Decided to remove my heavy spare and go with a delete plate. Also moved the license over and wired the led for that. It is a Hooke Road kit, heavy steel welded together and powder coated. It had a "chrome" trim around the brake light, but I painted it satin black rustoleum.
Installed Spare Tire Delete
- Thread starter TLT1964
- Start date
Make sure to keep plugs and an air compressor with you.
You'll never miss that spare tire until the day you need it. Tire plugs and a compressor won't fix all tire problems. Sliced sidewalls like this have happened to me a couple times.
I’ll second that- I am not crazy about the bobtail look -usually -but like to run light......so I have considered it through the years-
No more.
Its a quick way to get stranded and leave a Jeep vulnerable on the roadside.
The thing is I don't "wheel" my jeep, I'm not saying I'll never go off-road, but camping is about the only "roughing it" I do. I wouldn't have done this if I was doing off-road stuff.
Side wall damage is a lot more common Offroad
I would just be sure to carry a plug kit
There is one thing to think about- Be a little more careful on wet roads- We have a young man in the area that runs no spare tire and drives pretty fast, And in addition runs a 12.5 wide tire....All those things came together one day when it was rainy and I saw him pull in to a fast food parking lot and lose the rear end.
I would just be sure to carry a plug kit
There is one thing to think about- Be a little more careful on wet roads- We have a young man in the area that runs no spare tire and drives pretty fast, And in addition runs a 12.5 wide tire....All those things came together one day when it was rainy and I saw him pull in to a fast food parking lot and lose the rear end.
I carry a sidewall patch kit and a plug kit. Not perfect, but solves other problems I was dealing with.
Just curious (not judging) why you would delete your spare and leave yourself vulnerable? Is it the weight the looks or what. Like I said, just curious.
I can see doing this. First, I like the look. Second, you are dropping somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 lbs, depending on tire and wheel combination, at little to no out of pocket cost. That can save you about $50 in gas a year on a daily driven vehicle.
I don’t DD my Jeep now but I probably will again soon. I commute 50 miles a day almost all in-city interstate. If I get a flat on a heavily trafficked 8 lane interstate, do you think I am kneeling on the narrow ass shoulder, filled with all kinds of debris, and changing the tire? Fuck no, I pay an extra 5 bucks a month to progressive to have roadside assistance, they can tow me to the nearest tire shop for repair.
If I am going wheeling, it’s not a surprise, I have plenty of advanced notice and I could take out my backseat and throw my spare in the back. I have also kicked around the idea of a removable mount I can bolt up just for wheeling trips but I am not at that stage of my build yet anyway.
Now before I get a bunch of pushback on trying to save gas in a TJ, let me say that’s not the reason I want to drop weight, but someone else might. If you look into how much gas Americans waste each year just by being fat, it’s pretty remarkable.
I don’t DD my Jeep now but I probably will again soon. I commute 50 miles a day almost all in-city interstate. If I get a flat on a heavily trafficked 8 lane interstate, do you think I am kneeling on the narrow ass shoulder, filled with all kinds of debris, and changing the tire? Fuck no, I pay an extra 5 bucks a month to progressive to have roadside assistance, they can tow me to the nearest tire shop for repair.
If I am going wheeling, it’s not a surprise, I have plenty of advanced notice and I could take out my backseat and throw my spare in the back. I have also kicked around the idea of a removable mount I can bolt up just for wheeling trips but I am not at that stage of my build yet anyway.
Now before I get a bunch of pushback on trying to save gas in a TJ, let me say that’s not the reason I want to drop weight, but someone else might. If you look into how much gas Americans waste each year just by being fat, it’s pretty remarkable.
Weight is part of it, and put so much strain on the tailgate. Would be hard to latch and made such loud racket when hitting bumps, even with good rubber tire bumpers. Just personal, not necessarily a look thing.
An easy fix is either the Morryde or Exogate spare tire holder kit. It both reinforces the tailgate and its hinges and it also uses a hidden bracket to transfer the weight of the spare to the right-rear rollbar base.
Now you tell me, after nearly 8 years with my 35" spare.
p.s. My tailgate still opens and closes perfectly.
5 reasons many car manufacturers are no longer including a spare
https://www.capitalone.com/cars/lea...any-new-cars-no-longer-have-a-spare-tire/2897
https://www.capitalone.com/cars/lea...any-new-cars-no-longer-have-a-spare-tire/2897
Nice I did the same with mine. Less weight is better for my 4 banger. Curious how did you run the wire for the license plate light? I need to come up with something better.
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Now you tell me, after nearly 8 years with my 35" spare.
p.s. My tailgate still opens and closes perfectly.
View attachment 499590
View attachment 499591
My tailgate no longer “springs” open. It stopped when I went to 33s.
My spare delete. I’m going to repaint the hinges silver to match sometime this summer.
I used the stock system where the terminal touches when the tailgate is closed. The light just has a power and ground wire. Ground inside the tailgate. Run the power to the tailgate connector. Inside the rear passenger wheel well connect power from the tail light to the other side of the tailgate connector.
