Hey everyone,

New to the jeep world. I am in the process of purchasing a lift and new wheels/tires. Is it absolutely necessary to buy a more durable tire carrier to mount the 5th wheel? Looking at 35x12x18 tires. If so, any recommendations on a carrier that won't break the bank but add the support needed?

Rob

 

I think you could get away with the factory carrier for a little while as long as the tire rests on the bumper when it's closed. I personally have been looking at the Crawler Conceptz body mounted tire carrier.

 

I bought the cc carrier and as much as I love it, it is not even close to as easy to install as the teraflex.

The tf costs a bit more but the ease of install is what you're paying for. The cc carrier is still awesome and I don't regret it. But there is some modifications needed to make it work. The old hinges need to be cut, the new hinge brackets need to be opened up, everything has to be painted or powder coated and proper fitment takes a good amount of time. Once it's on though it looks great. When I first installed I was running a genright rear bumper, now I'm running an arb rear and it looks awesome.

 

Yes buy a carrier.

Mine cracked and nearly ruined my tailgate with a 33" tire. Get an upgrade as soon as funds allow.

 

First Jeep? You might do some research on tire and wheel sizes and why most experienced Jeepers choose narrower wheels and smaller rims. If you had a shop make the lift recommendation, I'll bet they talked you into four inches, too, huh? Again, more research if that's the case. Bear this in mind, though: It's a Jeep. Not a pickup truck.

As for tire carrier: Eventually you'll need a proper, bumper-mounted carrier. Otherwise you'll tear up the tailgate hinges over time.

 

What Mark said ^^ also, my factory spare carrier cracked with the factory wheel and tire! They are junk. When mine broke, I couldn't afford a brand new aftermarket carrier so I just strapped the spare in the cargo area. Later, I got OR Fab's Swing-Away Tire Carrier with the Gerry can option. Installation was a PITA but I would probably do it again just because of how much I love the darned thing.




Also, I think it looks pretty cool without the spare

 

haha only planning on doing a 2.5" lift.. Thanks for the help everyone. Had the vehicle for two weeks now and the itch to make it half as cool as of some of yours keeps me all night on this forum.

Anyone got any other recommendations?

 

Do this mod correctly and do 5th wheel carrier together with the 35" upgrade.
IMHO, Why risk damage by being hasty.
As for which carrier upgrade...
That's all a matter of preference.

I'm partial to the TF carrier as it's pretty close to stock-OEM.

 

Is it necessary to buy the extra adjustable tire mounting kit to fit a 33 or 35 tire with the standard TF carrrier? or that's mostly needed for a 37 ?
I have a 285/70/17 tire as a spare at the moment , 58lbs tire + 25lbs on the wheel, so that should be 83lbs mounted in the stock carrier, nothing is rattling at the moment, and nothing has cracked in 3 months since the change, but if people have broken the carrier with stock spare (i'm assuming Sahara/Rubicon, i think with the Sahara wheels/tire the weight is 72lbs for the spare carrier,i i figured 10lbs more wouldn't hurt), makes me wonder whether or not to make the investment, damn it this was another reason for me not do to 35's

 

You could always ditch the stock carrier, get a tramp stamp, and throw the spare in the back and/ or get a good tire repair kit. I did that for a year and thought it looked pretty good