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TeraFlex Adjustable Spare Tire Kit Install How-To

Northridge4x4

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Hey everyone, @Tech Tim just finished up his latest install article for the Northridge Nation Blog. We liked it so much, we figured we'd share it with you:

TeraFlex Alpha HD Tire Carrier for the JL - By Tech Tim

teraflex-4838910-tire-carrier-installed-jl-800x500.jpg



Get that big spare tire on your Jeep JL:
So you got your lift installed, you’ve got your 37″ tires installed, you even got a matching full sized spare….. screech…. and then the train derailed…. you found that your new 37″ spare doesn’t fit on the factory tire carrier with the stock rear bumper.

TeraFlex to the rescue with what looks to be the slickest spare tire carrier we’ve seen. The TeraFlex Alpha HD Spare Tire Carrier (pn# 4838910) bolts up to the factory tire carrier mounting holes in the tailgate and offers a huge slew of adjustability in both the in/out and up/down positions allowing up to a 39″ tire to clear the OEM plastic and steel bumpers**.

The Tire Carrier Main Plate is constructed from formed steel plate that sandwiches the extruded aluminum Wheel Mount, which slides in and out to adjust for wheel backspace. The aluminum center Wheel Mount also has multiple threaded holes, enabling the user to adjust the tire height up or down depending on tire to rear bumper clearances. This thing is well constructed and definitely the most space age appearing spare tire carrier to hit the market.

**The TeraFlex JL Adjustable Spare Tire Mount will allow for up to a 39″ tire to be used with OEM plastic and steel bumpers, however all that extra tire size and weight could reek havoc with your stock tailgate and the hinges. TeraFlex recommends up to a 35″ tire with the stock tailgate. Any tire larger than 35″ will require some tailgate reinforcement like the Mopar Tailgate Reinforcement kit (pn# 82215356AB).


What you want to order:
teraflex-4838910-box.jpg



TeraFlex Alpha HD Tire Carrier with 3rd Brake Light for 5×5 wheels (pn# 4838910)



What’s in the Box?

teraflex-alpha-jl-tire-carrier-4838910.jpg


There really aren’t many parts to the TeraFlex Alpha Tire Carrier. It is pretty simple and doesn’t take very long to install.

How To install the TeraFlex Alpha HD Tire Carrier:

jeep-jl-tire-carrier-diagram.jpg


Green circles are the screws you need to remove in the next step.
Red arrows show the screws that are holding the tire carrier to the tailgate. We’ll remove those later.



remove-tire-carrier-cover.jpg


Use a T25 Torx bit to remove the seven screws holding the spare tire cover in place.



seperate-jl-third-brake-light.jpg


Separate the back cover from the tire carrier. It’s easier if you open the tailgate to get to the backside.



remove-jl-third-brake-light.jpg


Remove the two T25 Torx screws holding the OE JL 3rd brake light to the back cover and discard the cover.



unplug-jl-third-brake-light.jpg


Unplug the 3rd brake light and set aside for later use.



remove-jl-camera-housing.jpg


Remove the two screws holding the OE camera housing to the back of the OE tire carrier. Use your T25 Torx bit here too.



tap-wheel-studs-out.jpg


Use a plastic hammer (or other soft blow hammer) and tap on the OE wheel studs to drive the OE camera housing out the back of the tire carrier base.



remove-jl-tire-carrier-bolts.jpg


Use a 13mm socket to remove the eight screws holding the OE JL tire carrier to the tailgate. Grab it as you remove the last screw to keep it from falling off and damaging the wiring harness.



pull-wiring-from-jl-tire-carrier.jpg


Remove the wiring harness from the back of the tire carrier.



Remove-clip-from-camera-housing.jpg


Remove the clip from the back of the OE camera housing by wiggling and pulling. You could also just clip it off with a pair of wire cutters.



remove-jl-backup-camera-screws.jpg


Use a T8 Torx bit to remove the three tiny screws holding the back-up camera to the camera housing.



unplug-j-backup-camera.jpg


Gently pull the camera away from the camera housing and unplug the wire plug. There is a little tab to depress and the plug pulls right off; it is tight, so be careful yanking on it.
Once you have the camera unplugged, pull the harness out through the back of the OE camera housing.



bolt-on-teraflex-jl-tire-carrier.jpg


Reuse the OE tire carrier bolts and bolt on the new TeraFlex Alpha HD tire carrier. Torque the fasteners to 25ft/lbs.

