So, after lifting my XJ and changing over to 31" tires, I'm screwed for somewhere to put the spare - right now it's rattling around loose in the cargo area. Having poked around looking for ideas (and who could go wrong with the ones in this thread? ), I'm thinking there might be another way of doing this; just curious to hear what everyone thinks.
The basic plan: add a reinforcing plate inside the panel to cope with the tire weight, bolt the carrier bracket from a TJ to the tailgate through the reinforcement, add a couple extra high-pressure struts, and call it done.
The reasoning: I don't particularly care to change out the rear bumper to add a tire carrier, and the ones that slot into the receiver pretty much all suck. AFAIK there's no stock tire carrier for a 2000-2001 XJ, so it's either this, the roof, or new bumpers.
Downsides: the tailgate panel was never designed to carry that much weight, and I'm not sure it can be sufficiently beefed-up to handle it. Ditto the hinges, particularly where they mount to the unibody. Putting in another pair of struts long enough to give support towards the outer end of the tailgate will be a PITA.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? I think it could be made to work, but I'm really leery as to how well it would work.
The basic plan: add a reinforcing plate inside the panel to cope with the tire weight, bolt the carrier bracket from a TJ to the tailgate through the reinforcement, add a couple extra high-pressure struts, and call it done.
The reasoning: I don't particularly care to change out the rear bumper to add a tire carrier, and the ones that slot into the receiver pretty much all suck. AFAIK there's no stock tire carrier for a 2000-2001 XJ, so it's either this, the roof, or new bumpers.
Downsides: the tailgate panel was never designed to carry that much weight, and I'm not sure it can be sufficiently beefed-up to handle it. Ditto the hinges, particularly where they mount to the unibody. Putting in another pair of struts long enough to give support towards the outer end of the tailgate will be a PITA.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? I think it could be made to work, but I'm really leery as to how well it would work.