• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Swing Arm Tire Carrier Reviews Help Please

ewert35

NAXJA Forum User
Location
denver co
So I finally saved enough cash and I want to buy a tire carrier/bumper combo with space for a jerry/shovel/jack... Need more space. I have an 01 XJ WITH 33's on it and a huge tompkin front bumper stock rear.

I have read reviews on line and everything everyone has, they always say it's awesome and love it...

I was wondering if you guys could help me out with some user pictures and recommendations for a really solid, rattle free, tire carrier that will fit a 33 x 12!

I would love local shops or garage fabricators, I have to store my jeep outside so I need something that will take a lot of abuse and stand up to the Colorado environment!!!

Many please and thank yous!!!!!
I'm sorry if this is a duplicate thread, I couldn't find what I was looking for...
Matty
 
One day, when I have the money saved up, I will be going with bumpers from www.detoursusa.com He's a fabricator, his stuff is time tested now.

Just my opinion.
 
One day, when I have the money saved up, I will be going with bumpers from www.detoursusa.com He's a fabricator, his stuff is time tested now.

Just my opinion.

another vote for the Detours slim-line bumper. he has been building and refining it for probably 10 years now so it's got a solid track record. i had one a while back, and the next XJ will get one too. he's a small family business and that's where my $$ goes whenever it can.
 
Have you looked into the Tomken rear bumper? I've had mine for years and recently got the swing-away tire carrier for it. Very solid...no rattle, and carries my 33x10.5 nicely. Even with the tire carrier, the receiver hitch on the bumper is still usable.
 
I have AJ's Offroad rear bumper with some accessories. After a bunch of shopping around, he had the best price for my needs (reverse lights, rap around corners, hitch, etc). Solid quality, but needed a little customizing to get it to fit perfectly. That could have been attributed to the fact that the company was changing ownership at the time of my order.

20131019_150254.jpg
 
I have no experience with the swing-arm type but I did used to window shop them a lot. If you also want a two-hitch, some replace the bumper and have a built in hitch - but I have been told that it is better to have a separate hitch under the bumper.

My friend tricked out his 2001 Ford Excursion with giant wheels and had no need for the inside tire bracket so he gave it to me. It's a 1/2" eye bolt, brace plate the size of a dinner plate and a 12" long wing-nut so easy to use manually.

I have a solid steel Thule rack mounted in my XJ gutters. The bars can hold a load and are hollow. On one side, I have a snowboard box loaded with tools, so it is basically a trunk. This past summer I was able to keep the box and mount the spare on the roof on the other side, and still be able to open the box. Granted, this is with a 235/75/15 wheel but if I didn't mind it sticking out a couple inches, I could fit a bigger wheel.

I had to get a big enough drill to fit the half inch-bolt and I just bolted it to one bar. I have it stabilized with a couple old deflated swiss-yoga balls, one front and one back. I am sure it isn't going anywhere but I didn't want any wiggling to widen the hole for the single bolt.

Sounds cheesy, but it works nice.
 
Garvin Industries Rear EXT Series Swing Away Tire Carrier Bumper System


Anyone have any experiance with these bumpers for a tire carrier system?
 
I have AJ's Offroad rear bumper with some accessories. After a bunch of shopping around, he had the best price for my needs (reverse lights, rap around corners, hitch, etc). Solid quality, but needed a little customizing to get it to fit perfectly. That could have been attributed to the fact that the company was changing ownership at the time of my order.

20131019_150254.jpg
This is my ideal bumper. I've been thinking about purchasing one from them for a little while now, just don't know if I trust the craftsmanship, finish after the company sold. I haven't seen any reviews of the bumpers after the new ownership has taken over. The prices for the bumpers is REALLY good right now. Just hope they haven't taken any shortcuts in the building.

How long ago did you order and receive your bumper?
 
I like my JCR with built in hitch. They told me the hitch is rated same as OEM or aftermarket. It also maximizes clearance. The JCR also has integrated hi lift jack mount, CB antenna mount and provision to carry two 2 gallon RotoPax for gas, water, 1st aid, or whatever you want to put in. Also comes with backup lights if you choose that option. If I were to do it again I'd get the holes (custom to the size I wanted) for the lights but either ask them to offset the light mounts to the outside or get some wide angle flush mount LED instead of what they provide. The lights are Ok and flush mount but show only directly behind the jeep which I can't see with the spare. I need to see beside and behind.
Very stout mounting IMO. Bolt to frame and into the nutstrips. I opted for new nutstrips since mine were very rusty. I added the JCR gas tank skid after the buimper and it worked well also. I like their stuff.
 
