mikej
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Mike
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2018
- Threads
- 27
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- 759
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- 1,026
- Location
- SF Bay, California
- Vehicle(s)
- 2018 JLUR
- Thread starter
- #1
I installed my ACE Standalone Tire Carrier last week and I thought I would write up a few tips:
First, watch a ton of videos. Watch them multiple times. Not only the ACE video, but watch other videos about installs of other tire carriers. What frustrated me was all of the steps that ACE skipped in their video. They don't cover removal of the interior panel you need to remove to get to the hinges. They don't cover the removal (or reattachment, for that matter) of the camera. They actually don't even tell you that you need a really tiny torx driver to remove the camera. You get to find that out after you already have things opened up.
Second, use shims to prop up the tailgate. I still had to tweak the alignment of the tailgate /down/, because there was now less weight on it and it was hitting the striker too high. Even still, the shims meant these tweaks were small rather than significant.
Third, keep the body hinge bolts only slightly tight until you get the carrier connected to the new hinges. There's a little bit of movement that you need in order to get the carrier lined up and mounted. The tolerances are so tight and those body bolts are really the only adjustment available.
Fourth, the heim joint is my nemesis. It is what's unique about this tire carrier (as opposed to the panel approach of Motobilt and Evo), but I think I spent more time adjusting this joint than I did the tailgate. I also had the thing rattle loose entirely from one end on a road trip. The only thing holding the tire against the tailgate was the wiring for the brake light and camera. This was because I hadn't tightened down the jam nuts. I also realized that the tire tends to pull away a bit from the tailgate when you have the tailgate wide open. You'll want to close the tailgate and adjust the heim joint this way, rather than with the tailgate fully open. This cut down on the rattle induced by the tire moving towards and away from the tailgate ever so slightly.
Fifth, have a lot of time on your hands or a friend to help. I think all told this took me seven hours and was certainly the most involved install I've done on the Jeep to date. With a friend, I probably could have easily cut two hours out of this, maybe even three.
Sixth, make sure you have a grease gun. They don't call this out explicitly at the beginning, but you will need it. I used plain ole heavy duty grease (from Lucas).
Overall, I'm really happy with the carrier. But be warned that it's a non-trivial install.
Here's a few videos that may be of help:
First, watch a ton of videos. Watch them multiple times. Not only the ACE video, but watch other videos about installs of other tire carriers. What frustrated me was all of the steps that ACE skipped in their video. They don't cover removal of the interior panel you need to remove to get to the hinges. They don't cover the removal (or reattachment, for that matter) of the camera. They actually don't even tell you that you need a really tiny torx driver to remove the camera. You get to find that out after you already have things opened up.
Second, use shims to prop up the tailgate. I still had to tweak the alignment of the tailgate /down/, because there was now less weight on it and it was hitting the striker too high. Even still, the shims meant these tweaks were small rather than significant.
Third, keep the body hinge bolts only slightly tight until you get the carrier connected to the new hinges. There's a little bit of movement that you need in order to get the carrier lined up and mounted. The tolerances are so tight and those body bolts are really the only adjustment available.
Fourth, the heim joint is my nemesis. It is what's unique about this tire carrier (as opposed to the panel approach of Motobilt and Evo), but I think I spent more time adjusting this joint than I did the tailgate. I also had the thing rattle loose entirely from one end on a road trip. The only thing holding the tire against the tailgate was the wiring for the brake light and camera. This was because I hadn't tightened down the jam nuts. I also realized that the tire tends to pull away a bit from the tailgate when you have the tailgate wide open. You'll want to close the tailgate and adjust the heim joint this way, rather than with the tailgate fully open. This cut down on the rattle induced by the tire moving towards and away from the tailgate ever so slightly.
Fifth, have a lot of time on your hands or a friend to help. I think all told this took me seven hours and was certainly the most involved install I've done on the Jeep to date. With a friend, I probably could have easily cut two hours out of this, maybe even three.
Sixth, make sure you have a grease gun. They don't call this out explicitly at the beginning, but you will need it. I used plain ole heavy duty grease (from Lucas).
Overall, I'm really happy with the carrier. But be warned that it's a non-trivial install.
Here's a few videos that may be of help:
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