Hyline Oversized Tire Mount Compatible With Rugged Ridge Spartacus HD Tailgate Reinforcement?

MikekiM

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I am using the Rugged Ridge Spartacus HD Tire Carrier Casting hinge and am very happy with it. It mates up with a wonky angled RR Spartacus HD Tire Mount that I really dislike. It works great and in tandem with the hinge casting but I don't like the angled presentation and it cantilevers out away from the gate.. Candidly, it looks ridiculous.

I am keeping the hinge casting as it is already installed and has been rock solid for over a year of use, but I want to replace the carrier. Came across the Hyline Oversized Tire Mount in another post and it looks like it might be compatible with the hinge casting. Anyone use the two together?

Does the Hyline require rubber snubbers on the tailgate?
 
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have the same setup and absolutely hate the spare mount. i’ve been tempted to go the morride route and sell the current setup. really wish i knew if any other spare mount would work as the hinge setup is solid. i worry about the spare sitting that far from tailgate.
 
MikekiM:

I can't answer your first question about compatibility with the hinges you have, but I do have the Hyline carrier and use it with the MorRyde kit, so I can answer your last question. The Hyline definitely requires the snubbers, but it needs spacers under them. Without snubbers (or a step on the bumper to stabilize the spare tire, I think any tailgate-mounted tire carrier will leave you with a broken tailgate eventually.
 
Does the Hyline require rubber snubbers on the tailgate?

Any carrier that keeps the tire on the tailgate requires snubbers anywhere they already exist and to keep them tight. The rattling is the main cause for failure aside from leverage just bending things.
 
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MikekiM:

I can't answer your first question about compatibility with the hinges you have, but I do have the Hyline carrier and use it with the MorRyde kit, so I can answer your last question. The Hyline definitely requires the snubbers, but it needs spacers under them. Without snubbers (or a step on the bumper to stabilize the spare tire, I think any tailgate-mounted tire carrier will leave you with a broken tailgate eventually.

this is what i was thinking about trying but, was unsure if the highline was compatible. rugged ridge hinge system is solid, their spare mount not so much.
 
When I was putting together a plan for carrying a spare (I'm currently on metric 33s, but will be soon going to 35s), I scoured the Internet, and the Hyline was the only carrier I could find that kept the tire close enough to the tailgate and vertical so that proper snubbers could be utilized. In fact, I was going to either make my own or modify a stock carrier until I found it. I highly recommend it, assuming it works with your hinges.
 
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have the same setup and absolutely hate the spare mount. i’ve been tempted to go the morride route and sell the current setup. really wish i knew if any other spare mount would work as the hinge setup is solid. i worry about the spare sitting that far from tailgate.
Agreed. Primary motivation for making a change is to get the tire closer.

When I was putting together a plan for carrying a spare (I'm currently on metric 33s, but will be soon going to 35s), I scoured the Internet, and the Hyline was the only carrier I could find that kept the tire close enough to the tailgate and vertical so that proper snubbers could be utilized. In fact, I was going to either make my own or modify a stock carrier until I found it. I highly recommend it, assuming it works with your hinges.
I reached out to Hyline and they shared a customer photo supporting the compatibility of their carrier and the RR hinge system.

20221105_111338.jpg


Still not sold on it though. I have to check out my tailgate to be sure the RR hinge doesn't cover the snubber threaded inserts...
 
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Agreed. Primary motivation for making a change is to get the tire closer.


I reached out to Hyline and they shared a customer photo supporting the compatibility of their carrier and the RR hinge system.

View attachment 380748

Still not sold on it though. I have to check out my tailgate to be sure the RR hinge doesn't cover the snubber threaded inserts...

That carrier looks like one I bought (may have been rugged ridge but looked he same) I brought the tire up but also out quite a bit, so much I was having trouble getting long enough bolt for the snubbers. I went back to a modified stock carrier .
 
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That carrier looks like one I bought (may have been rugged ridge but looked he same) I brought the tire up but also out quite a bit, so much I was having trouble getting long enough bolt for the snubbers. I went back to a modified stock carrier .

The Hyline is not even close to the Rugged Ridge one in terms of distance (or angle) from the tailgate. I remember comparing those in my quest…
 
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The Hyline is not even close to the Rugged Ridge on in terms of distance (or angle) from the tailgate. I remember comparing those in my quest…

The one I bought looked like the one in the picture could of been something else.
 