XJ-CNFDeluxe1_417x270.jpg


Built in CB antenna mount, hitch (rated equal to under frame hitch according to JCR with better ground clearance), RotoPax, Hi Lift. I like mine just fine. 3 mounting position for height of the tire. I have a 33 on the mid mount but might move it up to the highest point. As is it's even with the top of the bumper. I had mine bedlined except for inside the mounting points.
 
I shopped for some time before I bought mine very HD all the way and mounts not only to the bumper mounts but all of the Class III hitch mounts as well. Built-in Hi-Lift jack Mount, Antenna mount and the heaviest duty bearings 2 sets of large ones of any I have seen and will mount up to a 37" tire.

Best part $600 shipping included here is a pic of mine
www.roxolidtrailarmor.com


 
I lke that JCR tire carrier, it looks pretty solid and not going to rattle. Couple questions for you, how are the mounts for the gas cans and jack? are they pretty reliable and how is the locking mechanism for them? And how are the reverse lights which can come pre mounted on the bumper?

Thanks for all the help and replies!
 
1. Yes, it's solid, no rattles
2. Use standard RotoPax mounts (locking or not) and viewable online if you search bolted to heavy plate on the bumper.. nice but I haven't used cans yet. Should be plenty stout.
3. Reverse lights are fine lights but could be upgraded. They light behind the rig but not to the sides. Can't see behind it with the spare. I would shop for wide angle LED lights (60* or more), determine the diameter (VisionX has some flush mounts) and request a custom size hole in the bumper if I were to do it over. Or ask that they angle the mounts for their light toward the outside of the bumper instead of straight back.
 
Thanks so much for the info. Ay usual, personal experiences here and personal accounts have made a world of difference than reading cookie cutter posts on other websites. I think I have made up my mind! Take care everyone and thanks again!
 
NOTNSUV how was your install experience? I've read more than one account where the purchaser has a serious headache with installation due to "slack" tolerances during MFG.
 
Not a big deal. My wife and I got it done (I'm 62) and I did the bulk of it on my own. I'm sure there were a few moments but it all fit nicely. I did get new nutstrips from JCR and removed the rusty OEM strips. If I were doing it again I'd get the cut/fold bumper but at the time I had no idea how far I'd go with the XJ. I added the lower rear quarter panel armor later, then Rusty's steel fenders/flares.. transfer case and gas tank skid plates and sliders from JCR. Wish now I'd have reinforced the frame before the sliders.

I had the bumpers and sliders done in bed liner and like it so far. I did the cleaning/prep and they sprayed them when they had a truck bed in the shop to save setup costs for me. I haven't purchased the RotoPax yet and still considering JCR roof rack as a base unit, then add tree sliders to that and RotoPax mounts for it as well (water up top, gas on the tire carrier). I'm waiting on JCR to come up with an LED lightbar that's lower profile than what they're offering now. I'm not a welder or a fabricator but have son-in-law who is and he'll build onto the rack as needed. Gotta figure out a tube setup for fishing poles up there. My 80lb. border collie/lab will destroy them in the back of the jeep.

I'm completely happy with the bumper. AJ's front winch bumper is a different story. It's a nice piece but I got it with the extra bars that reach to the signal lights and found out that the grill has to be in place when mounting but the bumper bars actually touch the grille so I didn't get it pulled back as far as I would have liked and it's a pain to get at things. It did mount up Ok in the end but the air was blue during the process. It might be a sawzall to get rid of those bars.. Not to diss on AJ but it was something I would do differently.
 
I'll be installing a C-Rok 4x4 rear tire carrier bumper next weekend. WIll be happy to let you know how it goes.
 
I have the c-rock tire carrier and i am sort of happy with it, I love how high the tire sits, although getting a 37 up there is not exactly easy. however I dont really like the hinge and pin system they use. first of the carrier sags even with just a 35 so you have to lift it back into the socket to close it and the pin used to pin it shut is beefy enough but with mine because of the flex from the tire i had to beat the pin out with a hammer, so i replaced the pin with a smaller one and a latch but now sometimes the latch comes loose and it rattles from the slop.
 
Back
Top