Serious question about tire placement on the spare carrier

I keep seeing guys mount their spare tire on the rear bumper and then complain about rear visibility. Like... yeah. You put a 35 inch tire right in the middle of your rear window. What did you expect? I run a swing out carrier on my 1998 Tacoma and I keep the tire low. Below the window line. Took me an afternoon to figure out the right bracket position. Now I can actually see behind me. Also helps with the center of gravity if you ask me. Anyone else run a low mount spare or am I the odd one out here?

3 comments

3 Comments

verap522mo agoMost Upvoted

My 2001 4Runner has a swing out on a custom fabbed bumper and I run mine low too, right at the bumper level. Had to extend the arm 4 inches to clear the hitch but its worth it. I can actually use my rearview mirror and my back up camera still works. Plus the weight is down where it belongs. Too many folks bolt that thing up high like a trophy and then wonder why their tailgate sags.

jana_ellis952mo ago

Oh man, I feel this so hard. I mounted my spare up high on my old XJ once, thinking I was being all cool and functional, and ended up almost needing a chiropractor after every trip because the tailgate groaned like it was about to fall off. Plus, trying to parallel park with that thing blocking half my view? I literally backed into a dumpster because I couldn't see it. So now I've got it sitting low on a swing out too, and it's like a whole new world - I can actually see out the back and not worry about my hatch hinges snapping. But of course, the first time I opened it after the low mount, my hitch scraped a parking curb and I felt like a real genius.

jesse_nguyen1mo ago

@verap52 you are so right about the weight distribution thing. I learned that lesson the hard way too. High mount looked great at first, but after a few months my hatch started sagging and I was like, yep, this is gonna snap eventually. Switched to a low swing out like you are talking about and it is night and day difference. Honestly, I can actually see pedestrians and small cars now instead of praying my blind spot is clear lol. The hitch scrape thing is real though, I caught mine on a speed bump last week and it made that awful grinding noise. Totally worth it for not having to replace my tailgate hinges every year though.