Looking for rear bumper recommendations

FoJeeper

New Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2021
Messages
4
Location
Kansas City
Greetings fellow Jeepers,

I recently purchased a 97 TJ and great shape and low miles. Super excited to have a Jeep again, my first being in 83, a beautiful red CJ7.

So, the oversized spare tire (33" BFG K02) on the stock rear tailgate squeaks pretty much on every small bump.

I was looking at swing out rear bumpers with spare tire carriers, however, I wondered if there was a solid, decent solution to keep my 3rd break light as is, put mount the oversize tire more securely , I actually prefer to keep the bumper I have and not drop a bunch of money into it if possible.

Let me know any recs, super appreciate it. This forum has been so helpful for me already!

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edited jeep rear no tire.jpeg
 
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Reactions: harbiison
Seems like I’m in the same situation as FoJeeper. I’d like to get the heavy spare off my tailgate, it hasn’t damaged the tailgate yet but it can’t be good for it, especially when open. I also don’t want to spend big bucks for something as simple as a tire carrier. I’ll leave the tire at home if it becomes an issue. One question, how much does a bumper mounted carrier typically weigh, and is weight That critical on a TJ?
 
My last bumper alone weighed 72 lbs. The carrier probably added another 40-50 lbs. Yes, weight is critical.
 
Mine weighs far too much but it does carry any tire I would want to put on it and the three times jackasses have rear ended my there has been zero damage to my jeep...... but again, it is way heavy......I built it myself and it has towed more than the capacity of the LJ is suppose to without issue....3A61E6CA-14F3-4336-8D6D-1CDA585C698F.jpegEDE1AA5A-7150-4757-9760-36A4E459BE2F.jpeg76EFA25B-F8C1-460B-8E12-09BFB75ECA33.jpeg2C4CC015-10ED-406C-AB70-8B4C22F2BE44.jpeg549D1617-FE62-4985-A5C8-310DC7DE64DD.jpeg
The spindle is from my old CJ5 and I bought a weld in trailer stub shaft to mount it on......
 
I have an LOD rear bumper and swing out.

bumper = 71 lbs
swing out = 39 lbs
110 lbs total.

31” spare with aluminum ProComp wheel - 67 lbs

It’s heavy, but I like it and suits my needs. It hasnt hindered any off-roading I’ve done yet. I’m sure it would for some people. A lot of people complain that you have to open it and then open the tailgate, instead of just opening one thing. To me that’s not a big deal or even worth complaining about.

I have a trail rack that I use sometimes but I haven’t weighed it yet.

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Reactions: Vasq
Thanks guys, for the constructive commentary. I'm still new to this TJ thing so it really helps. I guess the present bumper on the TJ is the original, pretty light, weak, cheesy sort of thing, it sure don't weight 70 lbs. I'm thinking to put one on that has a receiver hitch. It's nice to be able to pull a trailer over to Home depot occasionally. I'm not planning be out driving in any boulders or anything. As far as opening the tailgate, i'm really not too concerned. I've had my cj2a for several years and I've opened the tailgate like NEVER!! The spare tire is mounted on the side and I have a rack on the back that will carry 2 jerry cans. I'm gonna take a look at the Morryde and Exogate, but for the short term, I may try to come up with something like Boogieman has in his post above. Thanks again.
 
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Reactions: Nickgsjeep
The bumper in your pics isn’t the OEM bumper. Not sure which one it is, but other will probably know. Bestop or Warn, maybe?

Looks like it has 2 receiver hitches on it.
 
The bumper in your pics isn’t the OEM bumper. Not sure which one it is, but other will probably know. Bestop or Warn, maybe?

Looks like it has 2 receiver hitches on it.
That's FoJeepers ride, the OP, maybe one receiver for a bike rack and the other for a trailer?
 
The bumper in your pics isn’t the OEM bumper. Not sure which one it is, but other will probably know. Bestop or Warn, maybe?

Looks like it has 2 receiver hitches on it.
That's FoJeepers ride, the OP, maybe one receiver for a bike rack and the other for a trailer?