Stock tire carrier retrofit
 

So this is just how I fitted a stock tire carrier onto my 2000 Cherokee, I searched a lot to find information on this before I did mine so I figured if show y'all how I did it. So I found a stock swing out tire carrier from a 1985 xj on Craigslist for $30 but it was missin the latch piece that goes on the bumper and the backing plate for the part of the hinge that bolts onto the quarter panel. The tire carrier I got came with the original bumper so it already had the spots for the latch and the bumper mounted part of the hinge. So the first step was to make a backing plate for the inside of the quarter panel. Since my dad and I do a lot of work with aluminum we had a bunch of aluminum blocks layin around and decided to use a thick piece for the backing plate. Since the studs on the tire carrier are short we milled out a section of the block so that there'd be enough threads to get a nut on. After that was done I had to fabricate the latch piece so I used another block of aluminum. This one was hard since the tire carrier swings in at an angle but this is how I machined out the latch. And I threaded the holes cause it'd be hard to get nuts back behind the bumper. After some fine tuning with a file I got it to work. So then since my tire carrier didn't come with the rubber bumper for the hatch I made one out of a hockey puck and the leg of an old washing machine.

After all that it was workin great! And I know you're only supposed to go up to a 31x10.5 on these stock ones but I put my 33x10.5 on there And I'm hopin for the best 😁 and for relocating the license plate I just got a 3$ light from autozone, ran the stock wires to it on the inside of the hatch, and called it good and to attach he plate I just got a box of those plastic inserts for $2 and drilled a couple holes and there's a 5$ license plate relocation that works and looks fairly clean! And I'm 16 and have a very low budget so that's why I didn't go the route of the very expensive swing out tire carrier bumper haha

Nice, I put gr.8 washers between the bolt and bearings at the swivel points for added support and safety for my 31s, so far so good in the last couple month since my buddy and I put it on.

Good idea I might have to do that

This is one of the first project I wanted to do, glad you have a good one.