JK's painted body, you may want to let someone else do it, because it can be pretty nerve-wrecking. I used a dremel to cut the hole for the mounting block instead of a whole-saw, its much easier to control from skipping across the paint of the body.

Also when mounting the reinforced hinges on the tailgate hinge, MAKE SURE THEY ARE LEVEL OR IT WONT LINE UP WITH THE BLOCK CORRECTLY!!!!!!!!! I have to take the whole carrier off and shift them seriously about 1/16 bof an inch to get it to sit right.

Third, make sure to tighten the nuts and bolts holding the spaces on the hinges fairly tight, maybe use some loctite or else you will get an annoying rattle. It isnt damaging but it makes it sound like the carrier is ratling apart, especially on the trail.

Overall I wont lie, it requires a relatively decent amount of upkeep in the beginning but it looks good. Just take your time and make sure you tighten everything really well, like I said, possibly some loctite if you are confident enough while installing it. You will get some ratling noises im sure but they are all fixable.

If you or anyone else has questions just ask, I have had almost every problem with this and have found almost every solution (I dont know if that is a good or bad thing).

Good luck to anyone who gets this, its a beauty when its done

 

If you decide to go with our carrier, PM me and I'll get you some of our cell phone numbers in case you run into any problems.

Yates

 

FWIW Ive had my Or-fab for about a year and its still quiet. And Ive never had to retighten it or adjust it. Im 100% happy with it.

 

I installed mine in stages according to the install instructions. The only problem I had are the spacers corroding and that OR Fab should include a linchpin to prevent the latch from opening.

Oh yeah, since I got the tire carrier version, it sticks out further than I thought, and I have dragged the spare tire on the ground while climbing a rock, but no damage was done.