JW Offroad Spare Tire Mount

[Sixto Lezcano]

FWIW I see so many complaints about the jw and never hear a word against the Becky. I think people bought the jw because it used to be far cheaper. Now that they are similar in price I’d go with becky 100%. But if I actually cared about having a tire on my rear door I’d just get a discovery.

 

[jdevtac]

FWIW I see so many complaints about the jw and never hear a word against the Becky. I think people bought the jw because it used to be far cheaper. Now that they are similar in price I’d go with becky 100%. But if I actually cared about having a tire on my rear door I’d just get a discovery.

What specific complaints? Majority of what I see are people who botch their install or have no idea what they are doing.

 

[trexoffroad]

I’ve got the JW. No complaints other than the need to have the striker plate. I’d prefer a swing out expedition one bumper if they ever come out with one. But I also don’t want to add a lot of weight. The JW has done its job well. Taken it on several trails including Imogene. For the price they want now….I’d be waiting for the Expedition One.

 

[FireGuyBri]

Just following up on this, someone over on the GXOR FB page mounted theirs with a Gobi ladder but it required a little trimming. It obviously blocks the ladder once the tire is mounted, but I'm still interested to see if they'll release the off centered version (I think they're waiting on feedback right now and the website says sold out). Here are some pictures of the trimming required for the center mount version:

Hey! How’s the carrier holding up with the 35” tire mounted? I’m close to pulling the trigger but I’ve been a little hesitant with that weight on the back. Thanks!

 

[ArBrnSnpr]

I've had a 35" on mine for a few months now. It really doesn't hang any differently than a 33" or a 34" did.

 

[ArBrnSnpr]

FWIW I see so many complaints about the jw and never hear a word against the Becky. I think people bought the jw because it used to be far cheaper. Now that they are similar in price I’d go with becky 100%. But if I actually cared about having a tire on my rear door I’d just get a discovery.

Can you post any links to the complaints your seeing?

With GX community being as small as it is, I'm surprised I haven't seen any complaints if there's "so many" floating around.

 

[FireGuyBri]

I’m currently running a Wilco high clearance hitch carrier. It fills the need for a full size 35” spare but at a sacrifice. I’m really considering this option.

I will say this; I’m a career firefighter and I was doing extrication training the other day. We use struts to stabilize cars when they roll over so we can safely work. One guy suggested making a purchase point in the sheet metal and stabilizing the car with the rear quarter panel sheet metal. I’m like, heck no. I tried it later to see how much the sheet metal will support the car with a strut on each side. Well, using the massive ratchet straps that are part of the units, we proceeded to lift the car off the ground with just a small hole for the cleat to grab the sheet metal and without tearing bigger holes into the metal where the cleats for the struts were located. It very much changed my mind about just how strong sheet metal can be and, to me, started to instill a little more confidence in a setup like this. Anecdotal but some food for thought. I was surprised. If I can lift a car, then a properly designed and installed bracket can hold a tire.

I know the seams and hinges can be a problem but I think it’s been covered that controlling the door while opening it solves the undue stress on these parts. I’m wondering if a welder couldn’t preemptively reinforce the seams thereby reducing any future concern. Besides that, I’ve read at nauseam on these carrier and I have also not seen a single real life report of failure.

 

[BMThiker]

Can you post any links to the complaints your seeing?

With GX community being as small as it is, I'm surprised I haven't seen any complaints if there's "so many" floating around.

LOL, it's bigger than you think!

 

[ArBrnSnpr]

^^^ I don't have Facebook so I it's showing me that you just posted a link to the entire GXOR page. If they're the links I was asking you to provide, I can't see them.

I'm aware of the existence of the GXOR Facebook page but in the grand scheme of things when considering cars like the Ford Mustang, or the BMW M3, or a Honda Civic, the GX has a relatively small community.

I can say with confidence that a lot of members here on mud probably also have visibility on the other GX social media sites. I'm surprised that there aren't more links or comments cross-posted here in this thread if there are "so many" being problems being posted about.

Being completely fair, I have seen one YouTube video that said the owners door sagged slightly once opened. He said he would have to wait and see if it caused a problem. That wasn't an issue with the JW carrier - that was an issue with hanging a tire off the door, regardless of who made the design as neither company reinforces the hinges.

If everyone who has something negative to say about the JW carrier keeps their experience on GXOR, then I'm not going to know about it. I'm just surprised and would love to read about their problems that were unique to JW's design so I can discern for myself if it's a design flaw or brand affiliation.

I bought the JW carrier because, like the poster above mentioned, the sheet metal where the tire hangs is not going to be a failure point.

Regardless of through bolt size and door skin support. The contoured metal can hold a 35".

The landing pad that transfers load while the hinge is latched isn't going to be a failure point.

That leaves how the hinge is addressed when the door is open. Neither design addresses that issue, so I went with the design that cost half as much.

What is going to create issues is if you let the door swing open. That energy will tear the sheet metal where the hinge bolts to the door, or the body eventually. Regardless of who came up with the design first, or what aero precision spacers sit inside the door. If it fails, it will be at the hinges. If you don't let it swing into place, you're very likely not going to have that problem with either design.

I have driven mine to the corners of the US twice now. It has been off roading on some of the roughest trails OR, WA, ID, CA, AZ, CO, NV, UT, NM, TX, KY, VA, WV, GA, FL, NC, SC, MT, WY have to offer and a few months back when I pulled mine off and inspected the mounting holes, they were as round and flat as the day I drilled them. My hinges look great too.

I hope no matter what design any of you go with, you get all the happy miles of use and abuse that I've gotten.

 

[BMThiker]

With GX community being as small as it is, I'm surprised I haven't seen any complaints if there's "so many" floating around.

I was just pointing out that one group on FB is nearly 26,000 members strong. I have no way of looking up how many Mud members are in this group, but there are quite a few GX off roaders out there. Not every one of them even wants a tire carrier.

Also, I'm not here to stir the pot on which is better, you can dig up your own research if you wish. But, yeah, it's going to be a small sample of real world usage/results when only a small percentage of GX owners have purchased either one of them. I know from dealing with ACC personally, that they make nearly no profit on the Becky's - it's almost not worth producing and selling (all price increases have been directly due to material and manufacturing inflation). And it is certainly not worth doing a group buy of 10-20 units - there's no manufacturing efficiency to warrant a discount on a few dozen units, perhaps if they could sell 100, but the interest just isn't that great for a tire carrier.

So, it creates a catch-22. How do you sell a product that people appear to want, but don't really want to pay what it's worth?