I finally completed the rear tire carrier for my LR3. The carrier started as a partially finished unit from 05lr3guy on lrrforums (who was attempting to produce 20 of these). I was lucky enough to pick up the 'test fit' unit the fabrication shop shipped to him for test fitment before they started welding/completing up the other 19. Unfortunately the test unit they sent wasn't a perfect fit and needed quite a bit more work, which led the fabrication shop and 05lr3guy to part ways. Since 05lr3guy still had the prototype he built for himself, he offered up to sell the "test fit" unit to me since I was willing to take on the task, with my buddy's help, to complete it. The carrier needed roughly 12 hours of additional work to it for fitment...drilling, welding, grinding, cutting, etc, etc, etc. The end result is a beautiful tire carrier! We ended up shortening the arm that extends out the back to tuck the tire up closer to the body from the length 05lr3guy had it in his original design. We also put a slight tilt to it to follow the line of the rear hatch to give it a more OEM look to it. We ended up welding the bracket into place, instead of just bolting it, since we saw a hint of flex in the bracket when the tire swung open since there wasn't a good place to bolt it from the bottom to tie together the far right side of the bracket. The slight flex also produced a hint of creaking too. Welding the bracket into place completely eliminated the flex and creaking and now its solid as heck! Big thanks to 05lr3guy for an awesome design and allowing me the opportunity to complete it. See the pics below.
Carrier when I received it:
Cut to the bumper:
Face of bracket pre-weld:
Top pre-weld showing top plate welded on:
Bottom showing top plate welded on & angle cut and welded cap:
Bottom angle cut and welded cap:
Left top weld to bumper:
Left side weld to bumper:
Right top welds to bumper:
Weld to the right end bottom of the bumper (this was the key weld to make it solid):
Swing Arm out of powder coat:
Completed on the LR3:
Carrier when I received it:
Cut to the bumper:
Face of bracket pre-weld:
Top pre-weld showing top plate welded on:
Bottom showing top plate welded on & angle cut and welded cap:
Bottom angle cut and welded cap:
Left top weld to bumper:
Left side weld to bumper:
Right top welds to bumper:
Weld to the right end bottom of the bumper (this was the key weld to make it solid):
Swing Arm out of powder coat:
Completed on the LR3:
