I built a swing down rear carrier for my 35” spare tire
My tire and wheel weigh somewhere around 80 lbs, so I ain’t gonna be tossing it up on a swing away or fixed mount
Cost me about $150 in materials and took a couple hours to weld up.
If you search my screen name, you can find pics.

 

After I replaced my rusted and mangled corners, I decided to re-engineer my spare tire rack using 3.5"x3.5" square tubing 2"x2" square tubing, 2" pipe, and the tire mounting surface from a Kayline tire rack (which wasn't rated for 33" tires), and made a hinge out of some 3" pipe, a stock fence spring-loaded gate latch, trailer axle bearings, and a 3/4" Grade 8 bolt w/associated hardware. All said and done, I spent a day building it, a few hours painting and mounting, and around $120.

I probably could've placed the tire mount higher, but I still wanted to be able to see out of the rear window without just seeing a spare tire.

The tires in the pic above are 35x12.50 SSRs as part of my current upgrade effort (along with the 'new' YJ top), but I'd originally built the rack for a 33x12.50

Hope this helps.

 

Thats looks great.

 

My 77 has it mounted on the back of the tub. Does yours have a tailgate?

 

Yes - it has a tailgate (it's a Cj-7, after all).

It also had that same factory draw bar as seen on yours, which I removed since I don't plan on towing anything anyway. The large tube mounts directly to the crossmember, and everything mounts to it - nothing is attached to sheet metal.

 

If you can weld, not hard to make one.
The swivel is nothing more than a trailer axle bearing.

My rear bumper is also an air tank.

 

I was replying to the OP who has a CJ5, which may or may not have a tailgate.

 

Mounted off the tub is barely ok in the stock configuration, with stock tires. the corner/side mounted ones seemed to not tear out of the tub as much.

might I suggest a ratchet strap for now until you get something built?

I have a spare tire bed mounted in my truck (need to clarify it’s under a canopy and not a “feature”) I just needed a better departure angle.
Any rate that kit uses a couple ratchet straps and it isn’t going anywhere.
You have some good examples here already- this component is easy to get wrong in many ways.
If it swings out the pivot point, lock need to be very solid. and additional strain must be taken into account.
the tire should be held up pretty high so you have a good departure angle.
it should be able to take a hit on a steep departure or backing into a tree without caving in and smashing your tub or pinching fingers off.
There’s some opportunities here to create a folding table or fishing Pole holder/ etc.
generally speaking hitch based models should be avoided doe to floopyness.

 

I went with a DirtWorx rear bumper and swing out tire carrier for my ‘79 CJ5. I had the wheel / tire mount modified - see this thread:

DirtWorx CJ Rear Tire Carrier Mounting Plate

Hello - Received my DirtWorx rear bumper and spare tire carrier. I am concerned about the bolt holes in the spare tire mounting plate. Specifically the two top holes and how close they are to the edge of the plate. I already contacted Robert about this and he said this is how he supplies...

www.jeepforum.com

Also - Use frame “tie-ins” (L Brackets) on each side of the two frame rails. Helps with stability.

I like the DirtWorx overall - just not the spare mounting plate.

 

what is considered too big for the factory cj7 swing out? and what fails when it's overloaded?

 

NOt sure about what would be "too big"..
But what happens when its overloaded is that , since it bolts to the sheetmetal of the body, it would eventually deform, stretch and possibly tear the sheet metal.
a large tire is a lot of weight for the body to support. everytime you run over a bump, pothole or small child, it bounces that weight, increasing the stresses.
Eventually it could fail.
The idea of a tire carrier on the bumper is that the weight and associated stresses are supported by the heavier metal of the frame.

 

Heres what NOT to do.. the previous owner had this made by someone who didnt think it through. The tire ( 33x12.5/15) is way too heavy and its broken the welds holding the rear cross member to the frame. It flops so badly going down the road that a guy followed me into the parking lot to tell me he thought it was falling off..
I dont carry a tire on it anymore and the idiot welded it to the rear cross member, so its gonna be a beeeatch to take off... What ever you do make sure it can support the weight of the tire.

 

This is how I solved that problem!

