Swing-away spare or roof top spare?

[Egan]

Oh, and if I go roof mount and take the swing away mount off, I lose the D-rings (they are integral to the mount). Are there aftermarket rings that will fit?

[Egan]

So I went ahead and ditched the swing away spare tire carrier. I have not noticed any degradation in handling or gas mileage, but I don't think either could get much worse than they were with 37" tires, roof rack, and the aerodynamics of a brick.

I bought the add-on tire carrier from Gobi for my Ranger rack. It was a simple install other than having to unbolt the rack from the roof so I could lift it high enough to get my arms underneath to tighten the bolts for the carrier bracket.

Here's some pics - the clearance is right at 8 feet now and fortunately the limit is 8'2" at my airport parking garage.

[Egan]

I moved the license plate over to one of the d-ring bolt holes and used a cheap plastic bracket along with a light (need to paint it black).



A few more pics to make everyone jealous of Kalifornia in February:

[lasvegash2]

Looks really good.

[HummerMann]

Nice job, looks great! That swing away tire is a pain on the SUT, but I've learned to live with it over the years.