Spare Tire Reinforcement & Carrier... Is it needed?

[TheRealTVGuy]

Hi All,

After speaking to the guys from Rock Krawler at the Jeep Beach Super Raffle Party this past Friday evening, my wife was all-in on the JL. I woke up Saturday morning and she had already found the perfect one for sale at the Daytona Jeep dealership. Soo I now have a new project, a Firecracker Red JLU Sport S!

I've decided to install the Rock Krawler 2.5 in. lift, Fuel 20" Rims, and Nitto Grappler 35s. My question is, is the Mopar tailgate reinforcement and upgraded spare tire carrier completely necessary, or have any of you Sport/Sport S owners strapped a 35-inch tire on the back using the standard spare tire carrier??

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[Spank]

Hi All,

After speaking to the guys from Rock Krawler at the Jeep Beach Super Raffle Party this past Friday evening, my wife was all-in on the JL. I woke up Saturday morning and she had already found the perfect one for sale at the Daytona Jeep dealership. Soo I now have a new project, a Firecracker Red JLU Sport S!

I've decided to install the Rock Krawler 2.5 in. lift, Fuel 20" Rims, and Nitto Grappler 35s. My question is, is the Mopar tailgate reinforcement and upgraded spare tire carrier completely necessary, or have any of you Sport/Sport S owners strapped a 35-inch tire on the back using the standard spare tire carrier??

I don't think so, but the JL is still young. Only time will tell. There are folks running 37s on the spare carrier with a relocation bracket and it seems to be holding up just fine, even with some serious wheeling. The important thing to do, just like the JK, is to make sure you've got tailgate bumpstops that reach the tire. You can beef up the gate and carrier all you want, but if your tire is connected to the gate and still has the freedom to sway from side to side, that's gonna do some damage.

I could be wrong, but I don't think there's any difference between the Rubicon and Sahara/Sport tire carrier outside of the adjustable brake light, which makes little sense seeing as how you adjust it to clear a tire that most likely won't fit on the gate to begin with because of the bumper.

The JL gate is definitely stronger than the JK, though, that's for sure.

 

[JcrOffroad]

I could be wrong, but I don't think there's any difference between the Rubicon and Sahara/Sport tire carrier outside of the adjustable brake light, which makes little sense seeing as how you adjust it to clear a tire that most likely won't fit on the gate to begin with because of the bumper.

They are different. Rubicon carrier mounts the tire higher.

 

[Fred]

They are different. Rubicon carrier mounts the tire higher.

A 35 sits on the steel bumper on the Rubicon and has about 1/2" space with the plastic bumper.

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