32's too heavy for the tailgate?

[ezwrangler]

I just put some 32's on my 94YJ and they look great. I have 5 so I was going to put the 5th on the tailgate. I know it wont fit the stock bracket, so i was considering geting the extender. However, after mounting these tires on all four wheels i realied how much heavier than the stock wheels these are... So, even if i get the extender to fit the spare on the tailgate, will it be too heavy? I dont want to pull the hinges off.

If any of you have experience with this, I'd appreciate your thoughts...

I also know I can get the bumper-mounted spare tire rack, and I'll consider that if i have too (i.e. if the tailgate cant handle the 32's).

Thanks

[mud4feet]

Don't have experience with 32's, but we have a 31 spare mounted on the tailgail of mudwoman's YJ. No problem with the hinges. I can't imagine the 32 is THAT much more mass (weight) than a 31. I'm thinkin' your main problem will be figurin' out how to mount it. Personally, I like those bumper mounted racks (except for the price!!!). I'd go for mounting it as-is and watch for signs of stress.

[dandoc]

I've heard that 31" is the maximum tire size to put on a YJ tailgate. Anything larger than that and you could be ordering new hinges within a few hundred miles of driving. I also like the look of the bumper mounted tire carriers, but not the price... too much for my bank account!

[ezwrangler]

Thanks DANDOC and MUD4FEET. The price of the bumper-mounted spare carrier is what gives me some pause as well. I think I may try to mount the wheel on the tailgate and watch it closely. Also, I may mount it such that the wheel just rests on the bumper (may be a little tough to close the tailgate), that way taking some of the stress off the hinges...?

Anyway - I appreciate your thoughts!

[redwrangler02]

Hey, I recently bought a full size spare for my TJ... but I've got 33's. Here's what i did with mine and so far. After a few months of dragging the tire around with me i haven't had any problems with it. However, since my shocks are still stock from the stupid previous owner, and until I get them fixed, I rarely do any light wheelin, if at all, so the tire doesn't get jacked around too much. This is NOT a pic of my jeep, it came from ebay, where I got the brackets. I'll try and get some pics of it with my jeep for ya. And I hear ya about the prices for those bumper mounted ones...I would LOVE one, but on my current student budget, I definitely can NOT afford it haha. Sad Days but this works fine for me for the time being.

[redwrangler02]

oh, here's the link if ya want to read about it

eBay Motors: Jeep Spare Tire Carrier 87-06 Wrangler and Rubicon (item 140231739991 end time May-19-08 10:43:46 PDT)

[wm69]

I had a guy make me a bumper with spare carrier. His name is Scott Anderson and he lurks over at CJ-8.com

100_0147 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Here's a pic of one like the one he made me (same bumper, someone else's pics), except he didn't put a receiver hitch on mine; I already had a bolt on ACME hitch so I bolted to the bottom of the bumper.

Stuff is super heavy and prices are right.

Here's the whole thread....

Finally got the bumps installed: Thanks Scott A. - Jeep Scrambler Forums & Discussions

Stuff was a lot heavier/ better built than my buddy's Warn bumpers and cost less than 1/2 of what a Warn bumper/carrier combo costs.

D-ring brackets are welded through on front and back of bumper tube, 1/4" stock used for he bumper tube, receiver hitch option, and the tire carrier is removable (he uses a huge grade 8 bolt as the hinge pin, so if you want to remove the carrier you just pull the nut off and lift it up and off of the bolt/pin).

I had a 32" on my stock CJ7 carrier and it tore the sheet metal where the latch bolts to the body. No way I would put a 32" on a stock YJ carrier. Those extenders put the tire farther from the body so that's going to increase the stress. If you DO decide to go that route, Scott made me an extender for Dad's Scrambler's roll bar spare mount that was equally inexpensive and was good quality stuff.

[Bounty__Hunter]

I've ran 32" and 33" spares on the tailgate and only replaced one pair of hinges. They'll last a long time, and you'll get a rattle before anything breaks so you'll know when to look at replacing them.

You may not need a spacer bracket, try it like it is, and take the rubber bumpers off the tailgate if you need to.

Here's an option for the spare, more affordable than a custom bumper w/swingaway tire carrier: Bestop® Highrock 4x4 Oversize Tire Carrier and Other Jeep Parts and Jeep Accessories by 4 Wheel Drive Hardware

I currently run a 36"x12.5" swamper on my YJ tailgate, we'll see how long it lasts. I had to weld a plate to the carrier and redrill for 6-lug wheels.

[ezwrangler]

Thanks REDWRANGLER02, WM69 AND BOUNTY_HUNTER.

Those are great options. Based on your input, I think i will try to hang the wheel on the tailgate and watch closely. The brackets you mentioned on ebay REDWRANGLER02 look like they would work - and it is a pretty low-cost option. If i had a little more dough to spend on this cash-hog, I'd get the spare tire rack from BESTOP you mention BOUNTY_HUNTER.

Again, thanks for the feed back! I'll let you know how it turns out.

[jeepin916]

i have 33x12.50 on my tailgate, and all i did was extend the light and take off those rubber things on the tailgate made several trips baack and forth from texas to NY and did plenty of wheeling and its still goood.

[jeepster357]

I have a 33"x12.50 sitting on the stock mount right now with no mods, so far no issues have been spotted (exept for the really tight fit) but I do plan on upgrading to a carrier/bumber combo in the future.

[ezwrangler]

Thanks JEEPIN916 and JEEPSTER357. Appreciate the feedback!

I'll let you know how it turns out!

[dandoc]

Something to keep in mind, the TJ tailgate hinges were engineered to be more robust than the YJ tailgate hinges. Therefore, the TJ hinges are able to carry the added weight of larger tires better than the YJ hinges. Either way, ezwrangler, check the hinges and sheet metal every couple hundred miles to make sure there's no damage and that the tailgate swings properly.

[ezwrangler]

Thanks DANDOC! I will keep a close eye on it.

FYI, I did get the spare mounted on the stock mount. I had to shift the tire up about an inch on the mount to get it to clear the bumper, so i had to fabricate a bracket to make it work. It really was very simple (used some plate stock aluminum lying around the garage, drilled a couple holes and clamped the spare down). Also, becaue the backspacing is less on the rockcrawlers than the stock rims, i had to extend the rubber bumpers on the tailgate. I ended up using the ends of rubber mallets ($1.95 each at Wal Mart). Now the tire clamps down onto the rubber bumpers on the tailgate as the rim is tightened down onto the spare tire mount. I think this really adds stability and limits movement of the spare during driving (off roading).

I'll take a couple pictures later this week and share.

[jfrabat]

A good friend of mine runs a '94 YJ Sahara with 33's all around. He's been running around and doing some heavy wheeling down in Panama with the 33 X 12.5 BFG MT on the back for about 2 years now with no issue. The key is to make sure there is no play (meaning that the wheel is held tightly to the tailgate). If you achieve that (you will probably need to adjust the rubbers on the tailgate to achieve this as mentioned already) you should not have any problems. I am planning to put a 33" as well on my '94 YJ based on the fact that I have already seen it work.

[ezwrangler]

Well, thanks to all that contributed! I have attached a few images in an attempt to illustrate what i ended up doing. A brief narrative was provided in my 5-21 post. Hopefully the pictures will clarify that explanation...

[mud4feet]

Looks good!! Just keep an eye on the hinges....I think you'll be fine - depending on what life deals out!!!

Happy trailin'!!!!