I have started working on my first JK build and new tires were among the first set of upgrades I made. I now realize I need a better plan for carrying my spare tire than the standard tailgate mount. The obvious choice is a swing away bumper-mounted tire carrier. In shopping the Internet, I found the DV8 body-mounted tire carrier. I really like the look of it and the reviews look pretty decent, but they don't say how the body contact points hold up over time with all the weight. Does anyone have any thoughts, for or against, this type of tire carrier? I appreciate any comments you can offer.

DV8 Off-Road Wrangler Tire Carrier TCSTTB-01 (07-17 Wrangler JK) - Free Shipping

 

How large of a tire are you going to run? You can get something like the Crawler Concepts or MorRyde for cheaper and there's one less step to get into your tailgate. It doesn't take long before you begin to hate that style and wish you had gone with an integrated carrier.

 

35x12.50

 

I used to have a gen 1 smitty XRC rear bumper with tire carrier where the tire swung separately from the tailgate. It did get a little old opening the swing carrier and then opening the tailgate......ESPECIALLY when someone would accidentally forget to lock the carrier in place!

Out of the various hinge/tailgate carriers, I've only seen the Crawler Conceptz one in person. I was surprised how heavy it was with just a 35" tire on it. I'd imagine the Teraflex, MC, and others add similar resistance to swinging that gate open.

I opted for the clean look and don't even carry a spare around town. I'll take it wheelin, but otherwise it's sitting in the garage.

 

IMO something like that DV8 or the Poison Spyder body mount carrier is a bit overkill for just a 35". Most would run those as they're carrying a tire too large to fit on a tailgate or bumper mounted swing.

 

I recently installed the DV-8 body mounted tire carrier. I picked it up from Extreme Outfitters on sale with a discount for a great price. For me I really liked the look and needed a tire carrier for carrying my 37in spare. It's not a bad carrier but the fit took some work to get just right and it not really setup up to run the stock rim out of the package. But over all I like it although I can see having the extra steps to open an close getting old hopefully eventually it will just become second nature.

 

37*13.5" here and the gate wasn't really much heavier than the stock setup. When you look at adding 110lbs to the gate, it's really not too heavy.

 

If you're mall crawling with that 35 on the stock carrier, it will last quite a while before the spot welds in the back start to bust. Wheeling, you're certainly rolling the dice. Might last 3 years, might last 3 months. Hard to say... I went with a Teraflex hinge and accessory mount and it's been great. Also accommodates up to a 37" spare if your tires grow when the 35's wear out. I'm running a 35 right now, but I see 37's in my future if my tires ever wear out! I like the Teraflex, but truth is anything is going to be better than a stock carrier with the added weight.

 

Karls10 I thought you just moved up to 35's, now you have 37's?

 

Haha, no.....sadly. I had a set of 37's lined up for $1100 or could go back to 35's for $1300. The gas mileage difference pushed me to stick with 35's. They were a better choice for my daily driver.