Beefed up the OEM tire carrier today, things were cracking and needed to be fixed!

Observe the Problem at hand:





Yep, that sh*t is cracked. 2 of the 3 studs were like that, and the 3rd was on its way to the same fate. Game plan is to make a backing plate for support and beef up the structure in general.

Drew up an idea and headed over to the mill to execute. I decided that 3/16 plate would do the trick..!



Welded in after grinding off paint, fixing the cracks and did a rosette weld to the studs to actually attach them to the added plate.



Added straps to add some rigidity to the structure -- also welded the spacers to the actual carrier.



Added large washers to the front for more support.





Ready for paint.



Went with bed truck liner because.. thats all i had.



Installing tomorrow!

 

VERY NICE!!! but maybe you could have raised the tire mounting section a tad for bigger dia tires if needed....?

 

Could have done that but I just run the carrier upside down and works fine with the 265/75”s I run. There is probably 3/4” clearance to the bumper from the tire

 

Hah, I would call that problem solved! Awesome work. Sure would be nice to have access to a mill.