Tail Gate Spare Tire Mount

[jrman]

Curious to know if anyone has gone the route of mounting their spare direct to the tail gate (tailgate).
I've considered it - and understand the issues with visibility out the back window - reinforcement of the sheet metal - license plate - and probably a manual support of some kind to keep the gate up when open as the added weight would probably even overwhelm the most beefy of struts. All of the above are likely reasons why few have tackled this up to now. I know that even the infamous Mystery Machine pondered this one, but never tackled it as far as I know.

I can't keep my roof rack on long term due to underground parking issues at work so that option is out.
I don't have the skills to fab my own bumper & mount.
And I don't have the cash to pay someone with the skills to do it.

I do have the skills and fundage to mount a tire carrier off another suitable vehicle (pajero / jeep / nissan / maybe even an old tracker???) and just wondering if anyone else has considered and/or done this - and any other pitfalls I may be opening myself up to!

[jessef]

Two issues like you said that I would have a problem with.

Weight. It will put a lot of excess weight on the top two hinges that may or may not give/move at some point.

I can't recall seeing any vertical swing hatches with anything on them. just the horizontal one's where the swing latch lines up with a locking/support latch on either side.

Steel strength of the door. I guess you can spread the load with a 2x2ft metal plate with bolts through the rear sheetmetal of the hatch. Depends on the tire/rim weight.

It's possible. Give it a try

[Green1]

one other minor issue... good luck opening the door with that much weight on it... the stock struts can barely hold the door up empty, people with ladders often have trouble, and a tire is a LOT heavier

[loki]

opening the gate should be ok if you get the struts rebuilt, and tell them about the extra weight judging by the stories with rebuilt struts, like "the door flies up with a bike rack and bikes on it". Could be exaggeration but worth looking into.

[Profister]

FYI: Russians did it. I can provide some info and pictures if you wish.

[mararmeisto]

After spending all that money to re-inforce the door, upgrade the struts, move the taillight and plate, why not just spend the money on the rear-bumper-with-tire-holder assembly that Jesse made? I'm thinking it might be about the same amount...

[jrman]

Tks for input everyone.

Yes Sergiy - pls adv!

Marameisto - my calculator and yours must be quite different - the cost would still be quite a bit lower because I'm capable of doing most of this myself...though the final product certainly won't be as professional of course.

In reality - I agree that getting the weight off the body and onto the frame via a bumper mount of some kind is the best way to go - and probably explains why few people have tackled this method here in Canada. I'm curious to know how others (ie, those crazy russians for example ) may have done it but my main concern before even deciding which way to go is the pitfalls I have not thought about yet (and I've thought about many!).

Cheers.