I will agree that TF should give guidelines and recommendations for the BS necessary for proper and safe install. I just hate a product gets bashed for being crap when thousands have had no problem.
And there in lines your problem. You have made this personal and have assumed that a product you have chosen to buy is getting "bashed". You need to step back and realize that a break did in fact happen, is now being talked about and it is NOT a reflection or criticism of you personally. If anything, trolls have come on to this thread to personally attack me for sharing what I have seen and oddly enough, that seems to be okay with you.
I don't care who is at fault at this point.
I'm happy with mine and ironically enough some douche just backed into my TF tire carrier and no issue after inspection. His vehicle tailgate was messed up badly.
I'm definitely not a fanboy. I just thought this was a great product with a great design when I bought. And I still feel it is a great product. I was trying to save some weight and to have a stock like product.
Every single product in the world has failures so I guess I'm not surprised this one has a failure either.
Hopefully it will give people more info to make an informed decision.
I don't care who is at fault at this point. I'm happy with mine and ironically enough some douche just backed into my TF tire carrier and no issue after inspection. His vehicle tailgate was messed up badly.
ah, I was wondering when you'd chime back in.
No, I wouldn't agree with what you think should be "common sense". I only know that this is a bad idea because I have been a Jeep owner for a very long time and have seen the kind of tailgate damage that can be caused by a spare left to jiggle around. My experience has taught me to make sure that the spare should be held securely in place and had even done write-ups about this over 10 years ago back when people were having similar problems on their TJ's.
^^ yes absolutely.
Any chance we could get a pic of the new part with the gussets?
UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Teraflex and they said at this point there is no modification that is going into production. He said it was possible that there will be a change for the next generation, but hadn't seen anything or heard anything official. There was no ETA on any changes. He had heard about this pic from someone tearing through the desert with it installed improperly which caused a failure to occur. He said that maybe the guy (presumably your friend WOL) may have installed a gusset himself, but he wasn't familiar with any leaving TF with the modification done it it.
So that's where they are officially. I'd like to see the part he got when he contacted them.
My friend isn't exactly web savvy and it was too dark to take a pic of it when I did see it. But, I will see what I can do.
:cheesy: Is that a fact?? Well, it's unfortunate but, it sounds like TeraFlex is choosing not to handle this just like they did with their weak front track bars and long arm mounts. I just hope nobody gets hurt in the process. Of course, you're free to believe whatever it is you want to believe. Certainly, I have no reason to make any of this up.
The above comment was actually meant for Eddie's post about how Teraflex should be clear on what backspacing it works with.
Anyway I called Teraflex. They are comfortable with me going ahead as long as the tire is in contact with the carrier frame. Given my 4-5/8" backspacing it should reach the frame.
I was told the following procedure works best to ensure a good fit once the carrier frame is mounted to the tailgate:
1. Mount the tire on the adjustable part of the carrier
2. Put it up onto the gate and rest the inside of the tire against the carrier frame
3. Mark a line on the adjustable tube
4. Remove the tire
5. Push the adjustable tube in 1/4" past the mark
6. Remount the tire
This makes sense to me, so I'm going to try the carrier. Still gonna add my "powder strap" as a backup though.
In my opinion this is really a problem with documentation. They need to rewrite the instructions to be clear about how important it is to contact the tire.
EDIT: And as Eddie points out be clear about its backspacing limitations (or change/add to the design so it can handle a 3.5" BS).
Dave
UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Teraflex and they said at this point there is no modification that is going into production. He said it was possible that there will be a change for the next generation, but hadn't seen anything or heard anything official. There was no ETA on any changes. He had heard about this pic from someone tearing through the desert with it installed improperly which caused a failure to occur. He said that maybe the guy (presumably your friend WOL) may have installed a gusset himself, but he wasn't familiar with any leaving TF with the modification done it it.
So that's where they are officially. I'd like to see the part he got when he contacted them.
Funny because in one of the early promo vids for this carrier, it showed Smurf rolling hard with what was then a max "38 tire size." Now it's down to 37", and don't wheel it. :grayno:
Again, I just hope that nobody gets hurt.
no one said "don't wheel it", or did i miss something. funny because they clearly state that its designed to carry a 37" tire, yet the put a 38" on it during testing. link to video you were misquoting to follow. go to 2:22 for the info. i watched this several times before purchasing mine and remembered this part...lol i got a good laugh with all the talk of spreading the load, just beating it up, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVB7NGY0PMc
all the videos clearly show the factory rubber bumper still on the drivers side, but removed from the pass side. not sure if that part was in the instructions however. they also clearly state to snug the tire against the carrier, but make no mention of any specific compatible range of backspacing in order to accomplish this. not sure if that was in the written instructions either. i used the video when i put mine on.