The rise of Olaf The JL

[MericaMade]

Well, today was tire rotation day, as well as checking torque on the spacers.
All were still tight, no problems found.

I also modded the EVO tire carrier a bit.
I hate the way the camera sits there exposed, when it was nice and protected in the factory location. I took the sawzall to the factory carrier and cut out the center piece.

First I tried it with the whole bolt circle. No good.

Then I just kept on trimming it smaller and smaller until it was just right.

I ended up trimming it back to behind the lip on the plastic coating, and now it goes all the way on and I get the full camera view on the screen.

In the fourth picture, you can see the small lip on the plastic where it flattens out, that is where I ended up grinding to to get it right.

No more worrying about ruining the camera when putting the heavy ass tire in the carrier.

And another great idea! Looks awesome. Is it a pressure fit?

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[jdofmemi]

And another great idea! Looks awesome. Is it a pressure fit?

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Once it's trimmed right, it is a pressure fit, and has enough of a flare that it can't rattle off when the spare is mounted.

It took a bit of trial and error to get it right.

In the event you were to cut too much, you could epoxy it on and it would still work.

 

[MericaMade]

Once it's trimmed right, it is a pressure fit, and has enough of a flare that it can't rattle off when the spare is mounted.

It took a bit of trial and error to get it right.

In the event you were to cut too much, you could epoxy it on and it would still work.

Nice. Did you press it in from the front side of the tire carrier or did you slide it in from the rear through the hole and push/pull pressure out?

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[jdofmemi]

Nice. Did you press it in from the front side of the tire carrier or did you slide it in from the rear through the hole and push/pull pressure out?

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I don't have a picture that shows it, but the EVO carrier uses the factory studs. They are on a metal plate that has two small bolts that hold it on. This plate includes the rough bracket that holds the camera.

In their design, the brake light bolts on to this, along with the camera with three teeny tiny screws. You have to take these off and unplug the wires to take the spare on and off, and that is just stupid, IMO. I lost one of the tiny screws in the driveway, working in concrete. I could not imagine doing it that way out on the trail dealing with a flat tire.

Then, the camera sits exposed at the end while you try to get your 37" spare on or off without damaging the camera

The factory cover fits fight over the bracket, with indentations to keep it lined up. I started way too big, and by the time I was done had just a tiny bit of the flare left, but it won't come out of the hub.

I kept grinding until the camera view was correct, and not shadowed by the cover. It fits tight, and I hammered it on with a dead blow hammer once I was happy with it.

 

[MericaMade]

I don't have a picture that shows it, but the EVO carrier uses the factory studs. They are on a metal plate that has two small bolts that hold it on. This plate includes the rough bracket that holds the camera.

In their design, the brake light bolts on to this, along with the camera with three teeny tiny screws. You have to take these off and unplug the wires to take the spare on and off, and that is just stupid, IMO. I lost one of the tiny screws in the driveway, working in concrete. I could not imagine doing it that way out on the trail dealing with a flat tire.

Then, the camera sits exposed at the end while you try to get your 37" spare on or off without damaging the camera [emoji2962]

The factory cover fits fight over the bracket, with indentations to keep it lined up. I started way too big, and by the time I was done had just a tiny bit of the flare left, but it won't come out of the hub.

I kept grinding until the camera view was correct, and not shadowed by the cover. It fits tight, and I hammered it on with a dead blow hammer once I was happy with it.

Got ya. We put the Evo tire carrier on my buddies JL and love it but what you mention about the camera placement and license plate is kind of annoying when you need to change a tire.

I think we're going to end up doing this on his as well awesome write-up.

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