35's on a Spare Carrier

[Dagger_91Beast]

I have a factory installed Spare Carrier on my 91. When I bought the truck it had 35's, but the spare is only a 31. As I use it for hunting and drive 6 hrs to get to my place, I'm going to buy an additional 35 as a spare. My question is, will the standard original carrier withstand the additional weight of the 35?

Thanks,

 

[Broncobill78]

I have a factory installed Spare Carrier on my 91. When I bought the truck it had 35's, but the spare is only a 31. As I use it for hunting and drive 6 hrs to get to my place, I'm going to buy an additional 35 as a spare. My question is, will the standard original carrier withstand the additional weight of the 35?
Thanks,

Been there, done that & wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Anything much bigger than a 31 is bad Juju for those factory tire carriers. I would very strongly recommend you *not* do that if you want the carrier to stay attached to the truck & not wail on the tailgate. If you want a spare I'd invest in one of the carriers that fits into a reciever hitch and use that. There are a number of them out there, this is just the first one google spat out at me.

http://www.tiregate.com/hg.shtml

here's a reasonably cheap one:

http://www.hitchcorner.com/trailer-hitch-accessories.htm

and another that's even cheaper still.

http://www.hitchcorner.com/trailer-hitch-accessories.htm

Do yourself & the truck a favor and don't use the factory swing-away. I literally peeled a quarter panel off my 79' with a 36" before I learned my lesson. And for those who don't know this that's a very specific quarter panel on the trucks with swing-aways, it comes from Ford (or whomever else you buy it from) with a backing plate already there and trust me, it's NOT cheaper than the regular quarters (or at least it wasn't when I had to buy it). If you want to put a swing-away onto a Bronco that didn't come with it stock then you need to replace the quarter, self-tapping sheetmetal screws ain't gonna hold it, it's an expensive gig and it usually works out to be cheaper to install a class 3 hitch & get one of the carriers that fits it since you can't even fit a 33" on the interior carrier.

 

[Dagger_91Beast]

Just what I was looking for Broncobill. It didn't look too solid to me, so thanks for confirming. Also, for the alternative info - I appreciate it.

 

[wileec]

I know a couple of folks who keep their 37s back there. The DO make sure to take um off and put them in the bed when wheeling. If you are carefull with the swing you should be ok. I have a 32, high-lift, bike rack and or 5 gallons of gas on mine. bike rack and gas not at the same time. No issues yet. I even managed to almost rip the gas can off on a tree.

Here is a shot with the gas can holder it is a regular 5G gerry can,



Just realized the pic is of a 31, a 32 has riden back there a few times. Still need to get a real spare.

 

[sbveenker]

I've had a 35 on the back of mine for over six months now. The only problem i ever had was when i was on a way way bumpy road for a long time the bolt where the latch is broke. I added a beafy one and never had a problem since

 

[Roadkill]

I'm going to keep one on the stock rack for a while. I plan on building a better bumper with a tire carrier at some point in the future but that could be a while. I think as long as you are driving on the streets, you should be fine, but like BroncoBill said, going offroad with it on there is probably a bad idea. That extra wheight looks like it could yank the skin right of the tailgate if you hit a really hard bump. I'll just have to make sure to put it in the bed before wheeling it.

 

[Broncobill78]

I know a couple of folks who keep their 37s back there. The DO make sure to take um off and put them in the bed when wheeling. If you are carefull with the swing you should be ok. I have a 32, high-lift, bike rack and or 5 gallons of gas on mine. bike rack and gas not at the same time. No issues yet. I even managed to almost rip the gas can off on a tree.

Well, I certainly won't argue your personal experience against my own but I have to say that I think the operative word in your response is "YET". Sure, if you want to take the spare off & toss it in back every time you go off-road & be sure to lift up the swing-away & carry the weight yourself each & every time you open it then sure you can carry a 35" or larger tire on it, but after *personally* watching my swing-away swing open and then peel itself & the quarter panel right off and to the ground I would strongly advise against it. Even when it's secured just driving down the road delivers a beating to the tailgate mount. They just flat-out aren't engineered to carry anything larger than a 31" and anything 35" or larger will absolutely destroy the thing over time unless you take precautions that make using it more of a hassle than it's worth. I honestly can't tell you how many Bronco's I've looked at or seen that have cracks & rips on the upper quarter mount and each & every one of them was carrying an oversize spare. Even a stock 31" beats on it over time. It's just not a good idea, Lord knows people are free to do what they want with their own rig but it was only designed to carry a 29"-31" tire and even those wear on it over time. Putting a 150lb tire & rim on there is just tempting fate. Sure, guys do it but find me someone who's been running his 36" spare back there for the last 5 yrs. It's just my advise & it's only worth what you paid for it, for the guys who want to run them great, more power to ya it's your truck & you'll treat it the way you choose.

 

[Dagger_91Beast]

All good info. After looking at the sites Brocobill provided, there is a cheap ($150) hitch mounted carrier that looks like the thing for longer trips and hunting

 

[wileec]

I am woking on a new bumper/ tire carier as you can see from the pic there is no bumper there now. I was not trying to advise that puttijng a 35 is great but that it certantly CAN be don with out damage. Just for point of referance.



Has been there for at least a couple of years.

 

[Justshootme84]

I've seen a couple Broncos with 35's on the outside carrier severely buckle the rear quarter from the added weight of the tire and wheel. If you have a trail rig or beater, it's no big deal. But if you have a really nice ride with straight panels, I would use the bumper=type mount or secure the tire in the cargo area. I removed the tire carrier completely, and chained the spare 35 to thte rear seat anchor in the floor. Whatever you decide to do, be sure to put a good lock on the spare so no one steals it. JSM84