After searching for months to find an affordable and rock-solid tire carrier for the TJ, I began to wonder if any such thing existed. That is, until I found that OR Fab had been secretly working on a new design in their ?skunk works? facility in Phoenix Arizona. I was amazed the day the 55 pound box arrived at my door. Here is what was inside...

The goods are in a final state of relaxation before they are put to the test.

Upon first inspection, I could tell this carrier was built to stand the test of time. It is made of 1 1/4 tubing that has been mandrel bent and black powder coated. All the bolts are grade 5 stainless steel for superior strength and rust prevention. This kit uses a giant clamp style mount to hold the spare in place. This specific model keeps the departure angles near that of the stock carrier, if not slightly better. The instructions are very clean and clear.

This kit requires a fair amount of drilling, which was straight forward and easy. None of the holes required any arm-bending techniques or busted knuckles. The entire install was a four-hour job, working by myself. Though, I did have a buddy help maneuver some of the heavier parts.

The stock set up has got to go, making way for a trail-ready rig.

The first step in the installation is to remove your stock spare and the stock carrier. Remove your passenger side brake light. Remove the old third brake light as well.

The next stop is to get your soft top ( if so equipped) out of the way, along with the carpeting in the back. If you have a hard top, I do not see a need to remove it for the installation.

Now you need to take a torx bit and remove the seat belt boxes that are attached to your roll bar in the rear.

Next up, unbolt your tailgate from the Jeep at the hinges. If you should by chance strip out one of the torx bolts, it is OK to drill out the heads. You won't be using the cheap factory bolts again. Now, you need to remove the lock pin that locks the tailgate. This simply unbolts along with the bracket.

The selling point to this rack are the options. You can add a Hi-Lift and a couple of gas cans with little effort.

From here, you want to remove the pin itself and cut a 1/4 inch off the threads as shown. Now, you want to place the two black strips under your hinges, and bolt them to the tailgate with the new flathead Allen style bolts.

Now, you need to take a torx bit and remove the bolts from your rear sport bar. Place the new internal brace inside the Jeep as shown.

Place the new hinge, which will hold the tire carrier, up to the body panel, and drill out any holes that were not factory installed. Now you can place some of the supplied bolts in there new homes, and install your factory roll cage bolts back. Drill the other side for your new clamp as well.

It's time to install the actual unit that holds the tire on with the bolts and brass washers supplied. Be sure you put the brass washers in the right order. Otherwise, things may not line up right later.

Now you can tighten those hinge bolts up nice and tight.

Finger nails, bolts, whats the difference? One way or another, you've got to cut a quarter inch off the thread of the bolt. Right now, the thumb pictured here cannot afford that much. So, we only nibbled a bit.

From here, you need to install your custom lock pin. You may need to take a minute and make sure the tailgate aligns with the lock pin properly. It went in fairly easy for me, but it may not always work out that way. Now add your tailgate.

Photo Gallery

Now you just need to put your seatbelt boxes back, and replace the carpeting and brake light, slap on a spare and your off to hit the trails.

This unit will also allow you mount a Highlift jack should you chose to.

After a few hundred miles of washboard roads and all-out desert thrashing, the tire rack remained solid. There were no rattles whatsoever. About the only rattle you'll get is when you mount the Hi-Lift. The problem is easily solved with the use of a bungee cord. Otherwise, the tire carrier is silent.

O-R Fab makes another design that allows you to mount a couple five-gallon gas cans. They also offer a sport cage, a variety of hardcore bumpers and rock-worthy rocker guards. Check out their web site at www.ORfab.com.