How to fit a 31" spare in the back of 97-01
 

I wanted my spare 31x10.5x15 tire in the back in the cargo space, not on the roof or flat on the floor.

After thinking and staring at the back for a whole, I decided to move the driver's side seat upper bracket forward.

I took the bracket out, using 8mm socket with a ratchet. There were three bolts holding it on the wall.

Then I drilled new holes about 3/8 inch away from the center of the old holes.



Attachment 272368

With holes drilled, now go ahead and bolt it back on the wall using three new holes u just drilled..



Attachment 272369



Now u ll be able to fit in a 31" spare tire fully inflated with the hatch fully closed.


I'm not sure if this could apply to 96 and older Cherokees, I never had one before.

I only did one side. U wouldn't hardly notice if the bench seat is crooked slightly. But if u desire perfection u can also do the other side too.

I ordered 10mm x 1.5 coupler, two nuts, and about 4 inches long of threaded rod. That way I'm able to re use the factory spare tire holder.



Attachment 272522


(My spare rim is a Cragar d window rim with 3.75 back spacing) so depending on what rim you are using, u may need shorter or longer threaded rod. Maybe u won't even need it at all and do a custom set up.

Thanks for renewing this. Seen it once before while back. I believe for a 32" you do this and have to cut the hatch slightly too. When i get a spare 235/85/16 i will see

when I moved the seat bracket forward appx 1/2". I did notice that I still have plenty of room to move it forward but I didn't because the amount of distance I moved was sufficient for 31's.

i believe to move the bracket further, you need to drill and thread new holes?? True??

on the bracket or on the body?

body

the piece behind the body is "floating". U could lightly thread the bolts to hold the bracket and push it as far as u can and tighten it. Probably add another 3/16" to the length. U could try drilling new holes on the body and move the floating piece to new set of holes. I didn't attempt that though.

interesting. Thanks for the info. I usually keep the back seat down since i don't use it, but gonna do this when i get my spare for those just in case moments of needing a rear seat

i removed the piece of metal at the bottom of your picture for more room for my 31s

tailgate is snug, in that you have to push it in before you use the handle to unlatch

I didn't have any room to fully close the hatch, even with unlatching it before closing. That metal piece being removed didn't really matter because it wasn't in the way.

After I did this mod, I can now fully close the hatch without holding the latch open. The tire is not even snug, it still got plenty of room on either side between hatch and the seat. I would prefer it that way.

On my 1996 I loosened the seat-back bracket and pushed it forward. This was just enough clearance to close the hatch door with no issues.
As for the threaded mount, I used a trailer shackle, which is just a 1/4" thick piece of flat stock with a hole at each end. One end rounded and clearanced to fit the low-profile attachment on chassis. J-bolt goes in opposite end.

How to fit a 31" spare in the back of 97-01
 

Pretty clever! I might would have gone down that route if I knew about it. Haha