Strength of Gen 3 stock spare tire mount

[offthepath]

Hey guys,
On my Gen 3 I'm running 33in tires. I am currently building a custom rear plate bumper and I'm considering running a spare tire swing out vs keeping the tire on the door. If I keep the tire on the door, I will also mount a 5g rotopax fuel tank and a trasharoo bag to the spare tire when on long trips. Figure anywhere from 15-50 extra pounds depending on where we are going. So the question is, has anyone ever seen any failures or problems with the door from mounting extra weight in the stock location?

I'd really prefer not to have a separate swing out because this is my wife's daily driver. I think dealing with a heavy tire swing may get old, especially with opening it daily to load groceries, kids stuff, dogs etc.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

With just the tire you are fine, but I would not add 5 gallons of gas at 6.4 pounds per gallon to the door. Not only will you have vertical dead weight but horizontal weight every time that gas sloshes side to side, the shearing forces it puts on those hinges is not good.

 

[offthepath]

With just the tire you are fine, but I would not add 5 gallons of gas at 6.4 pounds per gallon to the door. Not only will you have vertical dead weight but horizontal weight every time that gas sloshes side to side, the shearing forces it puts on those hinges is not good.

Have you seen a failure?

I have no evidence, but I believe the door its-self will support the weight just fine. I say this because when closed, the door sits inside the frame. So it is supported by the hinges, latches, but also the door frame. That's why I'm looking to hear what kind of weight people have carried and if they had any issues.

I have run the gas can several times with a 31.5in spare without problems, but never with the bigger 33s plus the trasharoo.........

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Have you seen a failure?

I have no evidence, but I believe the door its-self will support the weight just fine. I say this because when closed, the door sits inside the frame. So it is supported by the hinges, latches, but also the door frame. That's why I'm looking to hear what kind of weight people have carried and if they had any issues.

I have run the gas can several times with a 31.5in spare without problems, but never with the bigger 33s plus the trasharoo.........

Use your best common sense, if you have the funds to add the swing out then do it and simply not worry about it.

 

[zerodrift]

We have a factory sized spare on our Gen3 and have hauled around a Trash-a-roo filled with trash and as much fire wood as we could stuff in it without any issues. We've done many trips like this without any issue. I would suspect you will be fine given the strength of the factory hardware. The stress when closed will be shared with the hinge and striker mechanism.

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[plh]

We have a factory sized spare on our Gen3 and have hauled around a Trash-a-roo filled with trash and as much fire wood as we could stuff in it without any issues. We've done many trips like this without any issue.

Same here. ^^^ I've recently upgraded my spare to match the other 285's on the truck with a small riser added to clear the bumper. Will be testing that with the Trash-a-roo this summer.

 

[Tliska10]

I'll be definitely interested in that

 

[nwoods]

The hinges on my Gen 3 are a lot smaller and lighter duty looking than the hinges on my Gen 2.5, and I sheared one of those with a 33" spare on the door....

 

[Inyo_man]

My Gen. III's rear door carries the spare (265/75/16), jerry can, and trasharoo.
I have yet to have any failure in the door mechanisms.
(When the gas can is full, I empty it into the tank at the earliest opportunity).

 

[zerodrift]

Must admit I'm curious as to the ultimate strength of these door hinges as I'm making a jerry can mount for my Gen 2.5 and likely another mount for our Gen 3. I'm going to continue to lighten up the supports as much a possible without critically weakening the structure. I'm swapping out the hardware for some grade 10.9 bolts and some nordlock washers to give this assembly a fighting chance.

 

[offthepath]

Thanks for the replies, you guys gave me plenty to think about.

Nice work zerodrift!

 

[zerodrift]

Thanks!

Quick update- I've begun testing of the setup on the car before the design is finalized and I send it off to get powder coated. With the tire on the mount- the weight is apparent on the hinges. I recon it would be fine when not fully loaded, but with a full load and a rough road and many cycles on the hinges I would suspect a higher rate of wear.

As I'm going to run the setup regardless- I'll be drilling many holes in non critical areas to lighten the structure further. To test the static capacity of the setup- I was able to put my full weight on the basket near the jerry can mount and there was little to no deflection there. This pleases me.

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[Salonika]

Where are all you people with jerry cans going anyway? What trails require an extra 5 gallons of gas to make it out? The only place I’ve ever been with my truck where it was possibly a thought was Utah, and that jerry can spot would have been carrying a water jug not gasoline!

 

[zerodrift]

Where are all you people with jerry cans going anyway? What trails require an extra 5 gallons of gas to make it out? The only place I’ve ever been with my truck where it was possibly a thought was Utah, and that jerry can spot would have been carrying a water jug not gasoline!

We were planning a trip to the Maze District of Canyonlands- but that is getting delayed till later due to high odds of bad weather. We've had need of it when traveling around the Alpine loop in Colorado. Skipped a few trails that we planned and arrived at Lake City on fumes. Would have helped then.

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[Inyo_man]

[QUOTE="Salonika, post: 258493 jerry cans going anyway? What trails require an extra 5 gallons of gas to make it out? [/QUOTE]

I enjoy staying in the back-country for days on end... With an extra can of fuel I'm able to explore more tracks and plan fewer stops at fuel stations throughout the trip. I also travel with a couple of fellas that run long-range fuel cells, so this keeps everyone on a similar "fill-up" schedule throughout the trip. I've also seen a fuel cell "spring a leak" in the back-country, having fuel to "lend" to a friend is not bad either.