Written by: Mark Turnbull
There are a few things that you will do to your Jeep that will breed the need for additional upgrades. Going to a bigger more aggressive tire is one for sure. The question you have to ask yourself is where do you mount that full size spare? Not on the back door! The Jeep rear door is only designed to hold the weight of stock spare and maybe a few pounds more. You will eventually break the hinges and the locking mechanism, trust me! You need to move the weight from the door to the frame or rear cross member of your vehicle. See what I mean by upgrades breeding the need for additional upgrades. After shopping around you will find that tire carriers are not cheap! Most sell on average for about $700, Some sell for as much as a $1000! JP magazine recently featured several swing out tire carriers, all of them had pros and cons. In my opinion they missed the best bumper and value on the market. Here's why:
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Price: After an exhaustive search we found a great after market bumper/ tire carrier for under $500! Nope, not a typo, read on! Quality: The craftsmanship is clean, seamless and 5 star. The finish is awesome. The materials used to make this bumper, beefy! Function: It works exactly as it's suppose to with room for so much more! It is light, tight and it functions so smoothly! Design: The bumper itself is very well thought out. It's not square and boring. The swing out spindle design is brilliant, the latch mechanism is mounted just like it should be! Customer Service: For me this is a biggy! All the previous qualifications aside, if something breaks or needs replacing or an upgrade needs an upgrade, you want someone who will take care of you right the first time! Their attention to detail is second to none. The Ryan's Fab motto: "We can custom build almost anything and will customize any of the products we make." |
Here are some pictures:
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The swivel starts out as a 1 1/4 steel trailer axle. Welded through top and bottom for maximum strength. |
Inside the swivel are trailer bearings and pressed in bearing races. If it will hold the weight of a trailer and then some, it will hold up a tire with out breaking a sweat! |
The swivel is topped off with a cap. A zerc fitting is added so you can keep it greased. |
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The d-rings or clevis mounts are made of 1 inch CNC machined steel and welded on both sides. |
The latch closes and locks from the rear making it super strong! |
You can have yours custom, with or without the two inch receiver. |
We were told the welds are so good that you could tap this bumper and use it to store compressed air! |
The bumper itself (which can be purchased separately) is made from 1/8 inch (3X4X11 gauge) square tubing. |
Ryan's recommends 1/2 X 1 1/5 grade 5 bolts (not included). The holes in your rear cross member are just a hair small, you can open them in minutes with a file. |
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You can see, if you look real hard, the welds on the backside for the d-ring tabs and receiver. Also notice the zerc fitting on the rear of the swivel to keep it out of harms way. |
The swing out is made with 2X2 square tubing, 1/8 in thick. If you want something added like an antennae tab or Hi-lift mount let them know when you place your order. |
Good times!
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Bumpers, rock sliders, tire carriers...all made to order. |
Sam ( blue shirt ) and Joey installing our bumper.
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clean and organized!
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Conclusion: This bumper/ tire carrier is made as well as if not better than any other bumper/ tire carrier on the market and costs less!
(1995 YJ)
Update: (07/07/07) It
has been a while and many off roading trips since this write up and we
have had no problems!
We have no weird noises to report and in
fact it is as tight as the day it was installed. Our only recommendation
would be a frame tie in. Other than that "zero" complaints!
