Is the spare tire when mounted to the Lod Generation II rear bumper supposed to be snug against the carrier rack? The reason I ask is that I'm using the factory rubicon wheels with 34" Goodyear MTR's and in order to do so I'm using a spare tire adapter since it doesn't have the proper back spacing. As a result of this there is about an inch of space between the spare tire and the tire carrier rack. I noticed the tire was vibrating a lot at highway speeds and after offroading the adjustable spare holder bolt starts to squeak and gets loose allowing some free play with the spare. I have since tightened this bolt and tried installing some rubber stoppers to hold it snug against the carrier but this has seemed to worsen how badly the entire carrier wobbles when driving at highway speeds. Now instead of just the tire vibrating badly the whole rack vibrates with it.

What should I do? I'm just afraid that the continued wobbling will eventually tear the carrier or apart.

 

Your tire needs to butt up tight against the carrier. If not, it will rattle, shake and could eventually do damage.

Do you have the coupler for the tire bolted into the hole closest to the carrier? I think there are 3 holes.

If so, I would contact LoD and see if they can make a new coupling for you so you can get the tire tight against the carrier.

 

pkess3>

I had the same problem as you... and I also didn't like that you only had three connecting bolts with the frame of the tire carrier.

So what I did is I had a shop fabricate me an extension that will be a correct fit. No more vibrations whatsoever. And I even had them make a square that will take advange of the four holes that are available in the back...

Do you want some pics about this?

Hans

 

Pics are always good!

So it sounds like I need to have it snug against the carrier somehow. Would drilling a new hole in the part that extends out from the carrier be an option? A hole that would allow a factory wheel with the adaptor to be snug? The only thing I don't like about this is that to access the hi-lift jack I will have to take off the spare tire. Does anyone find this to be an issue or know of a way to work around it? Or am I being too picky and should just be happy that you can mount a hi-lift period?

 

#1 rule for offroad parts, almost everything is supposed to be a snug fit, or else you'll lose it on the trail and/or be annoyed by the rattling noises. I learned this the hard way with my carrier, took forever to get it right but im glad i did.

 

Wait, what? The LOD tire carrier doesn't work with stock wheels? I didn't realize that...I am supposed to get mine any day now but it'll probably be a few months before I get wheels and tires.

How are all the people using stock wheels with larger tires dealing with this?

 

Are you running stock tire size? If so you'll be fine. The issue comes up when you've got a larger tire and stock wheel. I'm running 34's with my stock Rubicon wheels. I had to have an adapter for it to work with my factory tire carrier so I've had the adapter for a while.

 

I mounted the two L shaped brackets so that the tire snugs up against them. I don't think it actually hits the carrier itself. I also welded the mounting bracket instead of that litlle bolt they give you to hold it together. Mine does not rattle or anything.

 

The tire has to be mounted so that when you tighten down the lug nuts it pulls the tire itself against the tire carrier making the tire very tight. Never mount the tire so that it is hanging out there by itself or every bump you hit will cause the tire to vibrate. This is why Chrysler put the isolators on the back of the door, so that it keeps the tire from vibrating. Below is a pic of the L-Brackets that make contact with the factory rubber isolators and how they should be bolted and adjusted. Give us a call with any questions.

LoD

 

Were those "L brackets" supposed to be included with the 1st generation rear bumper, because I've never seen those before!
Looks like it would eliminate the slight vibrations mine has at hwy speed.