Best way to mount 33” x 10.5” spare tire

[Creakydoor]

I just upgraded to 33 x 10.5 tires on my TJ and am trying to find the best option to mount it on the factory spare tire holder. I have factory Gambler rims which are 15 x 8 with 5.5” backspacing. The older 30 x 9.5 factory spare fit perfectly with these rims and right against the snubbers.

I have a 1.25” body lift and though I haven’t checked yet, I think it should clear the factory bumper. If so, then the main question is how to space it out the 1/2”-1” so that it fits.

I was thinking if I could get just that much offset I wouldn’t have to mess with the snubbers and it could still be pretty tight to the tailgate.

If that’s a good path, then the question is how to get that amount. A few options I’ve considered:

1) Get longer wheel studs on the carrier and space it out that way—perhaps using a wheel spacer so the longer bolts have some support.
2) Space out the tire carrier itself from the tailgate with some sort of spacer or plate for the 4 bolts that attach the carrier to the tail gate.
3) use a 1” wheel spacer which might just fit perfectly.
4) Buy a new tire carrier that bumps it out a bit. The ones I’ve seen push it out 2”+ though which is more than I want or need.
5) Buy an adapter to push it out. Again, the ones I see are 2”+ which is more than I want. Also, they lift the tire up which I don’t think I need.

I do not want to get a new bumper with a tire mount. I already have a bumper.

Or, is there some other solutions I’m just not thinking about?

I’ve read a lot of posts but they all seem to have slightly different ideas and conditions.

 

[Rob5589]

There are cheap aluminum wheel spacers available. No way would I use one but it is perfectly acceptable for your spare. The key is to make sure it fits against the rubber bumpers.

 

[bobthetj03]

That wheel with that back spacing should fit. You'll need to shim your 3rd brake light, but it should fit. I have a 33x10.50x15 BFG KO on a 15x8 Canyon wheel with the same BS.

 

[Creakydoor]

That wheel with that back spacing should fit. You'll need to shim your 3rd brake light, but it should fit. I have a 33x10.50x15 BFG KO on a 15x8 Canyon wheel with the same BS.
View attachment 58022

Hmmm... to be fair, I haven’t tried because I assumed it wouldn’t fit since the original tire was 9.5” wide and this one is 10.5” wide.

The guy at the shop tried but he didn’t try that hard and the brake light could have been blocking him.

I will give it a try myself tomorrow. I would be very happy if it just worked.

 

[bobthetj03]

Hmmm... to be fair, I haven’t tried because I assumed it wouldn’t fit since the original tire was 9.5” wide and this one is 10.5” wide.

The guy at the shop tried but he didn’t try that hard and the brake light could have been blocking him.

I will give it a try myself tomorrow. I would be very happy if it just worked.

Worst case, you can add a couple flat washers to the wheel studs if it needs. Since you have the BL, you should be fine with bumper clearance. 3rd brake light will need some adjusting.

 

[Creakydoor]

Ok I tried it today. It looks like only a couple of threads show through when I push the tire on. And the gap between the back of the rim and the carrier is at least 1/2”. How hard should I push it? I also adjusted the snubbers a little by rotating them a bit to better line up with the curve of the tire but that didn’t really help much.

Should I consider taking some air out to give more flex in the tire and then putting it on and then airing up? I don’t want to damage the tire that way so I’m not sure if that’s a good idea or not.

 

[bobthetj03]

That's not a bad idea. Air it down, bolt it on, then air back up. You want that tire hugging hard against the snubbers if you want your tailgate to survive the weight. It won't hurt the tire.

 

[Creakydoor]

I worked on this a bit more today. I don’t think this is going to work without a wheel spacer.

I raised the third brake light about 7/8” so that it clears vertically. I used 1.5” fender washers (picture attached).

I also put the bumper on and it clears there too (picture attached)

However, the rim is now coming in contact to the light bracket, a lot on the left side (picture attached). Sure I could notch it. However, even if I did that, then the tire is going to push hard against the main part of the light bracket. I just don’t see a way to get the 3/4” or so without really pressuring that light bracket. Some pictures attached.