**Use a dab or two of blue Loctite to make sure they stay tight**


Wheel Stud placement for different sized tires:

The TeraFlex Alpha Tire Carrier has different mounting holes to move the tire height up or down, depending on your bumper and tire size.

teraflex-alpha-jl-tire-carrier-wheel-stud-placement.jpg


Here are the different hole placements plotted out with the recommended tire size to OE bumpers. If you have an aftermarket bumper you will need to test fit which placement is optimal for you.



screw-in-wheel-studs-jl-tire-carrier.jpg


Use the supplied green Loctite on the three wheel studs and screw into the TeraFlex tire Carrier.
This particular JLUR has 37″ Patagonia M/Ts and an OEM plastic bumper (for now), so we used the top combination of wheel stud holes. When we install an aftermarket bumper we will do some test fitting to see if we can lower the wheel studs for better visibility and weight placement.



doiuble-nut-install-wheel-stud.jpg


Screw on the two supplied nuts and bring them up against each other.



tighten-double-nuts-jl-wheel-stud.jpg


Use two 7/8″ wrenches and tighten the nuts against each other.



tighten-wheel-studs-teraflex-jl-tire-carrier.jpg


Use one wrench on the outer nut and screw the stud tight into the bore. Torque to 150 ft/lbs.

  • To remove the nuts, use one wrench on the inner nut and turn it clockwise. That will keep the tension on the stud and the nut will move forward, breaking the grip between the two, allowing you to spin them off by hand.
Repeat this process on all three wheel studs.



route-jl-caemra-wire-through-teraflex-tire-carrier.jpg


Route the camera and brake light wires up through the hole in the TeraFlex Carrier base.



route-jl-backup-camera-wire-tire-carrier.jpg


Route the backup camera wire through the TeraFlex camera housing.



plug-in-jl-back-up-camera.jpg


Plug the wire onto the camera and carefully push the camera into the TeraFlex camera housing.



install-backup-camera-teraflex-jl-tire-carrier.jpg


Use three of the supplied tiny M2.5 screws and a 1.5mm hex wrench to install the back-up camera into the TeraFlex camera housing.
Torque to 8 in/lbs (that’s right… inch pounds!)



install-teraflex-camera-cover.jpg


Install the camera cover surround and secure with the remaining two supplied M2.5 screws, you’ll need that tiny 1.5mm hex wrench for these two. Torque to 8 in/lbs.
**A little bit of Loctite Purple would help keep those little screws secure.**



install-teraflex-jl-camera-housing.jpg


Slide the TeraFlex camera housing onto the wheel studs and use the three supplied M6 tapered head screws to bolt it up tight. Torque to 8 ft/lbs.
**Yes, Loctite here too!**



Set the Tire/Wheel offset on the TeraFlex Tire Carrier:
measuring-tire-back-space.jpg


Flip your spare tire upside down and measure the backspacing. Lay a long straight edge across the back of the tire and measure down to the mounting face of the wheel.
Our wheel/Tire combo measured out to 5-3/4″, yours may be different depending on the wheel/tire combo you use.



set-tire-backspace-teraflex-tire-carrier.jpg


We then use that measurement to set the spacing of the TeraFlex wheel mounting face to the OE tire bumpers on the tailgate.
Measure from the inner face of the TeraFlex tire carrier out to the face of the wheel mounting face. Slide the extruded aluminum piece in or out to get to your specific measurement.



tighten-teraflex-jl-tire-carrier.jpg


Use a 16mm socket or wrench on the horizontal bolts to lock the tire carrier in/out dimension.
Torque to 100 ft/lbs.



tighten-bolts-teraflex-alpha-jl-tire-carrier.jpg


Use a 10mm 12 point socket to tighten the four vertical screws (two on each side).
Torque to 60 ft/lbs.



route-3rd-brake-light-wire-through-teraflex-jl-mount.jpg


Route the 3rd brake light wire harness through the back of the camera housing.



install-spare-tire-teraflex-jl-tire-carrier.jpg


Set the spare tire up onto the TeraFlex Alpha Tire Carrier, install the lug nuts and torque to 90 ft/lbs.



Install the TeraFlex Third Brake light Mount:

install-jl-3rd-brake-light-on-teraflex-mount.jpg


Use the OE screws and the T25 Torx bit to mount the OE JL 3rd brake light onto the TeraFlex third brake light mount.
Torque to 2 ft/lbs (24 in/lbs).



plug-in-3rd-brake-light-jl.jpg


Plug the brake light wire harness into the third brake light.



alignment-flats-third-brake-light.jpg


Both the TeraFlex Camera Housing and the TeraFlex Brake Light Mount have matching flats in them to make lining up the brake light mount quick, easy and perfect every time.



push-on-teraflex-3rd-brake-light-mount.jpg


Push the TeraFlex Brake Light Mount onto the camera housing.



teraflex-3rd-brake-light-cam-lever.jpg


Lock the brake light mount onto the camera housing with the red cam lever.
You may need to tighten the cam lever screw to get a good lock onto the camera housing.
It takes a 3mm hex bit.



teraflex-4838910-tire-carrier-close-up-2.jpg


The Cam Lever locked into place.




