JL JOURNAL : EVO Tire Carrier Installation

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Soon after installing a heavy 37" spare on the factory tire carrier of our Jeep JL Wrangler, Cindy and I had a myriad of people declare that we were for sure, going to jack up our tailgate. Of course, they said they saw it on social media and so it had to be true. I literally had guys trolling me about it on YouTube and demanded that I admit, we would bend or break our tailgate in 6 months or less. It was just nuts! Well, 8 months after the fact - I'm happy to say that our tailgate was still holding up just fine and without any bending or breaking of any kind. However, I'd be lying if I said this setup was a perfect solution. As some of you know, we spend an enormous amount of time bombing across the desert and hard hits would in fact cause the tailgate to move just enough, to make an annoying knocking sound. Needless to say, this was something we wanted to address and did so, with an EVO Tire Carrier. In this episode of the JL JOURNAL, you get to see to install, one on your Jeep JL Wrangler. Thanks for watching and we hope you find our video to be helpful.


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Things to Buy
EVO Tire Carrier - https://amzn.to/2tg2AHr
Milwaukee 2767-20 M18 1/2-Inch Impact Wrench - https://amzn.to/2Gr6ogM
Milwaukee 2457-21 M12 3/8-Inch Ratchet - https://amzn.to/2TzLlMz


What You'll Need
• 13, 15, 22mm Socket & Wrench (deep sockets will be helpful)
• 5/8, 13/16, 7/8" Socket & Wrench
• 3/16" Allen Wrench
• Ratchet
• Ratchet Extension
• Torx T-8, T-25, T-40, T-55
• Dead Blow Hammer
• Flathead Screwdriver
• Trim Pry Tool
• Pry Bar
• Flat Razor
• WD40
• Blue Painters Tape

Please let me know if you have any questions. :cool:
 

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
Well done. Have you found a need to install any shim plates on the lower pivot mount to account for the weight of the wheel and tire?

20190205_190212.jpg

BTW... You looked pretty spent at the end, so something tells me this wasn't your only mod that day. Lol.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Nice! I've been patiently waiting for your install video of this since I was gonna go with this carrier. Then the Gladiator came out and my plans changed lol

LOL!! I'll take it as a good thing that I took so long :D

Well designed product but wow, that looks like a lot of work.

It is a ton of work to install but not difficult by any stretch.

Thank you for the video. Looks like a lot of work,but if it’s evo made then it’s worth the install. I’ll be doing the install Friday following your video!! [emoji1303]

There's just a lot of steps but it's not hard.

Haha damn! Released the video 4 says after I installed mine. I would have loved to have this for the install.

Sorry, we just have so many videos we're working on, it's hard to get them all done. :crazyeyes:

Well done. Have you found a need to install any shim plates on the lower pivot mount to account for the weight of the wheel and tire?

BTW... You looked pretty spent at the end, so something tells me this wasn't your only mod that day. Lol.

:cheesy: Good eye! I think this was the last install I did for the day - that out of about 5 installs.

Regarding the shims, I didn't get them with mine but would have installed them had I got them. I was able to compensate for the sag of the tailgate by adding preload to it but the shims would have made it easier.
 

Hooligan_JL

New member
Eddie

Fantastic video as always! A few questions for you. I installed this about 3 weeks ago and it took me all day. Yes, several steps but mostly the instructions were not very clear to me.

1 - Does your Wheel look tilted once installed?

Mine leans towards the rear window from the stop and leans slightly out from the bottom.

2. Does your gate enter the catch perfectly centered or does it hit the top of the latch bracket on the gate as it makes contact with the Jeep? Sorry I hope you can understand what I’m talking about.

3. Does your gate sit perfectly flush? My bottom hinge corner sticks out about 1/4 inch or 3/8 or an inch. I can post pictures if that helps?


Sent from my iPhone using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
1 - Does your Wheel look tilted once installed?

Mine leans towards the rear window from the stop and leans slightly out from the bottom.

No. Sounds like you have your mount installed too far forward.

2. Does your gate enter the catch perfectly centered or does it hit the top of the latch bracket on the gate as it makes contact with the Jeep? Sorry I hope you can understand what I’m talking about.

You can adjust the position of the catch.

3. Does your gate sit perfectly flush? My bottom hinge corner sticks out about 1/4 inch or 3/8 or an inch. I can post pictures if that helps?

Yes, mine does. You may need to loosen the bolts on the tub and make adjustments.
 

MrGiant

New member
Very informative video, thanks for that!
I have been thinking of how much work would have to be put into the install of this thing. BTW, this carrier looks by far best for me. But to have unpainted metal under the carrier on the tailgate, man I dont know....perhaps get it painted before install
Anyway, beefy carrier and thought all the way to the end, great work

Mr.Giant - '92 YJ
Giant 2 - '18 JLUR
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Very informative video, thanks for that!
I have been thinking of how much work would have to be put into the install of this thing. BTW, this carrier looks by far best for me. But to have unpainted metal under the carrier on the tailgate, man I dont know....perhaps get it painted before install
Anyway, beefy carrier and thought all the way to the end, great work

Mr.Giant - '92 YJ
Giant 2 - '18 JLUR

No paint under the hinges is normal. Every Jeep I've ever owned is like that and I can't say for sure if there isn't some kind of corrosion prevention coating. It's not like it's shiny metal under the hinges - it's more like a greenish drab. Also, the skin of the tailgate is aluminum.

Another great install video, thanks for theses videos they come in very useful when doing ourselves.

Awesome, so glad to hear it. Helping others to be able to help themselves is all we hope to accomplish with our videos. :)

Another top notch vid y’all. Thanks for sharing.

You bet! We're so glad to hear you enjoyed the video :)
 

Rellik

Member
we installed this 2 weeks ago and can confirm the 2 shims under the bottom hinge helps and allows the tailgate to operate perfectly. I did notice that you did not install the 3rd brake light? For me the 3rd brake light bracket and the way it installs could have been better.
 

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
Very informative video, thanks for that!
I have been thinking of how much work would have to be put into the install of this thing. BTW, this carrier looks by far best for me. But to have unpainted metal under the carrier on the tailgate, man I dont know....perhaps get it painted before install
Anyway, beefy carrier and thought all the way to the end, great work

Mr.Giant - '92 YJ
Giant 2 - '18 JLUR

If you think about it, it was unpainted metal under the factory hinges as well.
 

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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
we installed this 2 weeks ago and can confirm the 2 shims under the bottom hinge helps and allows the tailgate to operate perfectly. I did notice that you did not install the 3rd brake light? For me the 3rd brake light bracket and the way it installs could have been better.

I wasn't exactly thrilled about how the 3rd brake light bracket was designed. Changing out a blown tire on the trail would be nothing short of very difficult if not impossible if you don't have a T-8 bit and you don't jack up the tiny bolt heads. For me, I decided to install a Mopar relocation bracket instead.

As far as the shims go, I would have installed them if my tire carrier came with them. EVO sent them to me after the fact but I had already added preload to the tailgate and that seemed to do the trick.
 

Rellik

Member
I wasn't exactly thrilled about how the 3rd brake light bracket was designed. Changing out a blown tire on the trail would be nothing short of very difficult if not impossible if you don't have a T-8 bit and you don't jack up the tiny bolt heads. For me, I decided to install a Mopar relocation bracket instead.

As far as the shims go, I would have installed them if my tire carrier came with them. EVO sent them to me after the fact but I had already added preload to the tailgate and that seemed to do the trick.

I will look into the Mopar bracket as well. Thanks for the info.
 

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