The previous owner upgraded the wheels to ATX Series AX201 Matte Bronze in 18x9 0-offset wrapped in LT285/65R18 Nitto Ridge Grapplers but left the spare tire stock. Obviously he did that to save money but it doesn't make much sense since the stock tire diameter is only 31" and the new setup is 33". That would definitely not make the diff happy if you put that on in case you needed to. I was thankfully able to find and buy one more AX201 wheel in the same spec that's on the Jeep now so that's going to go on the back.
 |
| Stock wheel and tire setup |
The stock wheel actually looks really good on the Willy Wheeler edition and I guess it came stock with mud terrain BFG KMs. Unfortunately the PO sold the stock set so this is kind of on its own. In order to be able to handle the new larger wheel/tire setup on the back I needed to upgrade the tire carrier and hinge to something more heavy duty. I decided to go with the Rugged Ridge Spartacus Heavy Duty Tire Carrier kit.
 |
| Factory tire carrier and hinges removed |
First step was to remove the factory tire carrier and hinges then clean all the cruft built up underneath it for a nice clean install. The tailgate is still latched in but since it sits 1" above the bumper so you need something to support it while the latches are removed. I had some dense insulation from a window fan lying around and used that for support wedged between the tailgate and the rear bumper. I attached the new heavy duty hinge using a combination of the factory torx bolts and some new hardware they provided. This thing is super solid. It makes it feel like you're closing a bank vault every time you close the tailgate now. It can easily handle the weight of a 37" tire setup if needed.
 |
| Rugged Ridge HD hinge installed |
Next, I mounted the tire carrier itself. It's adjustable so you can move it further or closer to the tailgate to accommodate various tire sizes. It took several back and forth test mounting of the wheel before I was happy with the positioning. It reuses the stock third brake light housing. Since I was working on the tailgate anyway, I figured I'd wire up the new Alpine HCE-RCAM-WRA rear view camera that's going to be connected to a new Alpine ILX-W650 head unit that's on its way to me.
 |
| Tire carrier mounted |
 |
| Alpine rear view camera mounted |
|
| Everything installed. Nice and solid setup. |
The rear view camera wiring just goes through the same grommet used by the factory brake light, then you fish it through the tailgate and zip tie the cable to the existing cables.
 |
| Rear view camera wiring zip tied to factory rear light wiring |
 |
| Factory spare re-installed with rear camera peaking out |
For now the stock spare is back on the back but the new wheel with the fresh tires will be on very shortly.
 |
| Factory spare setup back on for now. |
