Tailgate weight - hinge reinforce or bumper carrier?

[Jhendo]

I recently put on Black Rhino Armory wheels with 35" Falken Wildpeak tires that weight around 111 pounds. Recommendations on hinge reinforcement or tire carrier on the rear bumper?

I need a new rear bumper anyways, and was looking at the ROAM option but thats been out of stock forever. Thanks in advance!

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[aldo98229]

I got this one —see link below. It is identical to the Mopar one for 1/4 of the price.

According to the owners manual, the max capacity of the OE setup is 85 lbs. Between the Quadratec wheel (25 lbs) and the 35-inch General Grabber (65 lbs), I have about 90 lbs hanging on the tailgate.

I installed it around the holidays. Been on the trails twice; so far so good.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08863P1Z4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Roky]

I recently put on Black Rhino Armory wheels with 35" Falken Wildpeak tires that weight around 111 pounds. Recommendations on hinge reinforcement or tire carrier on the rear bumper?

I need a new rear bumper anyways, and was looking at the ROAM option but thats been out of stock forever. Thanks in advance!

I went with EVO mfg. tire carrier. Some like it some don’t. I liked the clean, high & tight look of it and it’s rock solid.

Don’t know why, but I’ve never been a fan of the bumper mounted spare, they work great, just not a fan.

I have one of the heaviest spares out there and it doesn’t budge. It is a hinge replacement carrier not a reinforcement. You can adjust it up & down, and in & out.

 

[Rustydog]

I got this one —see link below. It is identical to the Mopar one for 1/4 of the price.

According to the owners manual, the max capacity of the OE setup is 85 lbs. Between the Quadratec wheel (25 lbs) and the 35-inch General Grabber (65 lbs), I have about 90 lbs hanging on the tailgate.

I installed it around the holidays. Been on the trails twice; so far so good.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08863P1Z4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've been eyeballing these Mopar knockoffs. I see mixed reviews for them. Did you have any trouble with the hardware? All appeared decent and usable?

 

[aldo98229]

I've been eyeballing these Mopar knockoffs. I see mixed reviews for them. Did you have any trouble with the hardware? All appeared decent and usable?

Yes. My understanding is that there are a dozen different knockoffs.

To be honest, I can’t tell any difference between this one and the Mopar one. It even has a circular depression to slap the Mopar Performance Parts badge on —not incl.

 

[RubiJR]

Another consideration would be if you want to carry extra stuff outside the Jeep. Gas, Jack, etc. If you are then go Bumper carrier so you get the extra storage but if not Hinge reinforcement might be worth it. Styling is a personal thing. If you are looking at a new bumper as well then the pricing will be pretty close between the two. I'm trying to justify a RockHard rear bumper tire carrier myself but have yet to pull the trigger. Extra gas is my big one. Rotopaks are pricy when added to a hinge reinforcement. Good topic and I will continue reading with hope it will nudge me enough to install something either way. No help right LOL

 

[Spank]

I went with EVO mfg. tire carrier. Some like it some don’t. I liked the clean, high & tight look of it and it’s rock solid.

Don’t know why, but I’ve never been a fan of the bumper mounted spare, they work great, just not a fan.

I have one of the heaviest spares out there and it doesn’t budge. It is a hinge replacement carrier not a reinforcement. You can adjust it up & down, and in & out.

I'm one of those who don't like it, but I'm more disappointed in the build quality of mine than anything else. Mine is already rusting and I had to add spacers on top of the included spacers to get the gate to align properly because I don't think the tub bracket mounting holes were drilled in the correct spots. Mine also came scratched, but I easily fixed it with some AEV spray paint I had lying around.

However, despite these flaws, it does do the job.

 

[MojitoJLUR]

I'm one of those who don't like it, but I'm more disappointed in the build quality of mine than anything else. Mine is already rusting and I had to add spacers on top of the included spacers to get the gate to align properly because I don't think the tub bracket mounting holes were drilled in the correct spots. Mine also came scratched, but I easily fixed it with some AEV spray paint I had lying around.

However, despite these flaws, it does do the job.

I agree. I love that it replaces the hinges and is quality support, but mine is rusting like crazy.

 

[sourdough]

I was wondering how long it would take before the rust reviews started poping up. Looks horrible.. Aluminum is worth the extra cost.

 

[av8or]

I went with LOD Bumper/Tire carrier because I need to carry extra gas. I love everything about the lod except the weight. With that said, I’d buy it again in a heartbeat. It’s definitely going to outlast the Jeep.

 

[Headbarcode]

I personally prefer a hinged tailgate reinforcement and carrier over the bumper combos. For one, there aren't many choices of combos, so you're limited with looks and functional elements. The bigger reason why I don't like the combos, is that the bumper is hard mounted to the frame and the body is on rubber isolators that allow it to move independently of the frame. So adding a hard connection point between the body and frame means that undue forces are being introduced.

A hinged carrier opens the door to many options of what bumper gets used. I happened to get both parts from Cavfab, but I could've easily had gone with any other bumper. I was originally looking at the Motobilt Crusher, due to the ends not being as low and blocking the rear tires, but Cavfab has a similar bumper.

I'd personally not waste time with a carrier that doesn't address the hinges, because its essentially just adding that much more dead weight to them. My spare is similar in weight to yours, and I was getting unwanted noises and movement at the hinges. Now, I could probably sit on top of the spare with the gate open.

 

[Rustydog]

@Headbarcode
I like that CavFab unit. Does it have a way to adjust the offset. Meaning how does it compensate for varying rim offset, tire width... I see a lot of carriers seem like they put the wheel out there too much like it was made to hold a 40 and then a 35 gets put on.

 

[stylett9]

I have an AEV Borah and Nitto Ridge Grappler 315/70/17. Basically about 34lbs + 71lbs puts me around 105.

I'm running the stock hinges with MOPAR reinforcement on a stock Rubicon tire carrier. So far so good, I'll have to continue overtime.

I will add based on my perspective, Jeep/MOPAR engineered a Rubicon to be able to upgrade to MOPAR Bead locks (36lbs) and 35's using the MOPAR reinforcement. So I'm going to cautiously trust their engineering.

 

[BullMoose1776]

I went with LOD Bumper/Tire carrier because I need to carry extra gas. I love everything about the lod except the weight. With that said, I’d buy it again in a heartbeat. It’s definitely going to outlast the Jeep.

I too can attest to the wheelie enabling power of the rear bumper from LOD.

If I didn't get the LOD I'd recommend the Evo. It's the replacement needed for a heavy tire and wheel. All else will probably result in a bent tailgate.

@lodoffroad is !

 

[Headbarcode]

@Headbarcode
I like that CavFab unit. Does it have a way to adjust the offset. Meaning how does it compensate for varying rim offset, tire width... I see a lot of carriers seem like they put the wheel out there too much like it was made to hold a 40 and then a 35 gets put on.

Yes, it's fully adjustable for both height and depth. My 38x13.5 is wrapped around a 17x9 wheel with -12mm offset. The spare is pressed firmly into the driver side rubber gate bumper and the passenger side of the tailgate reinforcement itself. I opted to go with the highest mount to maximize departure clearance, which is why it's sitting a few inches above the bumper in the pic above. A 38 blocks a lot of window anyway, so losing another sliver didn't bother me. The spare in very close to the gate. Any closer and the rear wiper would hit it.

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