Offroadmuch
Explorer
As the Gen 3 crowd knows there is no room for a larger spare due to the space at the bottom near the bumper. To make room for my upcoming larger tire purchase I wanted to be ready when I get my tires installed.
I like to keep things simple and cheap but still completely functional. I started by buying some 1"x0.5"X12" steel bar stock from the local metal supply store. It was less than $5.00 taken out of the scrap pile. I chose two steel bars instead of a 1/2" plate since that would weight about 10-15 pounds and the bars weigh about 1 pound total... I also purchased some 12mm bolts to be used to bolt the steel bars onto the spare tire holder, using the existing lug bolt holes. Then I got a high quality drill bit that was compatible with the tap to thread the new holes that I would drill in the steel which would be used to raise the tire position and allow the use of the existing factory lug bolts (one of which is the factory locking lug for added security.) I could have skipped the special drill bit since the steel was just plain cold rolled steel and relatively soft. I did not realize how easy it was going to be to threat the holes and I wanted to only do this project one time so I spent a little extra money. The tap was also pretty high quality and probably worth the $13.00 dollars. So I measured the lug spacing and drilled some holes and then threaded the ones that would be used to hold the wheel. I then cut off the spare tire hanger bar that is welded on to the spare tire hump. This was done with a hand held circular saw and a basic asphalt blade. That could have been done with a hack saw just as easily. Then I mounted the two bars on and made sure they lined up with the lugs on my spare, securing them with the two 12mm bolts and a large glob of Loc-tite for each one. So just in case it is hard to follow so far, what I did was move the spare tire holes up about 2-3".
I attached some pics. This gave me the added space for a new larger spare. No welding and took about two hours including shopping for supplies and fab work in the garage.
I like to keep things simple and cheap but still completely functional. I started by buying some 1"x0.5"X12" steel bar stock from the local metal supply store. It was less than $5.00 taken out of the scrap pile. I chose two steel bars instead of a 1/2" plate since that would weight about 10-15 pounds and the bars weigh about 1 pound total... I also purchased some 12mm bolts to be used to bolt the steel bars onto the spare tire holder, using the existing lug bolt holes. Then I got a high quality drill bit that was compatible with the tap to thread the new holes that I would drill in the steel which would be used to raise the tire position and allow the use of the existing factory lug bolts (one of which is the factory locking lug for added security.) I could have skipped the special drill bit since the steel was just plain cold rolled steel and relatively soft. I did not realize how easy it was going to be to threat the holes and I wanted to only do this project one time so I spent a little extra money. The tap was also pretty high quality and probably worth the $13.00 dollars. So I measured the lug spacing and drilled some holes and then threaded the ones that would be used to hold the wheel. I then cut off the spare tire hanger bar that is welded on to the spare tire hump. This was done with a hand held circular saw and a basic asphalt blade. That could have been done with a hack saw just as easily. Then I mounted the two bars on and made sure they lined up with the lugs on my spare, securing them with the two 12mm bolts and a large glob of Loc-tite for each one. So just in case it is hard to follow so far, what I did was move the spare tire holes up about 2-3".
I attached some pics. This gave me the added space for a new larger spare. No welding and took about two hours including shopping for supplies and fab work in the garage.
