I'm Ryan from extremeterrain.com and in this video, we're gonna talk all about my picks
for tub mounted tire carriers for your 2007 and up JK.
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comparing different products in different categories, and of course, to check out other
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Now, when you are running a larger tire on your Jeep it can pose a problem for carrying
that spare.
When you have a much larger and heavier spare, the factory tire mount just can't stand up
to that.
There are really three problems that you're going to encounter when you try to put a big
heavy spare on that factory mount.
The first problem is that the hinges that hold the tailgate in place can start to sag
under that additional stress and you'll have to pick up on that tailgate every time you
open and close it.
The second issue you can run into is the actual tailgate itself coming apart at the seams.
There are some welds that hold the tailgate together and when you have a lot of weight
hanging off of it those wields can fatigue and break causing rattling.
Finally, the tire carrier itself is only rated for the factory size spare tire and weight.
So when you put a much larger one on there, you're exceeding the weight that that tire
carrier is built to handle and again you can end up with metal fatigue and breaking.
Another issue is that with a much larger aftermarket spare tire, usually the tire is wider and
the wheel has a different backspacing, so everything isn't tight up against the tailgate
like it is from the factory.
That means that tires torquing and moving around again causing metal fatigue.
So a lot of issues that come up when you put in much larger than factory spare tire on
your tire carrier, and by that, I mean even a 33 that's heavy, certainly a 35 or a 37-inch
tire.
So there are some solutions to this problems.
One is a bumper mounted tire carrier.
And usually, you'll purchase bumper and the tire carrier together.
The only downside, if you want to call it that, is that you have to first opened the
tire carrier and then open the tailgate, so there are two steps to get into the cargo
area of your Jeep.
Now, some manufacturers have solved that but for the most part, it is just going to be
a two-step operation to get into the cargo area of your Jeep.
Now, the benefit to a tub mounted tire carrier like we're talking about today is that everything
is going to open in one motion, with one hand, just like your tailgate would normally open.
So, a lot of people like these solutions.
Another big benefit to going with a tub mounted tire carrier is that you can pick whatever
bumper you want out there, it doesn't have to come with the tire carrier.
So that's gonna open up some additional options for choosing a bumper.
Today we're gonna talk through three options for tub mounted tire carriers.
The first one we're going to talk about is the Barricade Extreme HD Tire Carrier with
Mount.
The second one is going to be the Rugged Ridge Spartacus Tire Carrier with the Mount, and
finally the TeraFlex Tire Carrier also with the Mouth.
So let's get into the options.
So the first option I wanna talk about today is this Barricaded HD Tire Carrier with the
Mount.
This is going to be the least expensive option that we're gonna talk about today, but it
is still a very high-quality option and it has some features that even some of the more
expensive ones are not going to have.
So what you're seeing here are really three main pieces and those pieces are going to
be the ones that solve those three problems that I talked about.
You're going to have stronger hinges, you're gonna have something beef up that tailgate,
and you're gonna have a much stronger and also adjustable tire mount.
Now, the reason that this is a little bit less expensive than some of those other options
is, one, the material that it's made out of, this is going to be steel, whereas some of
those other options are going to be aluminum, and two, these hinges are going to be metal
on metal hinges.
Some of the other ones are going to have a brass insert which is going to help with wear,
make sure that everything moves nice and smoothly for a good long time.
Not to say that there's anything wrong with these hinges, but that is part of the reason
that some of those other options are gonna be a little bit more expensive.
So again, the hinges are gonna be nice and strong, this is going to bolt directly onto
that tailgate beefing up the tailgate, and finally, the mount over here is adjustable
in two different directions, and that's important.
So this is going to be adjustable up and down so that you can set your tire as low as possible.
If you're just running a heavy 33 or a 35-inch tire, you wanna be able to adjust that down
so that it just clears the bumper and that's gonna give you maximum visibility out the
back window of the Jeep.
If you have a small 33 and it's sitting way up high, you can't see out the back window,
and in my opinion, it looks a little bit goofy as well.
So having that up-down adjustability is a very nice feature.
But maybe more important than that, this has in and out adjustability.
So if you have a wide tire, if you have a wheel with a different backspacing and you
don't have that in and out adjustability, you're gonna bolt that tire on and It's not
going to sit up against anything.
So it's gonna be able to torque and move around, that's a lot of weight hanging out there.
And what that can eventually cause is metal fatigue.
So by having this adjustable, you can push the tire nice and tight.
