DIY & Installs, WJ

WJ Rear Bumper Tire Carrier DIY Assembly Instructions

Posted on by TFadmin
14
Mar

Assembly instructions for the tire carrier portion of the rear bumper

Assembly should only be performed by an experienced fabricator. If you do not have all the necessary tools, experience, or confidence to undertake this project, please seek help before beginning.

INCLUDED COMPONENTS:

  • 2×3 Box tube pieces
    • 48″ cut 8 degrees on one side
    • 4.5″ cut 8 degrees on one side
    • 13.5″ cut 45 degrees on both sides
    • 6.75″ cut square
  • 2×2 Box tube pieces
    • Matched pair 15″ cut 45 degrees, one side is double beveled
  • Swingout spindle assembly
  • Double locking latch
  • Spring loaded T Pin
  • Plate pieces
    • 11 gauge (5 total)
      • Rectangle 2×3 end cap
      • (2) fish plates
      • (1) TF gusset
      • (1) Bottle opener gusset
    • 3/16″ (6 total)
      • (1) Tire plate gusset
      • (1) Tire plate
      • (1) Latch plate
      • (1) Spindle top plate
      • (1) Spindle bottom plate
      • (1) Spindle upright plate

ASSEMBLY

  • Before beginning, your rear bumper should be fully build, and ON the vehicle to ensure proper fitment! Ideally before any paint is applied, otherwise be sure to remove paint from weld areas before welding.
  • Tire carrier primary swing arm
    • Take the 2 2×3 box tube ends cut at 8 degrees and line them up to create a 16 degree angle. This will form the primary swing arm. Tack these together. Take the swing out spindle sleeve and trace the round OD onto the short side, grind this arc out and tack the sleeve on.
We suggest not fully welding this until you test fit the assembly onto the bumper. Make sure the zerk fitting faces forward like shown here. Hindsight from this photo…. the zerk fitting should be a little further away from the box tube…. there will be a t handle latch here! DO NOT WELD the spindle sleeve with bearings or carriers installed!

A quick note about fitment. Regardless of tire, adding that much weight to your swing out WILL cause it to sag/droop a little! I will make some suggestions here to make it line up best with the appropriate weight on it, but ultimately, be sure to consider what all you will have on your tire carrier and adjust accordingly!

  • Tire carrier mounting onto bumper
    • You will want to start setting up the mounting for the spindle on the bumper at this stage, which will allow you to then come back and center up your tire mount plate.
This lower support comes out at the same upward angle as the bottom of the outer wing
The upright gusset in the middle has a drain hole in the bottom corner as shown. Set top plate down until they all contact and tack in place.

In order to ensure enough clearance to the bumper body, and allow room for weight sag, we suggest spacing the primary swing arm up about 3/16 to 1/4″ near the spindle, and around 3/8″ over at the driver end. The driver side latch support should be set spaced down that heigh difference, with a gap between the swing arm and the support to allow for sag under weight.

Spacers shown here
Latch setup and swing tube end cap shown. We strongly suggest bending the latch base plate at an angle and welding it on as shown here so it pulls both inward and downward, which will reduce vibrations and rattles. NOTE: With no weight on the swing arm, and it unlatched, put around 3/8″ of spacer in-between the swing arm the the latch plate (under swing arm) to intentionally create a gap.
  • Once all the above is lined up and tack welded in place, move on to the upper portion.
Upper portion with fish plates shown. Make sure the 8 degree double bevelled ends are at the bottom (sitting on the swing arm).
Center up on the rig
Bevel leaning the tube rearwards
  • Tire carrier mount arm
    • The tire carrier plate can be mounted at any angle you would like, all based on how you trim the tube. Our suggested mounting angle trim notes are here:
    • Cut one end of the short 2×3 square cut box tube as shown below. The angle is 28 degrees from horizontal
Make this trim, the angle of the cut will determine your tire mount angle. Feel free to make changes if you want the tire to sit differently!
Tire mount plate shown with gusset and tube. The mount plate has 4 small pinholes that you use to locate the box tube so as to not interfere with any of the bolt pattern holes.
Mount plate setup on the swing out. This setup was designed to fit a 37″ tire at or below roof level, and a 40″ tire at or below factory roof rail level. The angle we chose splits the difference between vertical and the back glass, keeping the tire closer to the vehicle. You can also trim the tube back if you have low backspacing and want the tire closer to the vehicle. BE SURE TO TEST FIT THIS BEFORE TRIMMING THOUGH!!

At this stage, if you have tack welded the assembly in place and are checking the sag under weight, and need more angle/gap at the latch plate on driver side, you can split the primary carrier box tube at the bottom and open the gaps up to raise the driver side up higher.

Split here if you need more raise/gap to allow weight sag. If everything is lining up good at this stage and you’re happy, start fully welding!
You can burn the 2 gussets in at this stage as well.
Now for mounting the T-handle spring latch that holds the swing out open… it needs to be spaced away from the spindle sleeve, so we usually throw some tack welds on as spacers.
With the swing out latched in place, line up the spring latch (note the gap) and make sure the stud is centered up in the hole.
Weld er on!
The excess spindle that sticks out below can be lopped off and weld around that area for max strength.
Should look something like this!

After fully welding, remove, clean er up, paint to color of choosing, then reassemble!

  • Tire mount notes:
    • Stock bolt spacing is 5×5, 1/2″ bolts
    • If you are axle swapped, most common patterns are also present on the mount plate
    • Most 8 lug patterns are 9/16″ hardware
    • You can tack weld hardware on the backside of the mount plate if you would like
    • Bolt up a wheel spacer here if you want to carry a spare, or want more spacing between the rig and your tire
    • When re-installing the spindle, make sure to seat the bearing seats all the way (carefully, don’t mar the roller bearing surface)
    • Torque the spindle nut pretty tight until there is resistance to swinging, then back off to desired swing effort. We usually leave some preload on the nut so the tire swing doesn’t swing freely.
    • Make sure you tighten down the latch adjustment! The primary latch should be pulling the swing arm down and inward into the latch plate nice and tight! The secondary safety lever should be just that, a safety only!
TFadmin

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