Hi Everyone,

Newbie here. I've been looking all over the internet and forums to find out if it's possible (without damage or extreme mods) to fit a tire carrier from a JK (without the brake light from the picture I attached) to the back of an XJ and then just add two more heavy duty lift struts to help lift the gate. I saw a video of a guy that did something like that but he added a different type of tire carrier. My idea is to just bolt on the JK tire carrier and reinforce the panel (if needed). I'm thinking I might have to remove the rear bumper and later have one fabricated so that it has the wheel cut-out (see attached picture below) that would prevent the spare from hitting the bumper. Is this feasible and has anyone on here done it? Any ideas?
Thanks

 

Anything's possible, but it seems like a lot of work to put on some OEM carrier rated for OEM sized tires when you can buy an aftermarket HD tire carrier with an integrated bumper.

 

Sounds like a waste of time and money to me,Sure you could do it with stronger lift struts but what about the hinge and the latch handling the extra weight?And i forget the years but some xjs the back hatch is fiberglass something else to think about.

 

The reason I'm thinking about doing this is because I don't really need to carry a large spare, a simple 29 will do as a spare for me since I don't do any real rock climbing or anything of the sort. Just basic snow and sand. Also, I just personally don't like the look of the rear bumpers with stock carriers out there. I want something where the tire will sit closer to the rear of the car without it being at an angle as I've seen in some rear bumpers.

 

Good points, but not sure about the waste of money, since the rear bumpers with tire carriers I've seen cost a lot of $$ too and they would not look the way I want it.

 

Just mount it back where it was from the factory if its that small a tire. Only reason to mount one on a bumper or on top is because of the size of it. I run 33's and 35" tires on mine so if I carry them inside I have no room for the rest of the gear I need on the trail. In addition a good bumper has recovery points and usually another receiver on it like this.

 

If your running a stock spare keep it inside the jeep.Mostly only run a tire carrier because the spare it too big to be carried on the inside.The downside to having the tire on the outside will be lack of visibility out the back window and the tire in the sun not cover can age it faster.And unless its on a nice thick and strong carrier you get rear ended it will case more damage then not having it hanging on the back.