'Course nobody wants to add 2 holes to their body. (one on each side to stabilize my swing gate)

I look at it as it's functional---I can fix the holes if need be, I've fixed much worse,

like the 3 times my spare was ripped slap off of the passenger side of the body,

which prompted me to move it to the back.

----JEEPFELLER

 

A factory CJ-7,8 swing away spare tire mount can be adapted to a CJ-5 I would imagine. Getting ALL the reinforcement brackets would be the hard part to mount it properly. But you would need to add additional backing plates in order to save the tubs sheet metal from fatigue and splitting open from the weight of the tire, small or large diameter.

I've been running a 32" spare on a factory wagon wheel for years and it weighs in at 60lbs. Original tub started to split at the latch area on the left side, as most do, from the added weight and and jarring ride of a lift kit. Fixed that on a new tub by using backing plates under the sheet metal where both the upper hinge support is and on the drivers side latch area. Added another bracket like the one used on the passenger side upper hinge-to-tub wheel house on the drivers side and added the backing plates. Plus, the swing away bolts used for the hinge have bronze bushings pressed into the holes so the bolts are a solid, rattle free, fit with no play.

No cracking or splitting of the sheet metal since installing the extra bracket and backing plates. It is very solid mount and cost was minimal to upgrade. The trick is to displace the load of heavy spare tires so it does not fatigue the sheet metal of the tubs. While the factory plates may have been adequate for a small poly spare tire, they are not intended to be used with heavier aftermarket tires and rims. Backing plates are key to keep things in place and mounted securely.

 

Hi. Yes I do have a tailgate. It's very thin. I don't think it can hold the weight. I have a 12.5 x33 tire

it won’t. Since mine was flopping, I hooked a “J” hook free m the carrier to the tailgate to try and support the top of the carrier.
just a 2 mile drive and the jarring from potholes and such bent the latches of the tailgate out.
I’m just not going to be able to carry a spare until I can replace this pos carrier

 

There's always the Camel Man option

(yes, I know this ain't a CJ--but both rigs can be configured this way)

This is what I had to do every time that I tore mine off of the side.

'Course, I was a Menthol kinda guy (them Camels are nasty tastin')

My last one I smoked was on the way to the hospital on 29 APR 19 in a successful effort

to keep my Jeep Lifetime Warranty receipts from becoming voided.

However, doing that sorta messed up my pending contract to be the "Willys Menthol Man"

in which I woulda been featured with Willy snuffing out a menthol, preparing to take care of a

supermodel sprawled out on the hood, partially covered with the canvas soft top.

Now I'm just the "Willys Man"--minus the menthol part.

----JEEPFELLER

 

to keep the tire in the bed why use chains? Depends how i set up the jeep on where that 37 goes. Best place is in the bed no added weigh of swing outs. On mine when i do use the arm for a tire it is as well going to hold a 70q ice chest, fuel and a haul bag.

In the bed like 90% of the time with ratchet straps large. they can as well be used in some bush fixes.
It dont move.

Long trails packed for two and dog though. Like Rubicon and Dusy Ershem it looks like this. but that is the only time as well every year.

swing arms few things to be well made. The pivot should be made from a Axle stub and tapper bearings. That stub should not be surface welded but pass through welded on the inside and braced in the bumper. This one the arm its self is 85 pounds. Ice chest full is close to 80, 37 and 6 g of fuel the bag. I have hung off the end open like that. add another 170. Held no issue. 11 years. Its a old JCR. I change it to hold the ice chest and fit the rotos with 3 gallon ones. To re

 

I used to have mine side mounted until I knocked it off twice. Then I mounted it to the tailgate.

The only time I ever needed a spare I was 80 miles from home, and I had left it behind.

 

My spare tire is to heavy to mount on the tailgate

 

there is a design and measurements in here for a carrier than can be easily modified

4x4Trax Fabrication Projects

Many years ago there was a user called Motive, that had a personal website with a bunch of tip top jeep fabrication projects. He sold his jeep a long time ago and his website is long gone but I discovered that I had saved some of his web pages. Last time I swapped messages with him was at...

www.jeepforum.com

 

I have 35x12.50 so I built a swing back. It also has a carrier rack that slides down over not pictured.