SSO Will Make a Rear Tire Carrier

I just wanted to inform the community that SSO (Southern Style Offroad) just posted some new updated info on them making a new piece of equipment for the T4R's.
Link to post:

 

Hey Saker, thanks for posting here. I mentioned it a few weeks ago in another thread where I talked about having to cancel my DOM order.

Just replied back to Matt from SSO (emailed him when I saw the thread on the other site a few weeks ago) to let him know I'm interested. Since I think you have one of these already, do you have a side shot of this coming out of the receiver? I re-read the entire thread again last night and it looks like it may stick straight out about 4-6" and possibly hurt departure angle. Not a deal breaker but would like to see how bad it is.

 

Excuse the dirt...
The Original is close to 6 1/2".
Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for confirming, that's what I expected!

One more thing - did I read correctly in the thread that for the last (3rd) safety/connection bolt to be secured you have to weld a tab to your receiver hitch?

 

Don't know if SSO will retain that or not.

Yes, on the original. Any qualified welder can remedy that in just a few minutes.

Highlighed in red in photo:

 

Thank you very much!

For anyone interested, please reply to the original post on the other forum or shoot an email to Matt (matt@southernstyleoffroad.com) to show interest. My guess is that they are gauging interest to see how much time should be dedicated to a first production run and the more interest/higher quantity will probably help drive down the final price.

 

That website triggered my anti-virus alerting.

 

That site is terrible with popups, I'm not surprised. I rarely visit that site anymore, even though that was my go-to before I actually got a 4R.

They also still list the 6th gen as 2019+. Four years later and they still haven't addressed that??

Also, R4T recently did a video on the SSO carrier. It looks nice, but $$$$. It's on sale for $1,200, but that just seems like a lot to simply hold a tire.

If I ever get around to learning to weld, I really think it will be fairly easy and more cost effective to adapt a Jeep rear bumper/tire carrier to work with the receiver.

 

Actually that was SSO doing the vid. The bolt in the back is another safety feature to prevent any rearward movement of the carrier. 3 levels of securing the carrier.
I have one of the originals and I know how well built it is and what went into its construction. There isn’t another one out there that will compare at any pricing.

 

This is the video from R4T that I saw.
I agree it looks quality, but these things are so expensive for what they are.

https://youtu.be/PA9N4D2wyXQ

 

Thanks for the link.
If you followed @ctnewman on the TR4.ORG website when he designed and built them, I think you would change your perception of “so expensive for what they are”.
These things are so much more than any others out there. Design & mechanically engineered for all stresses….
But do the research yourself.
YMMV

 

I'm going to agree with Saker here.

First, let's agree that $1,200 is a fair chunk of change. There's no denying it.

However, when I was looking for a tire carrier, all the available options save Detours of Main left the tire way too far from the rear hatch for my taste, and those were all in the same price range as the SSO anyway. While DoM was less, he apparently decided to disappear, else I was going to go his way. The only other options were full bumpers, which ran twice as much and required way more "damage" to the vehicle than I really wanted to do or, in my case, was really necessary. I don't do heavy expeditions or rock-crawling, so a full bumper wasn't called for.

But then I learned about CTNewman's build, and I swore I'd get one if I could, and lo and behold, SSO picked up on the task.

I just finished installing mine yesterday. The biggest challenge for me was not the tire carrier; it was the lights for the license plate holder and the installation of a new camera, and even that was because I'm OCD. The tire carrier itself went in without a hiccup. Sure, it took a couple dozen whams with a dead-blow hammer to get the one arm onto the other, but after that it was cake. If you can turn a wrench, you can install it alone.

And boy is it BUILT. I've stood on it, with the tire on it, and there is ZERO flex. The tire rides right up against the hatchback, and still leaves space for the Gobi ladder. It is of phenomenal quality.

It came boxed in a huge box with custom-fit foam. Instructions available on YouTube. Mine had one spot where the powder coat chipped off, but a quick dab with some of my touchup paint took care of that, and it's someplace I can't see anyway. I also got it on Black Friday, when they were doing a heck of a sale. My mistake was getting the camera relocation kit, which I ended up not needing. My bad.

Is it more than some of the other options? Sure, but not grossly so, and the fact it is as strong as it is AND holds the tire so snug to the lines of the vehicle makes it entirely worth the extra cost, IMHO.

So I will say this: Buy with confidence. I believe it to be the best option out there in this field. Kudos to CTNewman for an amazing design and to SSO for bringing it to the rest of us.

ETA: One other point of feedback I'd offer: I DO wish the bottom arm followed the curve of the rear bumper a bit more closely than it does, but this is purely cosmetic and only an issue if the carrier is open and you are looking straight down at it. Again, my OCD at play.

The only other "issue" is that I now have an extra few inches sticking out the back of my trailer hitch, which can make loading and unloading the back a challenge if I don't mind where my knees are. Meh; I had to do that when I installed the Hitch Vault (which transferred seamlessly to the carrier, BTW) anyway, so in time muscle memory will resolve that. Anyone with any kind of anything in their hitch will face the same issue.

