Jeep Parts > Bumpers & Tire Carriers > Bestop Tire Carrier

Bestop Tire Carrier

Brand: Bestop
Features:

Holds up to 35" tire
Made of heavy-duty tubular steel
Carrier and tailgate open and close as single unit; adjustable arm eliminates tailgate sag
Drilling and assembly required
Black powder coat
Available for Jeep TJ and YJ

Owner Reviews

Bestop Tire Carrier

Avg. Customer Rating: (8.1 Stars)

Number of Reviews: 7 reviews

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Bestop Tire Carrier - Reviews

	Good product
	Date: Oct 17, 2011
	Reviewer: A JeepReviews.com User from (Morristown, NJ)
	Good product and I would buy again. I have 35's on it and it is holding up fine. I agree with the majority of other reviews- ignore the measurements for the hinges on the tub. Following those instructions will not allow either brace bracket to line up with the holes. Test fit it, so it's nice and snug and then mark and drill holes. The nutsert wrench that it came with is garbage- only needed on newer TJ's

	This review is the subjective opinion of a JeepReviews user and not of JeepReviews.com.

	You get what you pay for
	Date: Dec 19, 2006
	Reviewer: A JeepReviews.com User from (New York, NY)
	The carrier is allright for the money. I went cheap and I'm dealing with what comes with that. After following the instructions I installed it after 6 hrs. The rack felt a bit loose so I took it to a professional Jeep garage to help me out. They re-installed it drilling new holes. It rattles a little bit and goes away by adjusting several of the nuts in different places, this lasts for a couple of weeks (no off-roading here). Tightening the nuts makes it harder to open the tail gate too. I'm planning on replacing this for a better quality tire carrier as soon as I have enough money for it.

	This review is the subjective opinion of a JeepReviews user and not of JeepReviews.com.

	Easy Install
	Date: Nov 12, 2005
	Reviewer: A JeepReviews.com User from (California)
	I installed my tire carrier about two years ago with 35 " tires. I had absolutely no problems with the install and all lined up just great. Looks very clean. Have only had to adjust for minor rattle once. My only complaints are there are no way known to add accessories like spare gas/water cans and hi lift jack. Also, I am running a 5.5 " long arm lift and was thinking about a 1" body lift for more clearance. If I do, I will have to fabricate a new lower body mount bracket for the tire carrier. I ran into a rep from Bestop at one of the offroad expo's and he told me they were working on 1, 2 and 3" body lift brackets but could not tell me if and when they would be available. Otherwise, the paint has held up for the past two years and I am content with the tire carrier.

	This review is the subjective opinion of a JeepReviews user and not of JeepReviews.com.

	satisfied, be carefull drilling holes for hinges
	Date: Aug 18, 2005
	Reviewer: A JeepReviews.com User from (KY)
	I installed this product on my 1997 tj today. It looks really nice now and seems to be built very rugged. I expect many years of service out of the unit. I think it may actually reinforced the tailgate a great deal. We'll see how the 35X12.5 does. So far, I'm really impressed. The install is not difficult, it's rather easy if you have the right tools and plan ahead and double check, double check, double check. There are a couple good opportunities for an unpleasant mistake I'm afraid, including drilling holes in the wrong place on your jeep. Be very carefull before you drill any holes for the hinges in your jeep. The bolts that hold the hinges also have to line up correctly with the large support brackets provided. Don't think it'll be as simple as adjusting the hinges once you drill the holes, it all must line up, hinge, jeep body and support bracket. You do have some margin for error but don't count on that. Measure and adjust over and over and drill once. Also, the review below is right on. Don't go with the 6 3/16" measurement from the tailgate door opening to mount your hinges. Adjust it to where it'll lay down nice and the bottom hinge lines up with the body perfect like in the instructions. Mine were mounted well under that. The top hinge butts up to the factory hinge. I suspect that due to slight differences in manufacturing tolerance in the carrier that the directions could easily lead you astray. Trust your judgement, measure, drill. I followed the directions to the T every stip but this one and I tightened things up enough to eliminate ALL slop before I drilled anything. I knew it would never work the way the instructions said. If your upper adjustable arm is floppy, make sure you used the larger bolt in the kit to attach the adjustable upper arm bracket. I used the wrong one first and fought the slop in the unit uselessly. Also, go ahead and get all those pivots point kinda snug. The instructions want you to leave everything loose but I tried every way and it changes nothing except how sloppy the unit is and how difficult it is to mount and line up. If you've got slop you'll never get that upper arm adjusted correctly. Unfortunately for me, the person I purchased my jeep from hadn't provided me with a key to the lock nut on the spare. I ended removing the original spaire tire mount and the brake light with the tire still attached to the mount. That was by far the most difficult part of the install. Tommy

	This review is the subjective opinion of a JeepReviews user and not of JeepReviews.com.

	Great product for the price
	Date: Jul 22, 2005
	Reviewer: A JeepReviews.com User from (Pleasanton, CA)
	I bought this tire carrier because I didn't want to go the spacer route on the stock carrier after some friends told me about their tailgate sagging and I couldn't spring for the $700 bumper/carrier combo offered by many manufacturers. A couple things I liked about this product was that it opened and closed with the tailgate rather than as a separate unit and it allowed me to keep my third brake light. Once installed, the unit keeps a fairly stock appearance but is very rugged. I have only had a few instances where it rattled and those were usually cleared up by tightening the bolts a little. Some locktite the next time around should keep everything tight. Two complaints for Bestop on this. The carrier has a little bit of play in the tube that allows for tire adjustment. I thought the engineers could probably develop a way for it to self center as it takes a little adjusting to get your tire mounted properly. The second is that there is no backing for the top of the tire to press up against. This causes the tire to angle slightly as you tighten it down. Neither of these are big issues, but I think they could correct them fairly easily without any major design changes. All in all, if you want to keep a stock look or just don't have $700 to shell out for a bumper/carrier combo, this is a great product and it will allow you to carry a full size spare up to 35" and only requires drilling a few holes. One other thing to note, the backing plate for the lower mount to link the carrier to the vehicle frame required slight modification to my receiver hitch for proper mounting. (I needed to cut a small notch into the hitch for clearance of the backing plate.)

	This review is the subjective opinion of a JeepReviews user and not of JeepReviews.com.

	Great carrier without the wieght
	Date: Feb 19, 2005
	Reviewer: A JeepReviews.com User from (Utah)
	I don't have the problem with closing the tailgate like the above review but would suspect it's not properly adjusted and binding. Best part is it doesn't way a ton like carrier bumper combos. So far 3 years and would buy it again.

	This review is the subjective opinion of a JeepReviews user and not of JeepReviews.com.

	As advertised
	Date: Sep 21, 2004
	Reviewer: A JeepReviews.com User from (Portland, OR)
	This spare tire carrier does everything it's advertised to do, with one small exception. I'm running a 35x12.50 tire on it and the weight makes it difficult to close the tailgate. I have to push in just the right spot, and very hard to close it fully. Other than that, it's a great product. Two things to mention when installing it. Don't follow the instructions on locating the hinge mount holes in your body. It didn't seem like the measured locations that the directions say to use were right, and when I got it installed they weren't and I had to make them into slots. Also, read the directions about how to get the rear brake light wires disconnected, don't cut them like I did.

	This review is the subjective opinion of a JeepReviews user and not of JeepReviews.com.