Alright gang. Here is my first tech writeup so I hope it's helpful. After finding a fairly elegant solution on YouTube (here's the link) I decided to do the spare tire lift. For guys like me who don't have/want to drop the $1,500 for a nice bumper with a tire mount, or who don't otherwise want to give up precious cargo room for a big tire or strap it to the roof, this seemed like the solution for me. I also think it's a little cleaner than other solutions out there for lifting the spare tire. You can do this whole project without jacking up the vehicle. I put it up on ramps just for extra access, but it wasn't necessary.
YOUR OVERALL OBJECTIVE - You're looking to RAISE the tire carrier by about 5", and you want to LOWER the lowering mechanism by that same distance to make the lowering mechanism still be accessible using your factory bumper slot.
So here goes. First, the shopping list:
You'll also need/want:
I also picked up a good Dremel attachment to make quicker work of cutting the tubing. That added another $16 at Home Depot but was easily worth it.
First step is to cut the 1/2" square tubing into 5" long sections. These will be the spacers you'll use to (a) raise the carrier assembly and (b) lower the lowering mechanism assembly. You want to lower the lowering mechanism to make sure you can still lower and raise the spare tire using the factory access hole on the bumper.
It's really important that you don't make these sections any longer than 5" because that's about all the room you have to work with to get your tire mounted up at the end. I almost had to find this out the hard way but with a little "persuasion" I was able to get everything back together and bolted back up. But I digress.
Your cut pieces will look a little something like this:
Next, lower the spare tire (see your manual) and put it out of the way.
Unbolt the spare tire carrier that mounts to the frame. There are three 12mm bolts on each side that holds the carrier to the frame. Look out for falling dirt, rodent parts, etc.! I found it was easier to remove the carrier at the frame rather than leave the brackets attached to the frame. (This makes it much easier to both drill out the threads (if you do it my way) or otherwise mount everything back up later.
With the tire carrier out of the frame, the work begins. Remove the six 12mm bolts that hold the mount bracket to the tire carrier. (Three per side.) Because I was using SAE bolts from Home Depot, I drilled out the threads of the bracket so my bolts would slip through the holes (hence the nylock nuts).
Next, slip a bolt through a washer, and then through the carrier. Slip one of your 5" sections of steel tubing, and then mount the bracket using another washer and a nylock nut. I'm pretty OCD so I used Loctite, too, but I know that isn't really necessary. Continue this process for all three bolts on both sides. (6 bolts for those of you keeping score at home.)
I found it pretty easy to leave all the bolts loose until they were all started. Give yourself a little wiggle room and don't tighten the bolts until they're all started.
Those 5/16" bolts have a 1/2" head, so go ahead and tighten those dudes down. You'll tighten all six to German spec ("guttentight").
After you've done all six of the bolts that mount the carrier to the frame brackets, remove the four 12mm bolts that hold the lowering mechanism to the carrier. PAY ATTENTION TO WHICH SIDE FACES THE BUMPER!! You don't want to put this on backwards!! (I actually marked the direction with a grease pencil because I have a tendency to forget those kinds of things amid the Loctite and beer.)
I then drilled out the threads on the lowering mechanism so I could again use my bolts and nylock washers. Again, slip a bolt through a washer and then through the carrier frame. Then slip one of your 5" pipe sections over the bolt, and then put the lowering mechanism on the bolt. A little dab of Loctite (not necessary) and then the nylock nut. Four times and she's good!
When you're done your modified carrier will look like this:
Then install that bad boy!!
With the pipe sections cut at about 5" I found that I could get one bolt to thread in to the frame, but I had to use a screwdriver or a pick to muscle the carrier up high enough to thread the 12mm bolts back to the frame. In the end, all worked out just fine. Again, don't make your pipe sections longer than 5" or you'll be pulling this back off and cutting them down again.
As I raised the spare back into position I had to push the tire where I wanted it while simultaneously cranking the mechanism back up. I'm sure I looked a bit goofy but it worked!
I was concerned that spacing the mechanism down on 5" spacers would make the mechanism a little wonky, but it seems to work okay. It's not the smoothest operating system anyway, but the tire went back up just fine. I went ahead and hit that 20-year-old part with a load of PB Blaster so hopefully she'll do just fine when needed.
Final step: Open and consume beer because you're a stud.
In the end my tire is about 5" up from my rear diff, and a little less likely to snag while hitting the trails.
I hope y'all find this helpful.
