So I just upgraded to 35's and now am trying to decide what to do with my rear tailgate situation. I am debating between removing tire carrier and putting in the ORFAB trap stamp or Buying one more 35 for the tailgate. I already have an ORFAB rear bumper installed without tire carrier so I won't being buying a new bumper/ tire carrier and don't plan to go larger that 35"s anytime in the near future. So what do you all think? Will the 35 be fine on the stock carrier and not damage my tailgate in the future?, or should I just get the trap stamp and clean up the rear look? I like the way both look, and not to worried about the not having a spare issue, just don't want to damage my tailgate. Let me know what you all think! Thx and heres a pic of my new 35's, just caz we all love pics

 

I've had a 96lb 35" tire/wheel combo on the stock carrier of my 2011 for 3 years with no issues. I did make some extended rubber stops to keep it snug which I believe is necessary to do this successfully. But you say you are perfectly comfortable not running a spare, so why buy another tire and wheel when it's so much cheaper to just run a tramp stamp?

I don't feel comfortable not having a spare so I spent the extra for the 5th tire.

 

I've never needed my spare but I'd feel naked without it. I've seen 35s mounted to the stock carriers last for ages when the tire is isolated well. I've also seen them fail when they weren't. I couldn't get mine to matchup with my tire/wheel combo so I bought the Bestop oversized carrier for $200, Smitty has the same carrier cheaper. I'm currently carrying a 37 on it now. It carried a 35 for two years prior.

 

i have had mine mounted since August 2012 with no issues. It weighs 130 lbs.
Actually, the only issue I have, is my wife seems to think she needs to literally slam the gate shut, every F'n time she is in there.......

 

Like anything else, you'll obviously here all kinds of different opinions on this. I didn't like the idea of having that big spare on the stock tailgate because of the stories I've heard about it failing, so I bought a bumper/tire carrier, but I personally like the look of the matching spare. As someone said though, if you like both looks and aren't worried about not having a spare, why spend the money? I'm sure there are plenty of other places that you can find to spend those few hundred bucks on a matching wheel and tire for the spare!

 

If you go off road, this isn't a "looks" issue. Carry your own spare; don't be that guy who arrives unprepared for the trip. If you don't go off road, no spare will let everyone know.

 

With the roads around here (264 and 64), I would NOT carry that 35 on the gate without some form of support. The large potholes in the road at 70mph with that kind of weight will undoubtedly be hell on the spot welds inside the gate.

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i just lived from SEVA. No issues. Btw, those roads are nicer than many of the mountain roads I hit in CO. Still, no issues. Seems most people ride the rear manger bus as opposed to ACTUALLY experiencing or even knowing someone who has had damage done to this set up. It's always a "I know a guy", who is typically removed a few degrees from the "guy known".

 

I've been running a 35" spare on my stock carrier for the past 5 years. It weights around 115?lbs. After 80k miles, to include lots of off road time (washboards, rutted wadis, 70+mph on dirt roads, some rock crawling, etc): Zero issues or failures

 

Thx for all the input. After reading what you all have had to say I have decided to run the 35" spare. I do plan to go offloading, and as I live in Virginia Beach Ill proboly be having to drive a fair ways away to make it to many off road spots and It would proboly be in my best interest to have a spare just incase. The main reason I didn't really want to do it was to avoid damage to my tailgate, but after reading what everyone said I feel fairly confident that it will be fine as long as I make sure its mounted tight with the bumpstops and dosent rattle around. Thx again and will post some picks when I get it all mounted up