Spare tire carriers

In 1974 was there a swing out tire carrier option? My model has the tailgate so would the tire mount on the side? Or had they done away with side mount tires by 74. I want to put a rear swing out tire carrier on the back of my 74 but only if it was an option back then. Otherwise I will go with the side mount. Also since I have a tailgate and a 258 it is not a Renegade correct?

 

If'n yer interested, I have a carrier, don't think it is factory, but it was meant to hold 2 jerry cans and a spare in the middle. goes all the way across the back and latches on the driver's side. the straps to hold the cans on are missing and the spare holder in the center is not complete, but I have a better one that could be easilly adapted. I'll post a pic when I get outa the box this evening

 

"This is me leaning forward with interest." -Arthur Spooner

Yeah cool a pic would be great.

 

In 74 the side mount was still used. The swing-away rear mount was available as a dealer option. So both are correct. A 258 with a tailgate is a pretty strong indication that indeed you do not have a Renegade.

 

Uh, I'd say you definitely do not have a Renegade if you have a tailgate. They all had the solid back panel.

The "Jeep Approved" swing away was made by Whitco. It did not hold cans. You can recognize it by it's construction - it's a long U of round tube that hinges at the open end of the U and latches at the bend. There is a plate in the middle that the stock side mount spare carrier bolts to. I had one on my CJ-6 and IMO it's not strong enough for a big tire (picture my spare bouncing down the Santa Monica Freeway at 4AM).

The Kayline tire carrier was also sold by Jeep dealers and dealer installed at purchase time. However, it did not come in a box with the Jeep label on it and is not shown in the Jeep equipment catalog. At the time, it was considered stronger than the Whitco carrier, and coudl carry cans as well as a tire.

Both these carriers were designed with the tires of the day in mind, and probably are marginal at best for today's big tires. Both mount to the sheet metal rather than someplace stronger like the drawbar. Even the solid back panel will break out due to tire weight with a big tire.

 

well, do ya still want to see it? can't post a pic until later this evening if yer still interested.

 

I am still interested. How much are you looking to get for it? I only run stock or close to stock size tires I think I have like 31's now maybe? Will the sheet metal hold up to that?

 

It's true, You don't have a Ren. In '74 they all had solid backs. I had a '73 with a Whitco tire carrier. I ran 31s with it for several years with no problems. In fact, when I got my '66 I looked for over a year to find the "correct" one. Watch out for Whitco look alikes a true Whitco mounts accross the seam at the back of the tub and the clones don't. I have seen several jeeps with the clones and a seam that had pulled apart. I found my Whitco at Pa. Jeep Festival for $5.

 

well thanks guys, now that you've scared the crUd out of him over this I guess I had best throw this away before it destroys any more jeeps. guess it is also fortunate for the rest of the world that this carrier was safely on the back of my jeep for the past 30 years or so, or it could have torn the backs off several jeeps in that time. interesting that carrying around a 29" spare and 2 jerry cans it never even stretched the bolt holes on my jeep.

even so I can't have it causing that kind of damage to someone elses jeep.

thanks again

$ sink

 

I have a two jerry can spare tire mount exactly as you describe. Thought it was fabbed by the PO, but maybe there was a comercial source. It's been on the jeep for 30 years as well, and there has been no sheet metal damage. However, I make sure not to swing it open with full jerry cans.

 

This is a dealer installed Kayline carrier on my 75. Works great !!

Although it is a quite of bit of weight on the rear...it handles it with no problem. The "cinch down" on the left side was messed up pretty bad back in the '80's and I opted to remove that assembly and now it is held secure with a couple of strong nylon straps with fast-clips.

The 31 " on the carrier is one of the originals on the jeep. I long ago swapped out the others with steel-belted radials. As you can see the top is also a Kayline I picked up about ten years ago.

One of the best things about the Kayline carrier is that it actually uses the original Jeep side carrier for a mount. It might not have been a factory option, but it was no doubt made exclusively for the CJ.

 

I think the original side mount is cool, but only if you are going to have an original size spare. I bought the swing away from 4WD Hardware. It mounts to the frame crossmember and not the body. It is good "only for tires up to 31" according to them. It is a nice black powder coated unit, but rattles some. I had to drop the gas tank to get all the bolts in, as our Jeep had the factory hitch/drawbar. I have been trying to figure out the best way to fill the holes from the original mount in the body...plan to weld in some sheetmetal plugs and fill.

 

When I am out tooling around I get lots of looks & compliments. A side mount is almost never seen today. Too cool. And yes, the spare and the tires on the ground will need to be as close to correct size as possible or you will get some unwanted contact.

 

I believe this is a Whitco carrier, but I'm not positive as I swiped the pic to use as a reference picture.



Jim

 

Jim I think that is the whitco tire carrier. As I have seen a few in the boneyards that look the same. However I never really looked close enough so it could be a fake. Maybe I will stick with the side mounter. Anyone have the side mount with all the hardware? I would be interested if so. Thanks for all the replies.

 

I mounted an '80's style rear spare tire carrier on my '59 cj5. Not the best setup but it works pretty well.

 

for what it's worth, this looks exactly like the one I have in my shed. it has a label: Valley Industries, Lodi California.