Purchase advice on rear tailgate tire carrier

[NewHavenStyle]

I have one from Wilco that mounts on the hitch. Heavy but worked well on our trip to AK in my truck camper when I carried two spares.

https://wilcooffroad.com/collections/hitchgates/products/hitchgate™-offset

any rattling, noise, clunkiness?

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[smlobx]

^^^
Nope. It has a wedge style device that snugs the male part of the hitch into the receiver.

 

[NewHavenStyle]

^^^
Nope. It has a wedge style device that snugs the male part of the hitch into the receiver.

interesting

 

[Warandpeace]

I just bought a 25 Rubicon and miss the look of the old rear tire so I want to get some options on what works best. I realize the backup camera is the issue so trying to find a solution that the camera will work with or I would need to purchase a camera extension cable of sorts. Thank you.

Saw this on the FB Marketplace out here
https://www.facebook.com/share/16hRskRpai/

 

[Brucewillys]

I just bought a 25 Rubicon and miss the look of the old rear tire so I want to get some options on what works best. I realize the backup camera is the issue so trying to find a solution that the camera will work with or I would need to purchase a camera extension cable of sorts. Thank you.

I put mine in the bed, I just didn't want all that weight hanging off the rear. Left a decently usable amount of space in the bed still. Rugged ridge.

 

[Sweetums]

I just bought a 25 Rubicon and miss the look of the old rear tire so I want to get some options on what works best. I realize the backup camera is the issue so trying to find a solution that the camera will work with or I would need to purchase a camera extension cable of sorts. Thank you.

Could I ask why you want to put the spare back there? As you said, it's not as simple as bolting the tire to the back if you want to keep the reversing camera (which you probably do since the spare will block more of your view). You can fit up to a 37" in the stock location under the bed, which gets the weight closer to the axle and will preserve handling compared to hanging it off the back.

Adding a tire swing to the back also makes it harder to do truck-things - you can't carry longer loads with the tailgate open and getting into the tailgate is no longer a one-hand operation. That's not to say there aren't uses for the tire on the back; an overland build where the old spare tire space is an aux fuel tank or water tank would make sense. I could also see adding a second spare if you are kitting up for an expedition type trip. I'm just curious why move the spare at all in your case?

 

[NewHavenStyle]

Could I ask why you want to put the spare back there? As you said, it's not as simple as bolting the tire to the back if you want to keep the reversing camera (which you probably do since the spare will block more of your view). You can fit up to a 37" in the stock location under the bed, which gets the weight closer to the axle and will preserve handling compared to hanging it off the back.

Adding a tire swing to the back also makes it harder to do truck-things - you can't carry longer loads with the tailgate open and getting into the tailgate is no longer a one-hand operation. That's not to say there aren't uses for the tire on the back; an overland build where the old spare tire space is an aux fuel tank or water tank would make sense. I could also see adding a second spare if you are kitting up for an expedition type trip. I'm just curious why move the spare at all in your case?

Simple answer, I like the look of the classic Jeep with spare tire carrier. This is not a logical or technical truck for me. I'll put my black lab in the back, take the top down and enjoy the ride.

I'm really not an off road guy only because I simply don't have the time to get into it. Like most, I have a crazy busy life. I also have a Toyota Tundra Pro so this truck is just something fun and something I've wanted for a while.

 

[Sweetums]

Simple answer, I like the look of the classic Jeep with spare tire carrier. This is not a logical or technical truck for me. I'll put my black lab in the back, take the top down and enjoy the ride.

I'm really not an off road guy only because I simply don't have the time to get into it. Like most, I have a crazy busy life. I also have a Toyota Tundra Pro so this truck is just something fun and something I've wanted for a while.

"Because I think it's cool" is always a valid response. I just wanted to articulate some thoughts about the impact on utility.

