Today I installed the Rugged Ridge Spartacus Tire Carrier!
I got a great price on it from Rubitrux. Big thanks to RubiTruxBen here on the forums.
Real quick shipping too.
Install went pretty smooth.
The instructions were very clear and easy to follow for the most part.
The only thing I noticed that seemed a little "off" was when installing the new hinge section, the 3 holes in the top hinge bracket matched up perfectly, but then when I went to attach the bottom hinge, the two holes on the left side of it were lower than the holes in the tailgate by quite a bit. I just barely got them threaded in with all other bolts loosened.
I don't know if it was purposely designed this way or if something was just off with the hinge.
The hinge itself seemed lined up perfectly with the recess in the tailgate. Just the holes seemed off.
Anyway, it's on, everything is tight/secure and the rest of it install went smoothly.
So far it seems very strong and stable.
The tire itself was lifted several inches higher than the stock carrier which is great because I needed to clear the hitch mounted bike rack I'm installing. The stock tire mount was too low.
The tire was sitting maybe an inch above the recess in the bumper.
The tire is also nicely tucked up close to the tailgate. The carrier does not adjust just up and down but adjusts fore and aft, as well as tilting up and down.
At the moment, I'm very pleased with this carrier. Especially at around $250 cheaper than the Teraflex unit. For my use, I couldn't justify that much scratch.
I got a great price on it from Rubitrux. Big thanks to RubiTruxBen here on the forums.
Real quick shipping too.
Install went pretty smooth.
The instructions were very clear and easy to follow for the most part.
The only thing I noticed that seemed a little "off" was when installing the new hinge section, the 3 holes in the top hinge bracket matched up perfectly, but then when I went to attach the bottom hinge, the two holes on the left side of it were lower than the holes in the tailgate by quite a bit. I just barely got them threaded in with all other bolts loosened.
I don't know if it was purposely designed this way or if something was just off with the hinge.
The hinge itself seemed lined up perfectly with the recess in the tailgate. Just the holes seemed off.
Anyway, it's on, everything is tight/secure and the rest of it install went smoothly.
So far it seems very strong and stable.
The tire itself was lifted several inches higher than the stock carrier which is great because I needed to clear the hitch mounted bike rack I'm installing. The stock tire mount was too low.
The tire was sitting maybe an inch above the recess in the bumper.
The tire is also nicely tucked up close to the tailgate. The carrier does not adjust just up and down but adjusts fore and aft, as well as tilting up and down.
At the moment, I'm very pleased with this carrier. Especially at around $250 cheaper than the Teraflex unit. For my use, I couldn't justify that much scratch.