Also for the snubbers, they are already touching the tire with that much more to go. Not sure if there would be room to go another 3/4” or so into the tire. My guess is that part might be ok, but I don’t think the other is going to fit.

Plan B is to get a 3/4” wheel spacer. And extend the snubbers a little if needed to make sure it’s a super tight fit. Per some of the other threads, I may go the hockey puck approach since that seems to have worked well for multiple different people.

Thoughts?

 

[Wombat]

Have you tried putting it on back the front? If that works stick on a wheel cover and call it done?

I run 33x10's but with 4.5 BS, it's the best tire size for a TJ, best allround footprint and its very light weight, EXCELLENT CHOICE!

 

[Creakydoor]

Have you tried putting it on back the front? If that works stick on a wheel cover and call it done?

I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you are suggesting here.

 

[Wombat]

rotate it to face the other way - inside out

 

[Creakydoor]

rotate it to face the other way - inside out

Ok, I understand. I don’t know that my rims would really fit doing it that way, and I don’t have a tire cover so it would look pretty odd. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[bobthetj03]

Did you try reducing the number of fender washers to the rear so that the 3rd brake light bracket angles back some? That is what I had to do to get mine to fit. My Canyon wheel has 5.5" of BS.

 

[Creakydoor]

Did you try reducing the number of fender washers to the rear so that the 3rd brake light bracket angles back some? That is what I had to do to get mine to fit. My Canyon wheel has 5.5" of BS.
View attachment 58568

Not yet. That’s next on my list to try. The Weather in Colorado has been rainy and cold the past few days so I haven’t had a chance. My one worry there is it might hit the glass window on the hardtop. Yours looks really close in that picture.

So I’ll try it and see. I also got a wheel spacer and some snubber extenders as a Plan B.

 

[bobthetj03]

Not yet. That’s next on my list to try. The Weather in Colorado has been rainy and cold the past few days so I haven’t had a chance. My one worry there is it might hit the glass window on the hardtop. Yours looks really close in that picture.

So I’ll try it and see. I also got a wheel spacer and some snubber extenders as a Plan B.

Yes, it does sit close, but I haven't had any issues with it as yet.

 

[Creakydoor]

Ok, I finished mounting it. I tried doing the spacer trick, and admit it might have worked in the end. But I wasn't happy with how it was looking. So I went with Plan B. 1" spacer, hockey puck extenders. Got it snugged down well. So I'm good.

One thing I ran into was the carrier wheel studs were a little too long (picture attached), so I had to trim them a bit since they were hitting the back of the rim. Once trimmed, it was all good. (picture attached).

One other tweak is I had to notch the brake light pillar on one side. No way it would have fit otherwise. I was hoping to not have to, but it wasn't even close (picture attached). After trimmed, it fit just fine (picture attached).

 

[Don Ashcraft]

I had a similar problem with my 31x10.5x15 spare. Mine would mount but it was causing issues with the tailgate closing properly. It came that way when I bought it. I ended up removing the entire mount in order to assess any damage and how to fix it. I ended up just removing the third brake light altogether and also the bottom snubber bumper. That allows the tire to mount, but slightly angled. If you absolutely want the third brake light they sell extending versions.

 

[Creakydoor]

Though mine took a bit of work, I’m glad I did it like I did. I got to retain all of the safety equipment (ie 3rd brake light). And it looks pretty standard to what was there, just 1” out.

For yours, is the tire touching the metal on the door on the bottom? Or just floating there on the bottom? And did you adjust the carrier to get it angled?

 

[Don Ashcraft]

That makes sense. The angle is just the tire not the mount. There’s about a 1/2 inch between the bottom of the tire and the body under the tailgate. It’s tight against the top two bumper stumps. I like the idea of the spacer though. I’d rather have that third bumper stabilizing it.