Hey - my custom rear hitch carrier is on it way and I was wondering for a few opinions. I have full size spare that will be on this hitch carrier. I have polished sr5 17s and a clean 17" black steel 17" for spare options with an offbrand matching tire size...wish i hadn't bought spare stuff before finding the carrier maker or I might have went matching but w.e. question is should I mount on the black steelie or sr5? Been tough finding single 5th fj and don't want to spend more $...could run the sr5 wheel too but my reg wheels are gunmetal so wasnt sure about the diff colors etc. Let me know what you think...should weight differences or offsets be concerning for my spare too? Thanks.

I'd go for the rim with the offset that matches your everyday rims. Then get a wheel cover or trasharoo to hide the mismatched rim

Boort

Thanks thats a good idea on covering the rim...i suspect my steely and sr5 rim are both the same offset since they came together and my fj have 15mm vs 30 w the others...is this a game changer do you think or can you run a spare with a bit different offset for some time?

Should be doable, to run the different offset or backspacing for a short time, but I'd put it on the rear. Similar to running a donut spare on a small car. If you blow a front tire you move a rear up, put the donut on the rear, then put the old rear on the front.

I'm doing the same here. I put the TRD Pro rims on my 4thGen but kept the stock spare so my backspacing is a bit different (along with the outer diameter size)

Check out Side-by-Side Comparison of Vehicle Rim Fitment - Discount Custom Rims | My Bolt Pattern to see how far off your 3 rim types are. (probably really close)

Boort

Curious as to which hitch carrier you went with.......

thanks - hmmm good to know. i wish i thought of this previously because i dont love the idea of having to 'short trip' it or remove an extra wheel to have the spare out back in the event that either scenario arises...im just imagining getting a flat on an interstate trip snowboarding (about 3 hrs from my house) i wonder if limping home with it in front would do the job. thanks for the info btw.

Detours of Maine - Truck Accessories, Tire Carrier, Toyota Jeep

hinmo24t

My worry would be that if the offset or backspacing would cause rubbing on something when turning under load. Up front there is a lot more going on to rub on than out back. On the rear, as long as the tire fits inside the fender there is not much to rub on.

On my truck I'm currently carrying a stock size spare with stock backspacing. If I ever need to use the spare I'm aware that the full time 4wd, VSC, etc will likely piss itself during the drive out. This was the explanation that I got when I talked this over with the technical team at Slee Offroad in Golden CO, when they upgraded the suspension for me. I have yet to try putting on the smaller spare to see what happens. I gotta drop it to air it up now that it's cold so maybe I'll do that if the weather is nice on a coming weekend.


Boort

thanks Boort - i did know the rolling diameter needed to be the same or else
the truck can get confused, you'd def want to just limp out in that case. i at least have the matching rim diameter as well as tire but thinking about backspacing and offset differences caught me off guard. i just looked up oem spare rim specs and theres a chance they are 14mm offset which is only 1mm
off from my other wheels (FJ 6 spokes) the wheel width is different though so i see the concern for moving parts up front, and their chance of rubbing on the wheel. with the pizza cutters ill be running i am not overly concerned about that as long as
she is pretty happy going straight and about 55mph lol

thanks everyone, i think im going to mount on the spare (thing is clean for having been under the vehicle even though it is just a steelie, might cover it like someone suggested too) and ill have my full set of sr5 with tires on standby for selling or using.

I have been eyeing these. Did you go with the white knuckle or the swingaway? Would love a review when it comes.

i went with the bareknuckle (i think you meant that, and i have white knuckle sliders haha) - ill be sure to review when she's in use, supposed to be here soon.

if you google detours off road 4runner and images, theres a 5th gen with some detailed pics of it, hinged and whatnot. i havent found a bad review yet and the owners customer service was fantastic too for anyone leaning towards this.

They have the white knuckle, which folds down and the ridgerunner which is the swing away. I'll google some more photos!