Step back and take a look at your new tire carrier!

teraflex-4838910-tire-carrier-installed-jl.jpg


Super sharp looking and it really is an easy install. It took us about 30 minutes to install this kit from beginning to end.




teraflex-another-angle.jpg


Even without the wheel/tire combo the TeraFlex Alpha HD Spare Tire Carrier is one cool looking piece.



Where can you get yours?
TeraFlex Alpha HD Adjustable Tire Carrier w/ Brake Light Mount
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Rigby

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Does anyone know if the Alpha carrier is compatible with the Rugged Ridge Spartacus HD Tire Hinge?
 

BrnxBomr2

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Does anyone know if the Alpha carrier is compatible with the Rugged Ridge Spartacus HD Tire Hinge?
I was wondering the same thing! I would think it would since it works with the Mopar kit..
 

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BrnxBomr2

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Happy with my teraflex bracket from Northridge. I think the best part is this bracket is adjustable for any differences in backspacing on any wheel and tire combo. The reverse camera keeps about the same angle as stock only slightly higher and the parking lines still line up.
FE11608E-E343-4793-BF46-931FF911F5FF.jpeg
8D3AEF8E-AF40-4912-9EB6-62975BDDF37A.jpeg
 

Chocolate Thunder

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I completed this install today with the part that arrived from @Northridge4x4. The instructions and photos are helpful and excellent, much better than the drawings in the instructions.

I’d like to mention one thing that those performing the install might find helpful. It isn’t addressed in Teraflex‘s instructions or in your DIY. In the step where the camera housing is mounted to the carrier, both the back up camera wire AND the brake light wire should be routed into housing at this time before securing it. Following the directions step by step as they’re listed in the thread, I had to go back and loosen the 3 screws securing the housing to the carrier to route the brake light wire. Not a huge deal, but I’d already used Loctite and had to break it and reapply. If I’d run the brake light wire at the same time as I ran the camera wire it would have been better.

Overall this DIY rocks. Thanks so much.
 
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Northridge4x4

Northridge4x4

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TeraFlex

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I completed this install today with the part that arrived from @Northridge4x4. The instructions and photos are helpful and excellent, much better than the drawings in the instructions.

I’d like to mention one thing that those performing the install might find helpful. It isn’t addressed in Teraflex‘s instructions or in your DIY. In the step where the camera housing is mounted to the carrier, both the back up camera wire AND the brake light wire should be routed into housing at this time before securing it. Following the directions step by step as they’re listed in the thread, I had to go back and loosen the 3 screws securing the housing to the carrier to route the brake light wire. Not a huge deal, but I’d already used Loctite and had to break it and reapply. If I’d run the brake light wire at the same time as I ran the camera wire it would have been better.

Overall this DIY rocks. Thanks so much.
Thanks Mr. Thunder.

Not sure if this was added in the meantime, or was misread, but see photo for what I believe to be what you are referring to. Step 7 and 8.
It was or has been changed to "Route the Camera and brake cable through the housing" Hopefully it is correct in the new orders shipping out. But for sure is correct in the PDF on your website. If anyone needs it here is the link.
https://teraflex.com/file/attachments/5ca7128cf3f2bc007538ecf9.pdf

Thanks for your support!

-Jake

JL Alpha.jpg
 

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RenoMD

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Thank you for the awesome pictures and instructions! Northridge also happened to have the best price with forum discount. This item is very easy to install. Took me 1.5 hours Bc my 3 year old daughter wanted to help me haha.

The hardest part, putting that heavy ass 35 inch tire and method wheel combo back on myself and getting the lugs to line up all while telling my daughter to move away so she doesn’t get squished.

I’m instaling with the rugged ridge hinge reinforcement once it arrives off backorder that is.

EC543CD5-0BD2-42B4-B4FC-DAF91C46DDEF.jpeg
 
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Northridge4x4

Northridge4x4

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BrnxBomr2

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Thank you for the awesome pictures and instructions! Northridge also happened to have the best price with forum discount. This item is very easy to install. Took me 1.5 hours Bc my 3 year old daughter wanted to help me haha.

The hardest part, putting that heavy ass 35 inch tire and method wheel combo back on myself and getting the lugs to line up all while telling my daughter to move away so she doesn’t get squished.

I’m instaling with the rugged ridge hinge reinforcement once it arrives off backorder that is.
I love Northridge too but I got mine from
Quadratec. They are in stock. Got both the Teraflex carrier and the RR hinge shipped in 2 days
 
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Northridge4x4

Northridge4x4

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We have these in stock and ready to ship. There is no Backorder.
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