Hitch mounted spare tire carrier
My buddy with the Denali took his spare tire off to make room for 5 airhorns, 2gal air tank and a compressor, truck sounds cool but he now does not have a spare and on top of that his back area is filled with so much junk that he doesn't have any room for a spare tire. When we went on one of our trips he wanted to bring a spare tire but did not want to put it on the roof or clear out his trunk area for it. Spending $1,000 on a built spare tire carrier that would be used temporarily was not an option so I built this hitch mounted spare tire carrier for him.
Rear view, it blocks the license plate a little but after two long trips we did not have any issues with law enforcement.
Another angle.
Curt 31006 hitch mounted spare tire carrier $80
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Curt-31006...ash=item5d405a8d0c:g:CTkAAOSwOA1aDYJr&vxp=mtr
Folding hitch shank adapter $30
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DEAL-500LB...ash=item2a70332223:g:iTwAAOSw-kdXz3Mt&vxp=mtr
Hitch anti-rattle bracket: $10
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hitch-Tigh...ash=item212d97e663:g:7QwAAOSwRkRZwOdL&vxp=mtr
Curt anti rattle pin kit 22321: $11
https://www.ebay.com/itm/CURT-22321...391367289097?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10
I cut the horizontal arm of the tire carrier off, inserted it into the vertical arm of the folding shank and bolted everything together. Anti-rattle pin and anti-rattle bracket in the shank to receiver connection. I cut approximately 1/2" on passenger side of the tilting mechanism to allow movement without removing the tire as well as a resting place for the bolt so the tire can tilt out of the way. And welded a nut on the front area for a tension bolt to screw in to keep the vertical tire carrier arm under tension. Finally I used an old 2" wheel spacer bolted to the curt 31006 with 3 bolts to offset the wheel enough to clear the truck lift gate.
Side view in locked position
Side view in open position.
Side view with tailgate open to show clearance.
We put my 35" spare which weighs about 100lbs on it and I carried the little 33" spare. two trips and nearly 1,000 miles, 300+ in the dirt the carrier worked flawlessly. $130 and an hour of grinding cutting, bolting and welding got me a great light weight carrier that anyone can make and can easily be removed when not in use.