 

[Thunderspud]

Not on the Gladiator, but I ended up just fabricating one utilizing the hitch on our Grand Cherokee years ago. I wanted to be able to also haul our offroad trailers, and I didn't trust the only aftermarket option I could find at the time, so out came the welder and some mild steel tube. It's still on there today, and has hauled trailers all over the country in about every environment possible while in a Grand Cherokee.

 

[NewHavenStyle]

Not on the Gladiator, but I ended up just fabricating one utilizing the hitch on our Grand Cherokee years ago. I wanted to be able to also haul our offroad trailers, and I didn't trust the only aftermarket option I could find at the time, so out came the welder and some mild steel tube. It's still on there today, and has hauled trailers all over the country in about every environment possible while in a Grand Cherokee.

Love it, and that attaches to the factory hitch?

 

[Thunderspud]

Love it, and that attaches to the factory hitch?

Yeah, it's essentially a hitch extender with extra bits welded to it. The hinge is just a 1" Grade 8 bolt in a bronze bushing from McMaster. No need for grease, no room for sand....mainly because I hated maintaining spindle type hinges on other projects. Double shear, of course. The rest is mostly 1/8" wall, 3"x2" mild steel tube, and an extra 2" receiver I had lying around. The part that holds the wheel itself is angled and adjustable so the tire sits nice and tucked away near the rear hatch.

Point being, other than a few minutes with a grinder and a cutoff wheel/flap disk, it's almost completely stuff you can just buy off the shelf from the local trailer supply and weld together. The word "fabricate" is being used pretty loosely in the initial post I suppose, lmao.

Other than a little looseness it has been just about perfect for its intended usage, which was to clean up the under cargo area space inside the Jeep for other things. The looseness was eventually solved with an anti-rattle device (can't recall the exact version) but I do recall having to look pretty hard for one that was worth a damn.

 

[mtudb24]

Not on the Gladiator, but I ended up just fabricating one utilizing the hitch on our Grand Cherokee years ago. I wanted to be able to also haul our offroad trailers, and I didn't trust the only aftermarket option I could find at the time, so out came the welder and some mild steel tube. It's still on there today, and has hauled trailers all over the country in about every environment possible while in a Grand Cherokee.

Very nice indeed. I like the angle to match the body lines.

I had done something similar on a 2014 Cherokee trailhawk way back when. Too big to fit in the spare tire well in the trunk. Too heavy of a tire and wheel to lift on and off the roof basket.

It wasn't by far the prettiest thing but it was functional. The 2x I towed a trailer a year, I just put the tire in the trunk

 

[Thunderspud]

Very nice indeed. I like the angle to match the body lines.

I had done something similar on a 2014 Cherokee trailhawk way back when. Too big to fit in the spare tire well in the trunk. Too heavy of a tire and wheel to lift on and off the roof basket.

It wasn't by far the prettiest thing but it was functional. The 2x I towed a trailer a year, I just put the tire in the trunk

Yeah, I really liked the fold down design when I started the project, especially since our Grand Cherokee still had the flip up rear glass. I just couldn't figure out how to (safely) solve for also needing to haul the off-road trailers at the same time. I have been told that the one I ended up building looks great, but I'm not lying when I say it was designed with zero consideration for aesthetics. That was a straight up accident. I just wanted it to be indestructible.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Tell us you don't wheel it without telling us you don't wheel it. The biggest drawback of the JT on the trails is the long ass rear overhang and terrible departure angle. But I guess I could sirens a bunch of money to make it far worse for the "look"? How well do these $2500 contraptions hold up when I drop the full weight if the rig on the spare hanging off the back when I come off a ledge?

 

[Thunderspud]

Tell us you don't wheel it without telling us you don't wheel it. The biggest drawback of the JT on the trails is the long ass rear overhang and terrible departure angle. But I guess I could sirens a bunch of money to make it far worse for the "look"? How well do these $2500 contraptions hold up when I drop the full weight if the rig on the spare hanging off the back when I come off a ledge?

How bout let people do what they want with their own vehicles? Go drive yours the way you want, I promise we don't care.

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