31" tire on factory spare tire carrier?

hardtailpan

hardtailpan

TJ Enthusiast
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Jul 15, 2020
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So, my TJ has 31" tires on factory alloy wheels. It is a Sahara and had the factory 30" tire group. I have a TrakLok Dana 44 (whatever is left of the clutches) and I hate to run a 30" spare on the rear should I get a flat and burn those clutches that much more. I bought a 31" tire to mount up as a spare, but I seem to have read somewhere that the factory spare mount has issues with bigger tires. What are the concerns and should I have an issue? I mean, if I get a flat I could always put the spare on the front and the front on the back, but I'd rather just have the correct size spare.

Thoughts?
 
Chris said:
Just remove it. I've removed it on every TJ I've ever owned and never once been hassled.
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Ah, come to Massachusetts some time my friend, not only will you get pulled over for not having it, but you cannot get an inspection sticker without it!

That being said it looks like a 1" difference (1/2" radius difference) shouldn't interfere with the 3rd light, I'll space it up if it does.
 
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OK, so it looks like the consensus is the slightly greater weight of the 31" tire won't break anything on the carrier or tailgate. Thanks for the input!
 
Chris said:
Just remove it. I've removed it on every TJ I've ever owned and never once been hassled.
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It is illegal to drive without a 3rd brake light and insurance can (and will) use it against you in an accident. I would not recommend not to drive without one. You may not get hassled but it is not worth the risk.
 
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hardtailpan said:
OK, so it looks like the consensus is the slightly greater weight of the 31" tire won't break anything on the carrier or tailgate. Thanks for the input!
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the factory put 245/75-16 MT/Rs on the Rubicons
 
Not only that, but the 3rd brake lite is the best thing to happen to vehicles in the last 50 years! Its REALLY hard to miss that triad of lites, especially when coupled with red turn signals (which REALLY need to just dry up and blow away).
 
I've done it with KM2s and it pushes on the third brake light a bit, nothing too bad and I never modified it. The snubbers will hit pretty hard on the tire, I chose to cut them down so it wasn't so severe. I think the Rubicon has a different offset on the wheel so it clears the brake light and doesn't rest so tightly on the snubbers. With the Ravine wheel it'll be closer to the Jeep.
 
pagrey said:
I've done it with KM2s and it pushes on the third brake light a bit, nothing too bad and I never modified it. The snubbers will hit pretty hard on the tire, I chose to cut them down so it wasn't so severe. I think the Rubicon has a different offset on the wheel so it clears the brake light and doesn't rest so tightly on the snubbers. With the Ravine wheel it'll be closer to the Jeep.
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Good info, I'll modify the snubbers if need be. I have a factory spare on it now so I'll take some pics of how all that sits before I pull it off. Thanks for noticing the Ravine wheels and specific feedback on em, very helpful!
 
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psrivats said:
It is illegal to drive without a 3rd brake light and insurance can (and will) use it against you in an accident. I would not recommend not to drive without one. You may not get hassled but it is not worth the risk.
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My insurance wouldn't know. I'd simply tell them that it got lost in the wreck (or make something else up).

That's one risk I'm not the least bit worried about.
 
hardtailpan said:
Ah, come to Massachusetts some time my friend, not only will you get pulled over for not having it, but you cannot get an inspection sticker without it!

That being said it looks like a 1" difference (1/2" radius difference) shouldn't interfere with the 3rd light, I'll space it up if it does.
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Seriously? Wow!

I guess it helps that where we live there are no inspections or emissions whatsoever. I've been driving without one for the past 5+ years and no one has ever once said a single thing to me.
 
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Chris said:
Seriously? Wow!

I guess it helps that where we live there are no inspections or emissions whatsoever. I've been driving without one for the past 5+ years and no one has ever once said a single thing to me.
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Yeah, I've had many friends over the years that lived in no inspection states, states with no lift laws, etc. Some states only require an inspection when a vehicle is newly registered in the state and that's it, one and done. In Mass it's a lot more difficult and gets more difficult every year. The latest inspections which have been made more stringent as of I think a year or two ago require cameras in the bay to take pics of all 4 sides of the vehicle as well as the license plates. They have a very particular law on vehicle lifts which is strictly enforced by inspections and law enforcement the like. In the old days you could know someone and get a sticker, that's become almost impossible now. Enjoy your freedom while you have it lol!
 
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31s on stock Canyon wheels did not fit on oem carrier. You may need to cut down the stock snubbers, or go for an aftermarket carrier, or have rims with different backspacing.

I used the Rugged Ridge HD carrier, and then I had to lengthen the snubbers by putting hockey pucks behind them. Cost less than $75 and I can go back to stock or go further up in size. I even moved the third brake light over...
 
I have the stock 15x8 Canyon wheels, and had to trim down the rubber bumpers the tire sat against in order to fit a 31" BFG A/T. I also used a few washers on the 3rd brake light mount to tilt it back a little bit and clear the tire. Very minor modifications but it did fit. The BFGs have a knobby sidewall, so something less aggressive might even fit a little easier.
 
I run a 35" spare on the stock carrier with no problems with weight or the 3rd brake light.
BRAKE LIGHT NIGHT (2) (2017_11_20 00_38_12 UTC).jpg
SPARE TIRE MOUNT.jpg
BRAKE LIGHT RING (2017_11_20 00_38_12 UTC).jpg
 
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