What Is The Biggest Tire I Can Put On A 74 FJ40 Spare Tire Carrier

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Mar 19, 2015
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San Diego, CA
I have a stock rim that I want to mount on my spare tire carrier. I currently have 31x10.5 R15 tires on the truck. Was hoping to match that size on the spare but it does not look like there is that much room back there.
 
I have a 33" tire on my carrier... I used to use my 74' original carrier until I found a 64' one in great shape

I had to use square tube spacer to fit and move the holder up one bolt hole... Mind you this is for 33"

SOOO it can fit... You may need to make adjustments to fit correctly :)
 
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Pic of the holder spacers
 
I don't think you will need to lift it one bolt hole... But... You might need to space them out... However I did go many years without the spacers and the tire sits tilted in just a tad

It the width that you need the spacer

I think the spacer was 3/4" maybe 1"

Exact size escapes me right now
 
With the pre 72 carrier it's plenty strong. Beefing up the mounting brackets for the hinges would be a good idea. Starting in 72 the metal in the tub got lighter. For real heavy spares mounting off the rear frame member with a aftermarket carrier is the best way to go.
 
I'm running 31/10.50/15 on my '75. The P.O. put longer bolts on the carrier and put a couple of washers on them to space the tire out. been fine for a couple of decades.
 
That's a good idea. The carrier is missing two bolts anyways. Any idea what size/thread those bolts are off the top of your head?
 
Seems like I got the wrong year 40, and if someone won one on a coin toss. I definitely paid to much for it.
 
That's a good idea. The carrier is missing two bolts anyways. Any idea what size/thread those bolts are off the top of your head?[
That's a good idea. The carrier is missing two bolts anyways. Any idea what size/thread those bolts are off the top of your head?
They look to be about 1/2" coarse thread. Not metric
 
I know this is an old thread but thought I’d reach out. I’ve got an oversized spare and very similar detail to JohnnyC. Made spacer tubes to hold spare off just enough. The problem I’m having is the weight of the spare pushed further back on the carrier is creating some “racking” and making the carrier want to hang out any the top a 1/2” or so. Also, creates some rattling when driving. A little nervous that over time will put too much stress on hinges with this additional upper pull.

I want to somehow further assist the carrier near the top latch side but am not sure how to detail this. I tried putting some super powerful rare earth magnets in this spot but not strong enough. I’d prefer to not drill holes in the rear swing door. Anyone run into this issue?

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I don't think there's much you can do with that style tire carrier. Mine has a large divot from the constant flexing of the spare banging against the rear door, even though I mounted a larger rubber bumper to spread the load out. Some people adapt the later tube style carrier or use a bumper mounted one.

I thought about adding a diagonal brace across the corner, with a turn buckle to be able to tension it against the weight of the tire. I think it would stiffen the plate style carrier significantly, but ultimately you've got a huge mass hanging off a piece of sheet metal, which in turn is bolted to a sheet metal tub, so there's only so much you can do.
 

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