EVO tire carrier bent

Whiskeyjack · Jul 17, 2018

Got my tire carrier today. It looked good so I threw it on. Tried everything that I can, but I can only get three of the four johnny joints lined up on the mounts. The fourth one is off by about a 3/4"...don't think there's anything I can adjust to get it to line up unless someone knows something I don't. A friend came over and he thinks the lower left arm is slightly bent, which would explain my issue.

Anyone got ideas? Am I just adjusting it wrong? If it's bent it's not the end of the world, I can just heat and bend, but I'd rather not if it's not absolutely necessary.

wayoflife · Jul 17, 2018

I've actually seen a guy leave that bottom lower pin out, attempt to climb an obstacle, slip back down and hit the tire carrier and it bent just enough to prevent lining back up just like what you're seeing. Needless to say, I suppose it is possible that it got bent in shipping.

Ddays · Jul 17, 2018

Are the same amount of threads showing on both sides of the carrier ends? To see if its bent take the carrier off and lay it on a flat level surface. You'll see right away if one or any arms are bent.

Whiskeyjack · Jul 17, 2018

Ddays said:
Are the same amount of threads showing on both sides of the carrier ends? To see if its bent take the carrier off and lay it on a flat level surface. You'll see right away if one or any arms are bent.

I tried to have the same amount of thread on each end before installing and I wasn't able to get it to line up. I figured there would have to be some adjustment because of how I mounted the corners and mounts. I didn't do a fantastic job, but I'm not off by nearly enough to account for this gap. Must be bent. I look at it and it seems bent, but I couldn't be sure if it was just my mind making things look the way I wanted.

I'll measure it out and verify tomorrow. Was just hoping someone would pop in and be like, "just give this joint two turns and it'll align". Glad I'm not a complete idiot because I spent hours trying to line it up.

Whiskeyjack · Jul 17, 2018

wayoflife said:
I've actually seen a guy leave that bottom lower pin out, attempt to climb an obstacle, slip back down and hit the tire carrier and it bent just enough to prevent lining back up just like what you're seeing. Needless to say, I suppose it is possible that it got bent in shipping.

I suppose it wouldn't be too bad to bend it out then. At least I can leave the lower pin out for now, until I get it sorted out.

Ddays · Jul 17, 2018

Whiskeyjack said:
I tried to have the same amount of thread on each end before installing and I wasn't able to get it to line up. I figured there would have to be some adjustment because of how I mounted the corners and mounts. I didn't do a fantastic job, but I'm not off by nearly enough to account for this gap. Must be bent. I look at it and it seems bent, but I couldn't be sure if it was just my mind making things look the way I wanted.

I'll measure it out and verify tomorrow. Was just hoping someone would pop in and be like, "just give this joint two turns and it'll align". Glad I'm not a complete idiot because I spent hours trying to line it up.

Like the instructions clearly state (yes I read them) this is not an easy install. Its easy to get these things all jacked up. I pissed around with mine for hours and just walked away from it. Try again tomorrow. Hopefully its not bent. UPS is good at breaking shit but id be surprised if they managed to bend one of these.

Whiskeyjack · Jul 17, 2018

Ddays said:
Like the instructions clearly state (yes I read them) this is not an easy install. Its easy to get these things all jacked up. I pissed around with mine for hours and just walked away from it. Try again tomorrow. Hopefully its not bent. UPS is good at breaking shit but id be surprised if they managed to bend one of these.

Fair enough. I'll definitely give it another go tomorrow. My carrier didn't come with any instructions and my approach was pretty much winged. I just looked up some instructions and there seems to be a couple things I can do to try to work around this issue. Hopefully it's that simple.

zimm · Jul 17, 2018

It could also be the mount wasn't in the right spot when you drilled and bolted it to the body. Mine doesn't line up perfectly either, but notice how much more thread I have exposed on the lower joints than the top in order for the tire to be level vertically.

Did you try "pre loading" the carrier? I actually rest the carrier on TOP of the mounts, then tighten the hinge side bolts really tight. Then the carrier should settle down to just about the right height to slide into the pin side mounts without having to lift up on the carrier at all. It's better to do that adjustment with the spare tire on.

Another option if you exhaust all possibilities is to drill a new set of holes in the mount and weld a big washer top and bottom.
View attachment 306135 View attachment 306136 View attachment 306137

Whiskeyjack · Jul 17, 2018

zimm said:
It could also be the mount wasn't in the right spot when you drilled and bolted it to the body. Mine doesn't line up perfectly either, but notice how much more thread I have exposed on the lower joints than the top in order for the tire to be level vertically.

Did you try "pre loading" the carrier? I actually rest the carrier on TOP of the mounts, then tighten the hinge side bolts really tight. Then the carrier should settle down to just about the right height to slide into the pin side mounts without having to lift up on the carrier at all. It's better to do that adjustment with the spare tire on.

Another option if you exhaust all possibilities is to drill a new set of holes in the mount and weld a big washer top and bottom.

Thanks for the tips! I did "pre-load" the carrier as you said. It still sags to the point where I have to lift it a good bit to close it, but that's not a big deal to me. Looking at the way the joint lines up with the bracket, I don't think there's an issue with where I put the lower left bracket that could affect that alignment issue. If it were anything, maybe I don't have the EVO corner tight enough to the back of the body but I don't think I'm off by that much, if at all.

I might opt to just drill and weld like you suggested. I feel like I can heat and bend the lower arm to fit, but your solution is simpler, though maybe not as elegant. I'm glad I at least have options now.

Mybadjk · Jul 18, 2018

Worth a shot. But I originally had mine set up like this. But I looked at a buddy’s and copied how he had his and it fit perfectly. Try setting all your jam nuts the same distance. All mine are set pretty close to how this top one is but on all four corners.

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Ddays · Jul 18, 2018

Here's how high I set mine unloaded and how it looks with the spare. These are my old wheels but the carriers stayed the same height with Chamber Pro's & Cooper STT's

Whiskeyjack · Jul 19, 2018

Did some measurements and it looks like the carrier isn't bent. Not sure how I was so convinced, but I was wrong. Looks like one of my mounts is way off...still not sure how that's possible since I don't have the room to make the difference in the alignment...guess I'm going with the washer weld.

EVO tire carrier bent

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