I was just wondering what the cheapest spare tire carrier solution is. I have a 35" tire on a 20" rim on the stock tire carrier and just recently I started to notice some squeaking. I'm getting ready to take a long road trip across country and care not to listen to the squeaking the entire time. I'm short on cash but was just wondering what a good short-term solution to this problem do you guys suggest, thanks.

 

Or fab tire carrier, no bumper though. Rancho has one, fairly cheap. Not sure of the quality.

 

Yeah they have just 'tire carriers' that you can buy and are very cheap or if you want the whole package (and a much sturdier one in my opinion), get the rancho. I have it and it's really great. Plus you can safely carry up to a thirty seven inch tire on it... Boss lol

 

The squeaking could be from the inner factory weld breaking. That's what happened to mine. Open your tail gate and look all around the inside of the tail gate. Mine broke by the hinge side. Good luck.

 

This will take care of the failing welds...

http://www.quadratec.com/products/22202_1001.htm

And hold you over until you get a real tire carrier. $30 bucks

 

Hey these Off Camber Fabs look appealing, does anyone else have them? Any reviews? Thanks...

 

If it is to just get through the road trip, an idea of what has been done is the "flipped ball hitch" method. Do you have a receiver hitch. Just find the right size drop hitch, flip it and the spare can rest on that. If you need to, you can also add a ball mount and add washers to get just the right height to still close the gate and rest the spare.

 

Unfortunately, all of the reinforcement products are just band-aids. They'll get you by for a while, but it's just prolonging the inevitable. Pick the carrier you like/want and start saving for it.

As noted above, rancho has the cheapest bumper/carrier combo. It is really bare bones with no corner protection, but it will do the job.

For your short term solution, figure out where it is actually squeaking from. If it is side to side movement on the carrier, tailgate bumpstops may be the answer for now. If it's the internal welds or the hinges, the reinforcements may help keep you sane for the trip. Or just crank the music up...

 

Decided to go with the "flip ball hitch" as a temp solution for this road trip, I didn't have the time to wait for the MBRP reinforcement brackets to come in as I'm headed out tomorrow. Does anyone know what combination of hitch receiver and ball I should use to pull this off, Thanks...

 

The AEV spare tire carrier isn't the cheapest solution, but it is a darn fine one. You can use it with the factory bumper or with the AEV bumper. It attaches to the rear gate with a linkage and swings with the rear gate which is really nice. It's on my wish list at Quadratec (Item 12049.2001).