TheChucklesStart wrote:
I was mostly wondering about the joint that the swing away carrier will have, if it will be strong enough to support the back half of a KJ or if it might just snap off letting the whole assemble get shoved into the tailgate.
I am mostly wondering this because I really dislike taking off my tire from the back during runs (mostly because I am afraid I might not think of it and it is awkward to just let fly around in the back).
Sorry for reasking my question ManicMechanicJoe, but I feel from your response I did not state what I was asking for clearly, so I am trying again.
So, your asking basically about hitting the spare tire on departure, if the thing is going to fail and tear up the tailgate. The tire carrier has two height adjustment settings, one for on the road, and one for on the trail. The trail setting will have an awesome departure angle. To get an idea where the tire will sit on the highest setting, if you have the common Ruby wheel/MTR setup, measure about 8" up from the bottom of the tire, and that will be the bottom of the highest setting. You would have to come off one heck of a drop to hit that tire, and chances are really good that if the drop is that steep, you will high center on the bumper first. Anything is possible and not everything can be bomb proof, but I am making these to be dang near damage proof. I see your concern and when I make the first prototype, I will take the tire carrier and jack the whole jeep up by it to see what kind of deflection there may be and I will address it if there is any. The hinge won't break, but deflection may be a slight possibility.