I'm looking to upgrade the rear bumper to one with a 2" receiver and a tire carrier on it. As of now, I still have the spare mounted inside and as you all know, this eats up a lot of space. I have a JCR roof rack, but don't really want to mount the spare there for a few different reasons, one being that this is where the kayaks go! This leads me to look for a rear bumper with the tire carrier on it, but most of the aftermarket ones I've seen are going for $750 and up. Are there any more affordable options out there? Or is someone on here selling one?

 

When I bought my jeep it had a smittybuild XJR bumpers front and back. They are super beefy and look great. But I felt the front one was overkill for my needs so I sold it and put on a lower profile unbranded aftermarket bumper I no got free from a buddy. I would not go cheep on the rear. Even the good tire carriers have a hard time with the abuse of holding a big tire with an arm that can swing. But if I bought my jeep with stock bumpers I sure would have a hard time spending the cash.

 

I have the smittybuilt and really like it. It is heavy, and was a bee hatch to get the larger bolts lined up. But its been solid.

Also, it took some time to get the swing out lined up correctly too.

 

If you are going to tow with your Jeep and you have an aftermarket rear bumper, just make sure you tie the rear bumper into the frame (aka unibody).

When it comes to rear bumpers with tire carriers, affordable isn't a word. You are paying $1000 minimum for one.

 

I also have the Smitybuilt XRC bumper.
While it has been just ok for the money spent on it.
If I did it over again, I would have saved more money and went with the JCR.
The JCR is a much better bumper in all facets.

My XRC rear was made in China, and my front is from Thailand.
The difference in build quality is significant. The front is so much better made than the rear.
So I don't know if Smitybuilt has stop using China for the rear or not?

 

I kind of figured that you guys would say that. Makes sense though. I hadn't stopped to consider the extra weight hanging off the back when bouncing down the trail. I can see where beefy is a must. As of now it's all OE and being built very budget minded, so yeah, those price tags are a bit scary. I did see somewhere that you could buy plans and build your own....I really need to learn how to weld.

 

Yes, the cut and fold kits for front or rear bumpers. The only problem I see for those is having a welder that's heavy duty enough to handle such thick metal. And the welders capable of handling thick metal take A LOT to run. Instead of a regular 110, a 220 is a must with a high amp receptacle and breaker to put behind it.

I see the occasional rear bumper with swing-out tire carrier go on the used marketplace. I'd check Craigslist, your local city's Facebook Marketplace, and apps like OfferUp. You may get lucky!

 

There are also the factory swing outs. But you’re more likely to find a unicorn.

if someone would build these, they’d make a killlin.

 

btw. I also have the jcr roof rack and was able to get two kayaks up there and a 31 inch spare mounted as far towards the back as you can. Can’t say I enjoyed having that much weight up there, but it worked til I had a better option.

 

My $0.02 here is keep an eye out on FB marketplace. Its really the only place you'll score a nice bumper for less than absurd money. I picked up a JCR Vanguard rear tire carrier bumper last year for $600 with just about everything that would come with the kit new. Gotta be ready to pounce when you find something though. I then also went as far as purchasing the eBay rear bumper brackets, plating over the trailer hitch mounting bolts area on the unibody rail, and adding more tie-ins to spread the load away from that area. Gotta figure a full bumper with spare tire and other accessories that may be added is going to weigh 300+ lbs. Cantilever that off the back of the very thin unibody rails and its a recipe for fatigue cracks after a short while of bouncing down trails.

 

Thanks for the good info as far as re-enforcing the unibody.

With your kayaks, I assume you had kayak racks mounted on top of your JCR? Or did you just lay them directly on the tire?

 

Correct. I have two sets of Thule J bars that hold the boats at about 60 degrees. Also, both my boats taper up a little in the back.

 

Good, thread I'm looking to do the same.