I was on a trip and heard a loud pop - the bottom hinge on the cargo door bent 30 degrees somehow. Bummer. I'm thinking now is a good time to look into moving the spare to a swing-away, welded to the bumper.

Plan so far is to look for a Jeep or universal swingaway, and take it to a welder, crossing my fingers that the dimensions work out.

Has anyone done this before? Any tips, tricks, or product recommendations?

Not too stoked on adding more weight to the rear end, however. My 3" RTE springs have sagged 2" within the first month. Other option is to put it on the roof rack, but rear end would look silly without a spare, and fetching a tire from the rack does not sound like fun.

 

That is not good to hear about the RTE springs. Were they new?

I'm wanting a swing away carrier for my LR3 but the cost is astronomical.

 

Dang, you're right, I just looked up some prices on LR3 carriers. On the bright side, at least you have off-the-shelf options. For the D2, I've found none.

As for the springs, Yes, brand new. Simon assured me they would never sag. I haven't gotten around to calling him yet. After I first installed them, I was perfect 23" from wheel center to arch on all corners. 1 month later, 21" in the rear Fronts haven't sagged.
Are there any other heavier duty springs on the market?? I don't think so. RTE's 4" kit use the same springs, plus a 1" spacer, so no dice there.
As for weight, I don't think I'm too bad. Rear seats are removed, that saves a lot. Steel sliders, bumper, alloy roof rack, fridge, alloy tank skid, and gear.

 

No that is not to much for those springs at all I would call them about it asap. Hopefully they will make it right for you.

I am probably going to keep the spare on the roof as much as I hate that.

 

Looks like you can get a smittybuilt swing carrier for a Jeep TJ for about $275. It could be adapted without too much trouble I'm sure, but you'd also have to change the bolt pattern.

Another option is to have one built. Find an exhaust shop that does cheap work. You could probably have the pipes bent up for around $150 with the bonus of them being aluminized so they'll take longer to rust. Make the carrier mount out of 1/4” plate and some studs, that would be another $35. Then it's just got to be welded together and painted or powder coated and you can get exactly what you want.

Requires a lot more work on your part, but it's an option.

 

Thread hijack!

This is Voyager’s swing away, the shorty version. I installed it on a friends rig last week. $699 plus shipping. Having installed this one and Frontrunner’s. I have to say I like Frontrunner’s more but at almost double the price tag it’s hard to go that route.

 

I like the concept there but it sits way to high, they could easily lower that down so you still have some rear window.

Oh and sorry Jeff lol.

I do think that the Greg Davis bumper with a swing away fabbed up for it would be an extremely nice set up.

 

It’s too clear the parking sensors.

 

Parking sensors are for Commies. Don't have any on my truck, but I figured that was the case. I would rather be able to see out of some of the window, than rely on those sensors.

 

JB if you decide to fab a carrier you might need something like these hinge bits.
> https://www.comp4x4.com/collections/tire-carrier-hinges