Over tire rack system

Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
May 25, 2018
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425
Location
Nevada
I need ideas for a over tire rack that I can mount jerry cans and a jack to. I’ve been looking but having trouble finding one. I have a Smitty built XRC rear bumper with swing away tire carrier. Would like one that would bolt to it and swing out rather than to the tailgate.
 
Rock Hard 4x4 sells jerry can mounts and over-the-tire racks that bolt to many aftermarket swing-away tire carriers:

http://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-2003-lt.htm
http://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-2003-rt.htm
http://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-2004.htm

From their website:
RH-2004-3T.jpg

RH-2004-7T.jpg


Rock Hard 4x4 jerry can mounts on my jeep:
Jerry Cans 2.jpg
 
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Fitzpatrick said:
I need ideas for a over tire rack that I can mount jerry cans and a jack to. I’ve been looking but having trouble finding one. I have a Smitty built XRC rear bumper with swing away tire carrier. Would like one that would bolt to it and swing out rather than to the tailgate.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't trust the Smittybilt to hold up for long to just the spare tire, let alone bolting all of that onto it. Their spare tire holder is truly not up to that kind of weight. Not to mention what carrying gear and jerry cans up that high does to your center-of-gravity which can cause problems when you get onto a trail with off-camber sections.

Here's a Smittybilt spare tire carrier that fell off due to its poor/weak design. There's not much there at its pivot point.

Smittybilt tire carrier fell off.jpg
 
I was looking into getting that same rock hard system. It mounts to 2x2 square tubing. It sure would be nice to have room for a cooler when people are in the backseat.
 
Many years ago I had an over-the-spare rack with Conferr jerry can mounts on each side of the spare on my CJ-7, built by Tomken in Colorado (Conferr jerry can mounts no longer available). It was the perfect size for a soft-sided cooler. It worked well for overlanding and the jerry cans elevated above the tub created no issues in off camber situations even on very tough trails in Moab or on the Rubicon Trail, but I didn't like the fact that the rack blocked my rear view.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the jerry can mounts raising the center of gravity for most jeeps in most terrain, but it is a consideration if one is building a rockcrawler and is really going to use it as such. I would, however, try to mock up something to replicate the outline of the over-the-spare rack and its contents so that you can decide before your purchase whether the loss of rear visibility is something you can live with.

See: https://www.mcssl.com/store/tomken/tj-ljrocky-rack-basket-
thumbnail.ashx?src=%2fcontent%2fassets%2f40%2f403812%2fTMC-0130.jpg
 
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Mr. Bills said:
Rock Hard 4x4 sells jerry can mounts and over-the-tire racks that bolt to many aftermarket swing-away tire carriers:

http://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-2003-lt.htm
http://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-2003-rt.htm
http://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-2004.htm

From their website:
View attachment 57355
View attachment 57356

Rock Hard 4x4 jerry can mounts on my jeep:
View attachment 57354
Click to expand...
This is the one I’ve been looking at but on their site it’s says it’s for their bumper. Not sure it would fit mine
 
image.jpg
image.jpg
Jerry Bransford said:
I wouldn't trust the Smittybilt to hold up for long to just the spare tire, let alone bolting all of that onto it. Their spare tire holder is truly not up to that kind of weight. Not to mention what carrying gear and jerry cans up that high does to your center-of-gravity which can cause problems when you get onto a trail with off-camber sections.

Here's a Smittybilt spare tire carrier that fell off due to its poor/weak design. There's not much there at its pivot point.

View attachment 57359
Click to expand...
Looks like the xrc bumper is beefier than that.
 
Fitzpatrick said:
[Rock Hard 4x4] is the one I’ve been looking at but on their site it’s says it’s for their bumper. Not sure it would fit mine
Click to expand...

The Rock Hard 4x4 jerry can mounts fit 2x2 square tubing. They will fit any 2x2 swing-away tire carrier with the braces welded at a 45 degree angle to the swing-away arm.

Fitzpatrick said:
How did you mount the high lift jack?
Click to expand...

Rock Hard 4x4 bumpers have threaded studs fastened to the swing-away arm for use as a Hi-Lift jack mount. Your existing swing-away carrier could probably be modified with a similar arrangement if the tire mount offers enough clearance.

RH-2001-C-27T.jpg


RH-2001-C-7T.jpg


You can see the wing nuts for the hi-lift mount in this photo. I remove the jack foot when the jack is not in use, which is pretty much always since a hi-lift jack is an overrated offroad tool that should only be used as a last resort when no other jack will do. Mine is almost 40 years old and has been repainted and re-built more often than it has been used. Frankly, the primary reason it is mounted on my jeep now is because the mount was already there so the jack might as well be collecting dust on my jeep as collecting dust in my garage.

Jerry Cans 2.jpg
 
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Mr. Bills said:
The Rock Hard 4x4 jerry can mounts fit 2x2 square tubing. They will fit any 2x2 swing-away tire carrier with the braces welded at a 45 degree angle to the swing-away arm.



Rock Hard 4x4 bumpers have threaded studs fastened to the swing-away arm for use as a Hi-Lift jack mount. Your existing swing-away carrier could probably be modified with a similar arrangement if the tire mount offers enough clearance.

View attachment 57389

View attachment 57390

You can see the wing nuts for the hi-lift mount in this photo. I remove the jack foot when the jack is not in use, which is pretty much always since a hi-lift jack is an overrated offroad tool that should only be used as a last resort when no other jack will do. Mine is almost 40 years old and has been repainted and re-built more often than it has been used. Frankly, the primary reason it is mounted on my jeep now is because the mount was already there so the jack might as well be collecting dust on my jeep as collecting dust in my garage.

View attachment 57391View attachment 57391 View attachment 57389 View attachment 57390
Click to expand...
Cool thanks
 
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