PSA: OR-Fab Rotopax carriers for TJ

There seems to be some confusion regarding this tire carrier from OR-Fab. Some people on Jeepforum were unsure whether the system installs similarly to their older version (here). The old one clearly fastens to the roll bar mounts. The question is, does the new one.

I called OR-Fab today because I'm stuck deciding between the two of these carriers. The rotopax carrier DOES mount to the roll bar points, same as the old system. The installation manual is actually the same one, I am told.

Is that tire carrier going to make the spare tire stick out more and make it  scrape/hit tire on steep angle rock crawling?
It looks that way to me but i could be wrong.
This way seems ok.

http://www.rotopax.com/Tire-Mount.html

http://www.rotopax.com/LOX-Pack-Mount.html

Mark wrote:Is that tire carrier going to make the spare tire stick out more and make it  scrape/hit tire on steep angle rock crawling?
It looks that way to me but i could be wrong.
This way seems ok.

http://www.rotopax.com/Tire-Mount.html

http://www.rotopax.com/LOX-Pack-Mount.html

I dont know if TJ's have the same tailgate issue as JK's do, where the hinges aren't too good and with the weight of an oversized tire alone can cause welds to become undone. If that is the case then the swing out tire carrier that includes the rotopax mounts would be preferable although he could loose some clearance at some steeper angles specially. If no there arent any weight issues with the tailgate then i would say go with the links above.

Yes, the tire will stick out more. I don't know how much more. However, I'm okay with this sacrifice. The Rotopax carrier sets the spare in closer than their older model with Gerry cans, so there's that. I've only ever encountered a situation where this might have been an issue once. It was on a Mabell run, coming back down. There's a step a few feet tall and I set it down on the rear bumper. It might have hit the spare if I had this carrier? but I'm not sure. So, yes it's a point to consider, which I have, and I think I'll be fine.

The TJ does have issues with extra weight on the tailgate. Lately mine has been sticking when I try to open it.

Unfortunately, I've called around and this carrier is out of stock at all 4 major suppliers and no distributors seem to keep them on their shelves. They're all drop-shipped when you order it. According to OR-Fab, they have an order going to powdercoat right now, and it should ship to suppliers in a couple/few weeks.

Bonus of the rotopax carrier is rotopax makes different containers for storage, first aid, water or fuel. If I can store some gear in one or two containers, it would free up space in my back seat. So that's a strong motivator for me. Gives some versatility over Gerry cans.

Putting the weight of the spare and the cans seems a bit much for the factory tail gate/carrier.
That's a nice carrier, i hope you get a hold of one w/o too much hassle.

Yea I agree Mark. I had a 33x12.5 on my other TJ for a year or two? and it seemed fine. However, that Jeep was beat to snot and the tailgate had a...ahem a "trail mishap". I backed into a tree. So while it seemed fine, I mean that in the loosest sense in that it opened fine. With a 33 on a stock tailgate though, the hinges always seem to have a lot of drag. The action is smooth, but it takes a good deal of effort. I wouldn't be surprised if it accelerates wear. I looked at a lot of different carriers from a lot of different manufacturers. There's lots of good stuff out there, I think I like this option best since we now know it mounts to the roll bar points.

The rear bumper/tire carrier is the hardest decision I am having thus far.

I have the orfab tire carrier, rocker rails, and front and rear bumpers. I think all of them are really nice. The tire carrier is cool cuz it has a cb antenna mound and hi lift jack mount that ive used. I haven't tried the jerry cans tho.

dongalonga wrote:The rear bumper/tire carrier is the hardest decision I am having thus far.

hahaha same here. It's probably near the top of the list of most-options-available for replacement parts. Lots of features to consider. Do you want modularity? Do you want to carry any additional gear? Jack? CB antenna? Cargo rack? Does it mount to the body or the tailgate or the bumper? Does the bumper have D-rings? A hitch? What's the finish? What type of latch? How is the build quality? What's the max size spare it'll carry? How are the reviews?

So many things to consider!

nasi1515 wrote:I have the orfab tire carrier, rocker rails, and front and rear bumpers. I think all of them are really nice. The tire carrier is cool cuz it has a cb antenna mound and hi lift jack mount that ive used. I haven't tried the jerry cans tho.

Thanks for this. It's hard to tell build quality without touching the product. And it's a very important point for a lot of the things I want. I don't want to install some hunka junk and then have it break or rot out or deteriorate in a year or something.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions. That's a tough one, there's so much to consider. It's really tough to make decisions without actually being able to see one in person.
It's not like everyone has one so you could take a gander at one and evaluate it without committing and buying one and then decide that's not what you wanted.

It's installed. It's very stout. The design of the roll bar brackets is pretty hefty and I like the extra rigidity it adds to the body.

Had a few stuck bolts/broken Torx bits, but other than that the install went really well.

Glad it worked out for you Rob.

Pics?

These are pretty crappy pictures. My phones a POS.





It doesn't come with the hardware for mounting the jack, but I made some pretty cheap with a threaded rod and some nuts and washers: (it DOES include nutserts already installed)



Here you can see the interior looks the same, everything tucks neatly under the carpet, like nothing ever happened:



Let me know if there's something specific you want to see and I can get it.

What Pictures ?

What the heck.

Do these links work?

https://imgur.com/yyNDwTq

https://imgur.com/F0xL6FM

https://imgur.com/Rg9cNOR

https://imgur.com/NnPMOvR

That looks great Rob, and the spare looks like it's up high and out of the way.

Thanks Mark. I'm pleased with it. It's just a bear getting the spare up so high to mount it!

Rob Cote wrote:What the heck.

Do these links work?

https://imgur.com/yyNDwTq

https://imgur.com/F0xL6FM

https://imgur.com/Rg9cNOR

https://imgur.com/NnPMOvR

very nice stuff

I'll have to check it out if you come to the BBQ.

I'm hoping to, but not certain yet. I'll be on the club run 4/4.