 

Saker, one question since you are pretty close to the design of this thing...

My installation went fine, but unlike your photo, the large hex bolt that holds the carrier in the hitch did not seat all the way against the outside of the hitch. There's maybe ⅜" left.

I did confirm that the threads of the bolt are bottomed out on the flanged bolt that goes inside the hitch, and that this assembly is, in turn, held tight against the right inside wall of the hitch by the outside bolt. The carrier is held very securely, but I found this odd.

Any ideas? I thought maybe I'd forgotten a washer or something, but nope...

 

Absolutely!
This is definitely by design. Mine doesn’t seat against the outer left side either. What I did was put a convex or Belleville washer on that side under the head of the bolt. It only takes up the space and with a small amount of tension.
I think mine came with more threads IIRC, pulled it up close the tested the fit with the Belleville washer.
But you could possibly tweak it to your liking.
You could order some Belleville washers and make that spacing disappear!
As long as the inside key is tight and you tighten up the long nut, the head side is virtually cosmetic in appearance.

 

Phew! Ok! Thanks!

The only change I did to the install was I purchased a locking nut to replace the long barrel nut they sent. Paranoia, I guess…

 

I put a Belleville washer on that side a well.

 

Ok, so chalk it up to ignorance on my end, but aside from filling the gap, what does this kind of washer do in this case?

 

Taken from the interwbz!

Absorb loads by acting as a spring.

The purpose of a Belleville washer is to absorb loads by acting as a spring. When a load is applied a Belleville washer, the washer compresses. At the same time, the Belleville washer exerts an equal amount of force against the object. This means Belleville washers can handle larger, heavier loads that aren’t possible with conventional washers.

 

I'm not arguing that it's a quality piece, it definitely looks like it, and I'm sure when you factor in the cost of labor & materials, 1200 or 1400 is perfectly reasonable for it, all things considered. My point was just for me, I don't need to spend $1,200 just to hang my spare tire off the back of the vehicle. That's it. I'm sure if you decided that you want one of these things, it's a fantastic, maybe even the best option out there.

 

I cancelled my DOM order just before he disappeared. I've been eyeing this one up for a while but I want a shorter receiver so it doesn't stick out so far. I reached out to SSO in December about it and they said they were interested but needed to catch up from overwhelming black Friday orders and would let me know when they get a chance. I sent another email a little over a week ago but haven't heard back. I see it's still on sale (or on sale again).

Almost pulled the trigger on a Dirtcom last month (for higher clearance) but their website popup discount was apparently from their black Friday sale and it wouldn't work so I decided to wait a little longer for SSO. I'm now thinking about buying it and having a local metal shop shorten it or just live with it.

Curious - why didn't you need the camera relocation kit? Looks like it definitely blocks the camera

 

I has a camera relocation in the middle of the wheel area. One has to move the OEM camera & run the wiring..

 

I would probably buy a camera relocation kit so I didn't have to remove the factory camera (would worry about water leaks even if i plugged). I have an anytime front/rear kit that needs to be installed so I will probably do both at the same time (another reason I'm itchy to pull the trigger on a carrier).

With your camera located in the center of the off-center tire, I guess the lines are just off center as well? Not sure they adjust on my 2019 from the head unit

 

Understand your reasons!

I moved my OEM camera, put a plug in the location with some silicone and haven’t had any issues. My carrier is in the center ( made by ctnewman), but yes, the offset carrier will result in your view being offset as well.

 

Ah yes, I forgot he made some centered as well for those who didn't have a ladder!

I will have to think about the offset. If I go with SSO I may try to mount it somewhere else closer to center if I can find a spot. Thanks!

 

Anyone have a pic of this tire carrier on their rig? The internet is flooded with media of the UltraSwing by RIGd supply.

 

Their website has a few: https://www.southernstyleoffroad.com/product/hitch-mounted-tire-carrier-4runner/

Also, the link to the other 4runner website (I think the 1st post) had development pics

 

Anyone running one of these from SSO yet? They are apparently behind in production due to popularity but don't see a lot posted here. Ordered mine mid-late March so expecting some news soon. I tried to have them shorten the receiver so it doesn't stick out so far - I haven't ruled out taking it to a local metal fab shop to chop it a bit. Interested in any feedback - that receiver looks like it kills departure angle but not as concerning as it being a knee banger

 

Have you looked on the T4R.ORG website ?
There are photos posted of mine as well as others. Look at my build, photos there.
Mine is one of the 5 originals conceived, designed and built by ctnewman, the ones that SSO is building are from CT’s files.

 

The lower part of the tire is out past the hitch ball. Haven’t had any knee banger issues!!!

 

Yeah, I've seen the pictures and not concerned when it's closed because the tire will stick out further. I just assume when it's open and you're loading/unloading the cargo area you gotta watch it!