Matt
YOUR OVERALL OBJECTIVE - You're looking to RAISE the tire carrier by about 5", and you want to LOWER the lowering mechanism by that same distance to make the lowering mechanism still be accessible using your factory bumper slot.
So here goes. First, the shopping list:
- 10 bolts - 5/16" x 6" x 18TPI
- (at least) 10 flat washers for bolts (I bought a 25 pack)
- 10 - 5/16 x 18 thread nylock nuts
- 1/2" square steel tubing (enough to make 10 5" sections). You'll use these as bolt spacers on the 6" bolts.
- beer
You'll also need/want:
- 12mm socket & rachet wrench, or a couple of wrenches. ("Spanners" to you Brits.)
- Decent shop light
- PB Blaster, WD40 or similar lubricant
- Dremel tool with good cutting wheels, or similar cutting tool
- 1/2" socket or wrenches/spanners, if you use the bolts I used.
- Eye protection for cutting. (Be smart or be blind.)
- Bottle opener for said beer
I also picked up a good Dremel attachment to make quicker work of cutting the tubing. That added another $16 at Home Depot but was easily worth it.
First step is to cut the 1/2" square tubing into 5" long sections. These will be the spacers you'll use to (a) raise the carrier assembly and (b) lower the lowering mechanism assembly. You want to lower the lowering mechanism to make sure you can still lower and raise the spare tire using the factory access hole on the bumper.
It's really important that you don't make these sections any longer than 5" because that's about all the room you have to work with to get your tire mounted up at the end. I almost had to find this out the hard way but with a little "persuasion" I was able to get everything back together and bolted back up. But I digress.
Your cut pieces will look a little something like this:
Next, lower the spare tire (see your manual) and put it out of the way.
Unbolt the spare tire carrier that mounts to the frame. There are three 12mm bolts on each side that holds the carrier to the frame. Look out for falling dirt, rodent parts, etc.! I found it was easier to remove the carrier at the frame rather than leave the brackets attached to the frame. (This makes it much easier to both drill out the threads (if you do it my way) or otherwise mount everything back up later.
With the tire carrier out of the frame, the work begins. Remove the six 12mm bolts that hold the mount bracket to the tire carrier. (Three per side.) Because I was using SAE bolts from Home Depot, I drilled out the threads of the bracket so my bolts would slip through the holes (hence the nylock nuts).
Next, slip a bolt through a washer, and then through the carrier. Slip one of your 5" sections of steel tubing, and then mount the bracket using another washer and a nylock nut. I'm pretty OCD so I used Loctite, too, but I know that isn't really necessary. Continue this process for all three bolts on both sides. (6 bolts for those of you keeping score at home.)
I found it pretty easy to leave all the bolts loose until they were all started. Give yourself a little wiggle room and don't tighten the bolts until they're all started.
Those 5/16" bolts have a 1/2" head, so go ahead and tighten those dudes down. You'll tighten all six to German spec ("guttentight").
After you've done all six of the bolts that mount the carrier to the frame brackets, remove the four 12mm bolts that hold the lowering mechanism to the carrier. PAY ATTENTION TO WHICH SIDE FACES THE BUMPER!! You don't want to put this on backwards!! (I actually marked the direction with a grease pencil because I have a tendency to forget those kinds of things amid the Loctite and beer.)
I then drilled out the threads on the lowering mechanism so I could again use my bolts and nylock washers. Again, slip a bolt through a washer and then through the carrier frame. Then slip one of your 5" pipe sections over the bolt, and then put the lowering mechanism on the bolt. A little dab of Loctite (not necessary) and then the nylock nut. Four times and she's good!
When you're done your modified carrier will look like this:
Then install that bad boy!!
With the pipe sections cut at about 5" I found that I could get one bolt to thread in to the frame, but I had to use a screwdriver or a pick to muscle the carrier up high enough to thread the 12mm bolts back to the frame. In the end, all worked out just fine. Again, don't make your pipe sections longer than 5" or you'll be pulling this back off and cutting them down again.
As I raised the spare back into position I had to push the tire where I wanted it while simultaneously cranking the mechanism back up. I'm sure I looked a bit goofy but it worked!
I was concerned that spacing the mechanism down on 5" spacers would make the mechanism a little wonky, but it seems to work okay. It's not the smoothest operating system anyway, but the tire went back up just fine. I went ahead and hit that 20-year-old part with a load of PB Blaster so hopefully she'll do just fine when needed.
Final step: Open and consume beer because you're a stud.
In the end my tire is about 5" up from my rear diff, and a little less likely to snag while hitting the trails.
I hope y'all find this helpful.
Matt
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