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That carrier looks like one I bought (may have been rugged ridge but looked he same) I brought the tire up but also out quite a bit, so much I was having trouble getting long enough bolt for the snubbers. I went back to a modified stock carrier .

The Hyline carrier raises the spare up 2". The distance from the tailgate to spare mounting face is a snick over 7".
Visually it is very similar to the Rugged Ridge tire carrier of which there are two versions. The HD version, which I have, is a one piece unit and has the spare mounting face at an angle to the tailgate so no reasonable way to install snubbers, and per RR it isn't meant to use them. I'd have to measure the distance from the tailgate to mounting face for the spare. The second version is the lighter duty two piece carrier. I have no experience with this one.

The Hyline is a single piece like the RR HD, but has welded internal gusset for extra rigidity which the RR lacks. The mounting face has the spare sitting vertically. According to RJ from Hyline support, "I’m confident the bracket is strong enough to withstand the forces without the rubber bumpers if you didn’t add them back in. You should be fine with 33's."

Tire Location Dimensions.jpg
 
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Agreed. Primary motivation for making a change is to get the tire closer.


I reached out to Hyline and they shared a customer photo supporting the compatibility of their carrier and the RR hinge system.

View attachment 380748

Still not sold on it though. I have to check out my tailgate to be sure the RR hinge doesn't cover the snubber threaded inserts...

have looked into the hyline spare mount before but, have wondered about can all the rubber snubbers be used. guess it’s time to get a good look at the tailgate and snubber locations.
 
According to RJ from Hyline support, "I’m confident the bracket is strong enough to withstand the forces without the rubber bumpers if you didn’t add them back in. You should be fine with 33's."

RJ is only evaluating the strength of their bracket in that statement. The big problem with tailgate-mounted larger-than-stock spare tires is not the bracket strength, but the tailgate strength. The purpose of the snubbers is to reduce inertial loads on the tailgate, it's latch, and the hinges. Without the snubbers, every bump you hit, the tire applies a moment (torque) to the tailgate due to the offset of the tire from the tailgate. With snubbers on the tailgate and on the valance below the tailgate, the inertial loading is dramatically reduce because the snubbers add rigidity. There is still loading, but the inertial loads virtually disappear.

This forum is full of good discussion on this topic. I read many threads before deciding how to carry a 35" spare. You do NOT want to mount an oversize tire to the tailgate without snubbers or a shelf to reduce the inertial loading. Failure to do so will almost certainly doom you to tailgate damage at some point.
 
have looked into the hyline spare mount before but, have wondered about can all the rubber snubbers be used. guess it’s time to get a good look at the tailgate and snubber locations.

Take a look at the link I posted in Post #4 above to see pictures of my Hyline with snubbers. They fit fine with two modifications: 1) longer bolts, and 2) spacers (1 to 1-1/4 inches worth). The only other modification I did was due to the MorRyde plate's flange. I had to drill new mounting holes in the carrier to avoid a conflict (there's a picture of that, too, but it's probably irrelevant if you don't use the MorRyde plate.)
 
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Understand and agree.

Fwiw I’ve sat atop the spare mounted on the combined RR system, bounced up and down and still the tailgate remains perfectly aligned.

Not disagreeing with your comments, but use-case is an important ingredient. This is my DD. I don’t drop down of any big ledges or bounce around nearly as much as I did when I sat on the spare.

All this said.. I still want a Bestop Highrock Swing out carrier to replace all this RR stuff, and I still hate the RR angled carrier. Another the Hyline is a useable alternative…. I still don’t know.
 
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Not disagreeing with your comments, but use-case is an important ingredient. This is my DD. I don’t drop down of any big ledges or bounce around nearly as much as I did when I sat on the spare.

Agreed on use-case, but I'll leave you with this: Ultimately, it's your decision and your TJ, and as a proud 50" lightbar user, I very much respect that. :cool: However, the damage the tailgates suffer is not easy to repair, and we have entered the end of the parts availability window with this model. OEM parts are being discontinued every day, aftermarket parts are suffering quality and delivery problems, and good used parts are disappearing. With a 35" tire, I decided that tailgate failure was inevitable, no matter the use case (3 potholes on your way to and from work every day can cumulatively due more damage than dropping off a ledge hard twice a year). With your 33" tires, it may not be inevitable, but why risk it?