Tire carrier for better visibility?

imactj2004

imactj2004

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I’ve got 33” tires and my spare currently mounts to the Smitty split carrier/bumper; which I really dont care for. Really want something that can drop that tire by at least 2” for better rear-view visibility. (This is mostly a daily driver.) Anyone have recommendations?

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A welder. Most carriers are going to sit high for various reasons of clearance and the need for one size fits all versatility.
 
Something like the Terraflex might work for you, but you also need a bumper that allows for the tire to drop lower.

EDIT: The rugged ridge is pretty similar to the Teraflex. You might need a different bumper for a 33. I'm not sure.
 
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imactj2004 said:
I’ve got 33” tires and my spare currently mounts to the Smitty split carrier/bumper; which I really dont care for. Really want something that can drop that tire by at least 2” for better rear-view visibility. (This is mostly a daily driver.) Anyone have recommendations?

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As jjvw mentioned, modifying your existing carrier would be the cheapest by having someone cut and re-weld the wheel mounting plate, dropping it the 2" you want.
Another option is an Exogate tire carrier but not sure where the height would end up. I mention it because it's just over three hundred bucks and may be another cheap option.
 
I just installed a morryde gate and a heavily modified rugged ridge carrier. My 33 spare is barely visible above the gate. I used to have the smittybilt SRC gate and hated it.

If you mean bay area in CA there's a chance I can just physically show you. But it's great and the first bit took getting used to. I kept thinking I didn't have my spare.

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LittleTankTJ said:
I just installed a morryde gate and a heavily modified rugged ridge carrier. My 33 spare is barely visible above the gate. I used to have the smittybilt SRC gate and hated it.

If you mean bay area in CA there's a chance I can just physically show you. But it's great and the first bit took getting used to. I kept thinking I didn't have my spare.

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thx! define “heavily modified”? If I understand, you’ve got morryade hinges but a rugged ridge holder. why the combo instead of RR for both?
 
imactj2004 said:
thx! define “heavily modified”? If I understand, you’ve got morryade hinges but a rugged ridge holder. why the combo instead of RR for both?
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I like the morryde better. The stock tire mount is long gone from the previous owner.

Heavily modified as in it mounts about 3 inches closer and 3/4 of an inch lower than the base RR carrier. It's mostly just cut up and new bolt holes to get everything playing nice.
 
Whatever you do will be limited by your bumper. If you move the tire out, to miss the bumper, you put more leverage on whatever is holding the tire.
 
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I've thought about mounting my rear spare at an angle...would let me put a basket on top for my 28" chainsaw, gas and water jugs.

Wouldn't take too much work with my squirt gun...but I think I would want to TIG it out of aluminum to save weight.

For now I'm looking for a 4 camera screen/DVR system. Something at least 1080P but 4k would be better... replace the rear view mirror with a screen. High resolution and recording for YouTube footage.

-Mac
 
flyinfish said:
As jjvw mentioned, modifying your existing carrier would be the cheapest by having someone cut and re-weld the wheel mounting plate, dropping it the 2" you want.
Another option is an Exogate tire carrier but not sure where the height would end up. I mention it because it's just over three hundred bucks and may be another cheap option.
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The exogate out of the box puts the tire mount either the same height as stock or about an inch higher (and further out). I modified mine to sit higher without the extra projection.
 
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jjvw said:
The exogate out of the box puts the tire mount either the same height as stock or about an inch higher (and further out). I modified mine to sit higher without the extra projection.
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Is that by using the bracket they make you can use on the Morryde or did you fab it yourself?
I saw the bracket Chris used and it got the tire up nice and close.
 
flyinfish said:
Is that by using the bracket they make you can use on the Morryde or did you fab it yourself?
I saw the bracket Chris used and it got the tire up nice and close.
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I cut and moved the mounting tabs around on my stock mount. I think it sits about 2" higher and a 35x12.5 tire is squished hard against the stock snubbers with no extension.
 
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jjvw said:
I cut and moved the mounting tabs around on my stock mount. I think it sits about 2" higher and a 35x12.5 tire is squished hard against the stock snubbers with no extension.
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I'll have to look at the mounts someone local to me has modified. Though I got to say, I can see well as mine sits with the 35" tyre on it. Only problem is when someone tailgates me. Hard to see them that close.

I like the idea of the tyre sitting tighter to the gate for clearance reasons and using no extensions.
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RINC said:
I'll have to look at the mounts someone local to me has modified. Though I got to say, I can see well as mine sits with the 35" tyre on it. Only problem is when someone tailgates me. Hard to see them that close.

I like the idea of the tyre sitting tighter to the gate for clearance reasons and using no extensions.
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I did it purely for the clearance because I was dragging the tire more than was necessary.
 
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My spare is only a 32 but it is mounted low and close, as are the Rotopax. I did this purposely for good visibility.This might not be good for rock crawling but I don’t do that.

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