I found 2 useful threads about the OEM tire carrier retrofit. One thing I wasnt able to find was, IS the internal support behind the fender and inside the tailgate removable from the donor runner or not? Because the one thread I found had a part number for the one support but when I went to look up the part at work there was no listing for it so im kind of confused. One other thing is, seems like everyone has been finding these carriers between 40-80 dollars, the one I found locally was 140? doe that sound a bit steep?

 

I got one on my rig i would practically trade for a similar color non swing out tailgate.

EDIT:

You are out in NJ..

Um i sure wouldn't pay $140 for one.

 

Yeah I thought 140 was a bit steep just for the carrier and the tail gate mount seeing as it seems like no one has paid more than 80 dollars tops for one on here with all the research Ive done, because I thought the point of the mod was to get it done for cheap compared to fabbing one up. Im just kind of getting sick of running a 36` swamper on my roof with my other equipment, and my fab skills are little to none at all so me actually making a carrier for cheap is not possible

 

Well... JUST A FYI...

With my 36" on the swingout it looks HORRIBLE IMO... I have no rear bumper and the tire hangs down WAY too low for me to even put one on there if i had a spare. SO if i get one its going in teh back cargo area.

 

well i was going to have someone do what this guy did and raise the mount a little bit

http://www.off-road.com/trucks4x4/ar....jsp?id=186349

I dont run a rear bumper either

 

Here's mine with a 35 and all the stock bumper junk it don't look bad at all if you ask me and it fits rather nicely.

 

yours is factory right? or was that a retrofit?

 

That is factory and looks to be in the factory spot.

 

so are the supports removable from that year or no? the only way to do the retrofit is making custom supports?

 

Idk i haven't pulled the interior pannels apart to verify.

 

anyone else?

 

any imput from anyone who has done the retrofit?

 

The internal supports are spot welded and also {I think} urethane sealed to the body so yes they are removable with a little effort. Bring a cordless drill [I'd say at least a 14.4v] with two fresh batteries and a weld cutter bit with you to the yard and that should get you started. You need to remove the entire right rear interior trim panel and tail light assembly to get access. Don't forget to measure and snap some pics before you remove the carrier/braces for when you install them on your truck.

Around here the base price for a swing out carrier is around $80US + $20 something for the braces [depending on how the cashier at the yard feels that day they may include them with the carrier].

edit: you may want to grab the gate too or at least the reverse lights out of it as you see in the pic above they are different to the non-carrier equipped trucks if you want a completely stock appearance. You could mount a couple of tractor work lights facing backwards to the bumper to give you the back-up lights you need if you don't go with the stock idea.

 

The tailgate is pretty rotted which is actually a damn shame because its the same color as my rig. Im still kind of in the air whether I want to do the swing out tire carrier or just get aftermarket cross bars for my roof and move the safari rack forward onto the stronger cross rails. Right now im jsut kind of worried about having the factory rack ripped off. That info helps alot also, i really appreciate it

 

No problems... as for slinging the tire on the roof don't forget the wheel is heavy and will add a lot of wind resistance which will absolutely kill what little fuel econ. you have... I put a pair of cross bars on my camper top and it cost me a noticeable 2 mpg... since I had a sign remove them last winter {during a skid} lol... it drives much better... you can actually feel the difference [no bull].
Also that tire is going to be dirty and a pain to get down... you know it's only going to blow out when you and the gf/wife are dressed for a fancy night out right?
I'd go with the gate... my 0.02

 

lol i agree with you, its been up there for so many years that i have just gotten use to it honestly. but yeah like i said im still thinking of my options

 

Something else to think of... UV rot... at least on the back you can set a cool looking cover on it... maybe even one of those uber cool JDM stock Surf hard covers...

 

You could build a fold down that slides into your reciever.

 

Read this it has most of the info/answer's you'r looking for and yes mine is stock and as for the well just read this post you'll see very good info.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...arrier-155857/

 

Thanks Harley that's one of the threads I was thinking of.

Here's the off-board link within that link... good information on an install using fabricated internal braces... http://www.geocities.com/bajaguru/spare.html