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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
1 – Remove the spare tire and disconnect the third tail light.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
2 – Remove the OEM tire carrier and the plastic hinge covers. Slip a wood shim(s) between the bumper and the tailgate. Only then remove the factory hinges with a 13 mm socket from the tailgate and a T50 torx from the body.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
3 – Wipe off any dirt from the body that has accumulated behind the old hinges and tire mount. Apply thread lock and using the stock T50 bolts mount the HD Carrier to the body. Remove the rubber bump stop closest to the hinge with a gentle tug.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
4 – Close the carrier and make sure all the bolt holes align, then use the supplied new 13 mm M8 bolts in the old hinge holes.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
5 – Slip the supplied rubber gaskets between the tire carrier and the body and hinge . Then apply a thread locking compound to the OEM bolts and bolt the tire carrier in place. You will have some spacers left over as the tire mount can be used without the HD Carrier.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
6 – There are three sets of holes in the tire mount. The lower for 33” tires, mid for 35” and the top for 37” diameter tires. We pressed the supplied wheel studs in the middle for our 35” tires. You can hammer them in, which is always satisfying, but pressing them in makes it less likely they will spin when it’s time to remove the spare.
POOR MAN’S PRESS - If you don’t have a press, put the stud through the desired hole in the adjustable tire mount, grease the threads of the bolt, place an oversized nut over the bolt, and then tighten a lug nut onto the bolt. This will draw the bolt into the hole.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
7 - Attach the spare to the tire mount with one bolt and place it on the tail gate assembly pushing the tire against the cast hinge. Mark a line on the mount where it meets the base, then slide the tire from the carrier and remove the mount from the tire.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
8 – Push the mount on to the carrier 3-4 mm past your line. The goal is to have the tire snug against the hinge and remaining bump stop when the tire is mounted. Our mount slid all the way in. Install the pinch bolts using the spacers towards the rear of the Jeep.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
9 – We used a hack saw to cut the plastic third brake light from its support, then two of the original four T20 torx screws to mount it to the supplied bracket.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
10 – Install the spare on to the tire mount using the two special lug nuts in the kit. You can see we installed our own third locking lug nut in the naïve hope we can keep thieves at bay.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
11 – Using the supplied bolts, attach the bracket to your new lug nuts, route the wiring through the wheel in as eye-pleasing a way as possible and plug in to the light.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
12 – We now have clearance between the bumper and our spare.
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Perry Mack
Teraflex JK HD Hinged Carrier
13 – Extra bolt holes allow for future accessories to be securely mounted while maintaining easy access to the rear. Now you too, can sleep soundly.
Story & photos by Perry Mack
JK HD Hinged Carrier & Adjustable Spare Tire Mounting Kit
I woke up in a sweat from a terrifying nightmare. The tailgate on my Jeep was dragging on the ground with a trail of spare tires, jacks, gas cans, tools, camping gear and food littered for kilometres behind me on the muddy forest trail. I woke up in a cold sweat realizing that amount of gear would never fit in my rig.
I knew right away what my subconscious was torturing me over. And after explaining to my wife that a lack of sleep is clearly a dire health concern, I got on the phone with Teraflex to solve my medical emergency. While Jeep accessories could be considered a ‘non-essential’ (to some people), health concerns should always be immediately addressed.
With a set of 35” tires now lifting the Jeep, our accompanying spare is substantially heavier than the stock spare. The Teraflex (TF) Epic rear bumper still provided enough room for the gate to close but the tire did rub, requiring a little extra effort to open and close. In a way it was a good thing, as some of the weight of the tire rested on the bumper and the snug fit reduced any opportunity for vibration.
But ‘ok’ isn’t good, and in this case ‘good’ isn’t good enough. Especially since we intend to add more weight to the tail gate with extra fuel, water, and a jack. Our third tail light was also obscured by the larger tire, and a 37” tire would hide it completely.
The carrier uses forged steel hinges and 5/8” pins from cold formed high carbon hardened steel. But the real secret to the strength of the carrier is the cast aluminum frame which incorporates not only the four factory hinge points on the tail gate but also four of the eight bolts reserved for the tire mount in the OEM set-up. In this way, the load of the tail gate, spare tire and other accessories are spread evenly across the mounting points for a stronger, vibration free load carrying capacity.
The addition of the spare tire mounting kit allows you to lift your spare (up to a 37” tire) to clear your bumper. With the install complete, the tailgate opened and closed smoothly and effortlessly, and the tire mounted securely without threat of vibration or stress on the hinges. In addition, I sleep more soundly and am profoundly healthier with my new tire carrier.
The install can be done with basic hand tools and a torque wrench. No drilling, welding or special skills are required. With two sets of hands we finished in just under two hours.
Part #4838150 - MSRP: $699 USD