Wieght limit on tire rack

[Jersey]

Does anyone know what the biggest tire is the rear rack can support? I currently am running 33x12.5" tires on 15x10 american racing steel wheels. For obvious reasons, the stock spare wont work, but have heard horror stories of a larger tire bending the quarter panel and tailgate. Just looking to see if anyone has run into this.

 

[Justshootme84]

You might have trouble fitting even a 33x12.50R15 tire, depending on the size of the rim you use. Weight-wise, I wouldn't put anything more than a 33 on an aluminum rim. I had a 32x11.50R15 on a steel rim on the 84 Bronco for many years without trouble, but moved the spare 35' tire and wheel to the cargo area when i went to the taller tires. if you value the body and quarter panel on the Bronco, I would not go over a 33" tire on the outside rack. About half of the 35's to 38's I've seen mounted on there have ripped the rear quarter panel mount due to the added weight. JSM84

 

[Jersey]

You might have trouble fitting even a 33x12.50R15 tire, depending on the size of the rim you use. Weight-wise, I wouldn't put anything more than a 33 on an aluminum rim. I had a 32x11.50R15 on a steel rim on the 84 Bronco for many years without trouble, but moved the spare 35' tire and wheel to the cargo area when i went to the taller tires. if you value the body and quarter panel on the Bronco, I would not go over a 33" tire on the outside rack. About half of the 35's to 38's I've seen mounted on there have ripped the rear quarter panel mount due to the added weight. JSM84

Thats what I figured. I have a guy that can make any spacer/bracket setup i can imagine to fit the rim, but I'm not gonna push it. Maybe I will just buy 5 new rims and make the spare a 31 for emergencys. Thanks for the input, didnt want to find out the hard way. Not that I wouldn't mind replacing a straight unrusted original quarter panel out of stupidity...lol /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[Billy Toppless]

Does anyone know what the biggest tire is the rear rack can support? I currently am running 33x12.5" tires on 15x10 american racing steel wheels. For obvious reasons, the stock spare wont work, but have heard horror stories of a larger tire bending the quarter panel and tailgate. Just looking to see if anyone has run into this.

or if u want to have the 33 still as a spare get a roof rack or a inside mounted tire rack

im going witht he roof rack

wilderness makes them for about 500 bucks or so and the tire mount is about 90 bucks

or u could fab one urself for probly about 200

 

[Jersey]

or if u want to have the 33 still as a spare get a roof rack or a inside mounted tire rackim going witht he roof rack

wilderness makes them for about 500 bucks or so and the tire mount is about 90 bucks

or u could fab one urself for probly about 200

I was thinking about that, but it leaves me 2 problems. 1st and foremost, there is a bridge I frequently travel, that has an eight foot clearance. 2nd, I fully intend to purchase a soft top, and I dont think that will hold up a 60lb tire...lol. I carry too much in the back for work to put one there, so I am kinda running out of options.

 

[Justshootme84]

Might look into buying or building a new rear bumper with the spare tire rack mounted on it rather than the body panel.

 

[Jersey]

Might look into buying or building a new rear bumper with the spare tire rack mounted on it rather than the body panel.

Sounds like a much better idea. I'll have to do some research.

 

[Broncobill78]

As the others have already mentioned anything larger than the factory 31's is not a good idea. Eventually you'll crack the quarter panel at the upper mount and the tailgate just takes a beating with it. I have personally had a 35" tire peel my entire quarter *off the truck* when it swung open one day. I'd been dragging my feet on repairing it and figured it would hold. Expensive lesson. If you go back a couple months you'll find this exact thread was hashed out, seems to keep resurfacing.

 

[barrett86]

my cousin ran a 35 12.50 15 BFG Mud Terrain on his 96's rack and it didnt do anything bad, it was all good.

 

[89eddie89]

what do you all think about the roof rack on a bronco??

would it be drilled straight through the roof?? since i dont have runnings on top..

 

[Broncobill78]

my cousin ran a 35 12.50 15 BFG Mud Terrain on his 96's rack and it didnt do anything bad, it was all good.

Yup. Keep doing that & then go ck it in a few years & see what kind of shape it's in. That's just like saying "I'm running 38's on my D44 axle and it hasn't broken yet so it must be cool to do that". Over time the weight of the tire deforms the tailgate and cracks the quarter panel where the upper hinge bolts in. Anyone who's looked at more than a couple of Bronco's has seen this. Do it for 5-10 yrs and you'll ruin both the tailgate & quarter panel.

Quote: For obvious reasons, the stock spare wont work, but have heard horror stories of a larger tire bending the quarter panel and tailgate. Just looking to see if anyone has run into this.

Jersey,

I ran a 36" on the rear carrier of one of my 78's and opened it one day and had it *literally* peel the quarter panel off the truck. It swung open and then dropped right to the ground. The quarter had already been cracked at the upper mount for some time and instead of the upper hinge bolts breaking when it swung open it just fell down & tore the quarter panel half-way off. The bottom hinge broke as it was torqued around but the top stayed bolted to the panel.

 

[Broncobill78]

what do you all think about the roof rack on a bronco??
would it be drilled straight through the roof?? since i dont have runnings on top..

While you *can* do this you have to be carefull when doing so. You need to use large feet & backing plates to distribute the weight of whatever you carry. Yes, you'll drill straight thru the roof & then seal everything up with silicone when you install the rack & backing plates.

 

[cj_92Bronco]

where can you buy all the mounting hardware and backing plates, ive been thinking of a roof rack but i need to have the track and the runnings

 

[Broncobill78]

There's really only two ways to go with this one, either you purchase something off the shelf or fabricate your own. If you buy something it should come with everything you need. If you fabricate the rack then you have to fab the bracketry and buy your hardware. Depending on what you have available for a shop (welder, tubing bender, etc) you may want to get something pre-fabbed in which case someone else has already done the engineering. Unless you're an engineer by trade fabricating your own is large a matter of trial & error and most of us tend to over-engineer our projects on a scale that makes professional's shake their heads & smile (and then there are the guys who *don't* over-engineer their stuff and they're pretty easy to spot because they're the ones standing on the roadside next to a burning truck or picking up debris scattered across the highway). The cap can be tricky to work with because it's just unreinforced fiberglass so whatever you bolt onto it has to include it's own reinforcement.

Something like this may be what you're looking for:

http://www.orsracksdirect.com/thule-roof-r...se-systems.html

 

[89eddie89]

What brand roof rack do you recommend??

One that is of a low price. I want one that is big on the soft top, like it covers up the majority of the top. NOT a tiny basket.. haha

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