Experiences with different brands of rear tire carrier.

[fla_cracker]

I'm looking to get a rear bumper with tire carrier for my 2000 Cherokee. The carrier will be holding a 33x10.5 tire. I'm looking for something well built and DOESN'T RATTLE.
I'd like to hear your experiences and suggestions.

Thanks

Cory

 

[RusticonOverland]

Looking into rear tire carriers myself it seems like everything under $1k has some bad reviews or bad customer service or your paying over $1k plus paint shipping and it doesn't look the best... been looking at the Smittybilt XRC cause its cheap has extra mounts and doesn't have super bad reviews

 

[DailyJeep]

I had the Warn tire carrier on my 00 XJ. While I wish it was a little more svelte and matched the body lines of 97+ better, it is super beefy, took a lot of abuse, and never rattled.

That said, if you wheel (think more crawl than forest roads) at all I HIGHLY recommend going above and beyond most manufacturers attachment points. The bumper needs to tie into the unibody rails and if the Jeep sees a lot of use, a nut strip is not sufficient tie-in based on my use. If you hit the bumper on rocks, add additional weight for High Lift/Rotopax, the unibody attachment points will warp, crack, and/or tear. After several years of use, I developed hairline cracks on the vertical attachment points on the outer holes and this eventually even stressed the metal where the nut strips attached into the unibody. My bumper sagged. You can see here where we welded the hairline cracks then welded a spacer onto the the bumper attachment points before re-mounting the bumper. The nut strips were re-used but ideally you would fab/use a better tie in to the unibody rail that fill the entire square hole as to prevent vertical movement, if that makes sense. Some quick googling will show you when I mean as it's documented on other forums.

If the Jeep will only see lighter use then maybe a nut strip is sufficient. I still wouldn't add additional weight to the bumper even if it has provisions for lift/gas cans/etc.

 

[Jeepinaaron]

I have a Rock Hard 4x4 rear bumper with tire carrier for my WJ. I like it alot, no rattles. Easy to use latch, affordable compared to others. But its HEAVY. I had to add 3/4" coil spring spacers to bring mine back up to level.

-Aaron

 

[Cottontail]

If you can find a used swing arm, and know someone that can weld, do a homemade one. I have a Custom 4x4 Fab rear bumper. A buddy gave me an old swing arm from a Detours Tailbone. I took it to a machine shop and they machined a mount and a buddy and I welded it straight to the bumper. I did take a couple Grade 8 bolts through the mount and into the backside of the bumper, but DID NOT reinforce it to the frame in any way. We used the hood latch hook from a Lexus sedan as a hook point for the latch on the arm. Total cost to me was under $60 and that was for the machining. I am carrying a 32" tire on a factory aluminum rim on mine. It's been on the Jeep for about 2 years and had taken the abuse that I've punished the Jeep with a dozen trips to some pretty gnarly trails in the mountains of east Tennessee and southern Kentucky. No fatigue on any of the weld to this day.

I'd ask around on your local boards for anyone that has a swing arm, maybe cruise the junkyards (lots of SUVs used them), or hit up Craigslist.

 

[SilicaRich]

Looking into rear tire carriers myself it seems like everything under $1k has some bad reviews or bad customer service or your paying over $1k plus paint shipping and it doesn't look the best... been looking at the Smittybilt XRC cause its cheap has extra mounts and doesn't have super bad reviews

Wouldn't touch Smittybilt. If anything, they are known for rattling to death after a few months and are known to rust quickly.

I don't know much about XJ bumpers but know JCR makes a quality product and have heard good things about Rock Hard 4x4 bumpers in the past. If it were me, I would find a reputable custom fabricator and have one designed exactly how you want it. You'll end up paying about the same as a quality rear carrier but will fit exactly to your needs

 

[fla_cracker]

Thank you all for your responses. I am looking at the JCR products. A friend has had them also and raves about their stuff. Glad to hear you all like them as well.

Also, I will certainly be looking into beefing up the mounting locations. Thank you for the heads up on that. Once of medicine vs a pound of cure.