You're actually gonna have it tight enough that there's some sidewall pressure up against
your tailgate reinforcement piece here and that ensures that the tire, the carrier, and
the tailgate are all one solid piece, so nothing's moving around, nothing's rattling, nothing's
squeaking, and also nothing is fatiguing.
So this option, a little bit less expensive because of the hinges and the material but
still fully adjustable, which is just something that I really like.
The next option here is the Rugged Ridge Spartacus HD Tire Carrier Kit, and kit is the name because
these pieces are available independent of each other.
You can get this tailgate reinforcement and the hinge reinforcement, or you can get just
the tire carrier, so there's a couple different options there.
Now, the reason that I've put this one just a little bit above the Barricade option is,
one, this piece here is going to be aluminum which will help keep the weight down a little
bit.
And when we're talking about a big heavy spare tire, keeping weight down is definitely going
to do be a good thing.
And the other reason is in the hinges here.
These hinges have a little bit of brass in them so they're going to hold up a little
bit better than those steel on steel ones of the Barricade.
But, for those features, you are going to be spending a little bit more money.
This is going to have a similar style adjustable third brake light mount to the Barricade option,
but this is also going to come with a little bit of wiring so that you can extend that
brake light very easily.
So again, a few additional features that you are getting for the additional money that
you're spending now.
Now, the only drawback to the Rugged Ridge option is right over here in the tire mount.
I said before when we talked about the Barricade, I love the fact that it's double adjustable,
this one is only single adjustable.
Now is the more important of the adjustments.
This will allow you to suck the tire in nice and close, make sure everything is tight so
you don't have any torquing and any metal fatigue, however, it's not going to give you
that up-down adjustability, and like I said, with the Barricade, I like to be able to run
my tire as low to the bumper as possible giving me maximum visibility at the back window of
the Jeep and also aesthetically, I just like that look a little bit better.
So, if you have a little bit of a higher budget, you're okay only having the single adjustable
option, and you want something that's a little lighter weight, and with a little bit of a
beefier hinge, I'd recommend going in with this option from Rugged Ridge.
The TeraFlex HD Hinge Carrier with Adjustable Tire Mount is going to be the last option
that we're going to talk about today.
This is going to be the most expensive option, but also the nicest option, in my opinion.
Teraflex was really the first ones to build a tub mount and tire carrier like this, and
they're still the ones doing it the best, again, in my opinion.
Everything from the construction of this to the finish, to the way that things adjust,
I just really like how this kit is put together.
But, as I said, it's gonna be the most expensive option, you're gonna pay premium for this.
So the hinges over here are going to be very well-built.
They are going to stand up really well to a lot of weight over a very long period of
time.
This main support piece is going to be aluminum, again helping to keep weight down a bit, and
then you have your tire carrier over here.
And the way that this adjusts is something that I really like because it can be a little
bit tough to get that tire nice and tight up against the tire carrier.
It's one of those things where you have to lift your tire on, have the tire carrier just
tight enough so it will slide back but not too tight, then push it another eighth of
an inch, tighten it down.
This is a barrel adjustment, so it's going to have a nut and a bolt on the bottom of
it that's gonna pinch everything together.
But the way that that's design is going to make it a little bit easier to get everything
adjusted and cinched down.
As you can see here you do have three different holes so that you can lower that tire as low
as possible, so you are getting both in, out, and up-down adjustability with this setup.
So, like I said, TeraFlex is the first one to really make something like this.
My opinion, they are still doing it the best.
If you're looking for the highest quality option and you have the budget for it, I would
deftly recommend going with this one.
So those are my picks for the top tub mounted tire carriers for your 07 and up JK.
Today we talked about the Barricade HD Tire Carrier with Mount, which is going to be our
good option, saves you a little bit of money over with some of the others, is fully adjustable,
but maybe the hinges aren't quite as strong and beefy as some of the others.
We also talked about the Rugged Ridge Spartacus HD option with the Mount.
That is going to have some really big nice beefy hinges, but not have quite the adjustability
as the Barricade option, but it is gonna be less expensive than that last option that
we talked about which is the TeraFlex HD Tire Carrier with the Adjustable Mount.
That's going to be our best option, most expensive but very, very well-built, going to hold up
very well, and is also fully adjustable.
Make sure you comment below to let us know which one of those tire carries is your favorite
or your experience with one if you're currently running that on your Jeep.
And also make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel to checking out more videos like this,
and some other awesome Jeep content.
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