SmittyBilt XRC REAR SWING AWAY - SB76654

This thing is heavy, but can be easily installed by one person. Can be done in an hour. The 3rd brake light that is the tricky part

2004 Jeep TJ. Heavy duty. I wanted to get the spare tire off the tail gate hinge. Everything fit good. I wish they made brackets that would attach for fuel cans, hi-lift jack etc. I’m very happy and would purchase again.

The rear swing arm pivot was welded with a outward slant which caused the latch not to contact or operate properly. Smittybilt support argued for days even though I provided hi res pictures. They kept telling me to put the tire on and the swing arm will drop enough. I put my full body weight of 230 pounds on the swingarm and the latch mechanism had both provided shims installed. The latch was not even close to matching up with the latch opening. Secondly, the instructions claim you can bolt on the rear bumper (not the tire carrier, the bumper). YOU MUST DROP THE GAS TANK, 100% no way, no tool to get to the holes you must drill to mount the bumper. Save yourself a lot of hours of frustration and research, drop the tank first if you have a Jeep TJ. My setup is a 2004 Jeep Wrangler TJ Rubicon. Not a fan of their slider install either. They could save TJ owners a lot of time by sending two longer bolts for the rear body mount. Instead they ask you to drill a 1" hole from the inside of the body.

This tire carrier is heavy duty made of thick gauge steel. Assembly was easy and instructions were straightforward. The handle mechanism is well built and one of the best that I’ve seen on the market. It is nice to take 75lb wheel off my tailgate eliminating the risk of damage. There is absolutely no movement or rattling once secured. I am 100% satisfied with this tire carrier and would highly recommend the XRC bumper as well, this combination will not disappoint. Don’t buy look alike’s or copy cats, the build quality and gauge of steel is inferior.

XRC Rear Swing Away Tire carrier – Black Texture – 76654I bought a Jeep which had the matching rear bumper that this attaches to, XRC Bumper – 76653, but this item, the Swing Away Tire carrier – 76654 was missing. The Bumper, 76653 was damaged where this item bolts to it, 3 bolts. One of the nuts welded to the inside of the bumper was broken off and missing. The reason the tire carrier was missing I can only guess at was because the tire carrier became unlocked and opened while the Jeep was being driven and broke off somehow. The key here is the tire carrier unlocked.I was able to repair the bumper and my repair actually came out amazing, after welding and painting you could not tell that it had ever been broken, but this is not my point here.I did not like how the tire carrier was made in China, yes it’s heavy and strong, but still. Maybe too heavy. I replaced all of the nuts and bolts because I do not like cheap hardware that is made in China (junk) I used mostly grade 8 bolts and I think that made it look better too. It all went together ok, you must use Loctite on the bolts everywhere. The plunger that is supposed to hold the tire carrier open did not work because it was too short, cheaply made as all things made in China are. I was able to make a replacement plunger that was ½” longer and that worked.My point here is I do not like how this tire carrier latches and locks so that it doesn’t open while the Jeep is in motion. There is only one short pin to lock it so it doesn’t open accidentally and unexpectedly. I did the best I could and making darn sure that pin is all the way seated correctly before I will drive the Jeep. I still wasn’t happy so I now use heavy rubber bands to hold the pin down and in place, which is not ideal, so I got a belt and I wrap it around the tire carrier and rear bumper to make darn sure if it does open it won’t open very far. I only use the belt when I take the Jeep off road.Otherwise so far this thing works, it holds the spare tire very well, I just do not like the poorly designed locking mechanism, obviously it failed on the previous install.

After purchasing the XRC rear bumper for my 2005 Jeep Rubicon, I found that the spare was sitting too low on the factory carrier and was rubbing on the new bumper. I knew it would only be a matter of time before the finish would be damaged, so I ordered the Smittybilt carrier. This carrier is very heavy duty and has some really high-end features at any price. The Amazon price for this item is a bargain, especially with the free shipping. It was a bit involved to install (more than I expected), but easily manageable with basic tools. There are a couple of issues that prospective buyers should be aware of when deciding to buy this carrier. The factory third brake light can be installed on this carrier, but will require cutting of the part and will sit way too high if you are mounting a normal sized (31-32 inch) spare tire. It might be okay with a large (35-37 inch) tire. I decided to forego the third brake light on my installation, but now I need to find a rubber grommet/plug to properly close the hole in the tailgate where the factory wire harness came through. It would be nice if Smittybilt could provide one in the kit.