Topic: Rear bumper... Tire carrier or no?

[LupinOne]

So I'm still mulling over dropping money on a new bumper for my X.  The more I read, the more my eyes glaze over but for the front it would seem shrock is the way to go.  Looking at the rear installs, I'm torn between moving the spare and leaving well enough alone.  Being that I use my X as a daily driver, the loss of visual field is of mild concern.

I'd appreciate some thoughts on those who have done the rear with and without moving the spare.  Is there a marked advantage to moving the spare?  What about the potential for the spare to be deflected into the back hatch/window?

Thanks...

[SoCalXTerry]

Well Sir,

I haven't moved the spare for several reasons:
1. Visibility out of the rear.  I've noticed that some fabricators move the spare up and down to minimize that issue.
2. The X is bad enough to get into the rear because of the full length hatch but to add a spare tire to move every time I want in the back just seems problematic for me.
3.  Yes I have seen instances where when going up a steep incline/rock where the rig is resting on the spare tire.   One time the window was broken.  I suppose it would all matter on how strong the spare tire mount is.
4.  One pro for the spare tire on the bumper is in cases where you NEED to get to that spare it is a whole lot easier on rather than under the bumper.  I recently broke a valve stem on a tire and had to change during a 4 day overland trip.  Well I had to virtually unload my rig to get to the damn tools under the passenger seat to get the "tire down".   A total pain in the A$$. 

[Toro]

I had a Hefty w/o carrier and now a Shrock w/ carrier. My experiences may be specific to that bumper on my rig.
   The Hefty.
        It was a very nice bumper and was a pain to install. The tolerance were very tight. There was also a small gap between the bumper and the lower part of the hatch. The one thing that made me change, was that I couldn't fit a 33" spare under the truck. There wasnt enough room between the bumper and the diff. Because of this I was forced to carry a 31" spare. Then I body lifted and raised the bumper. This caused a miss alignment of the drop chain and I could no longer lower the spare. Game over.
     The Shrock
          Went on smooth and had no gap. Tire carrier takes a bit of visibility away but the tire sits low so it's not that bad. The tough thing is having to open the guy every time you need to get into the back. There have been a few times in a crowded parking lot where opening it was not possible.
       All in all, the tire carrier is the way to go.

[Toro]

Oh yeah. Spare tires under the truck have been known to keep shakle bolts from falling out and causing catastrophic accidents.

[Adio.]

If you feel it takes away too much vision then you could always take off the tire carrier and keep your spare underneath your bumper and then put the tire carrier on for off roading.

[0317]

+ 1 for tire carrier. That way you have room underneath for this:

Rear bumper... Tire carrier or no?

[LupinOne]

That.....that's just....evil..... I love it.... Also... that is entirely too clean... you need to go find a mud puddle....

Rear bumper... Tire carrier or no?

[0317]

Pfft.... I wish I had that setup under mine.

[SoCalXTerry]

Oh yeah. Spare tires under the truck have been known to keep shakle bolts from falling out and causing catastrophic accidents.

YEAH!!!!!   What he said.  And dats da truuf.

[Toro]

Keep talking about and were going to have to build it!

+ 1 for tire carrier. That way you have room underneath for this:

Rear bumper... Tire carrier or no?

[0317]

Toro, we are going to build it, almost have all the funds.

[GreenGoon]

That's actually what I was planning on doing for air once I got my tire carrier.

[0317]

That's actually what I was planning on doing for air once I got my tire carrier.

Cool, we can have an OBA mod day