I literally have that very setup on my Ranger. I built the rear bumper and tire carrier myself.my bad the word there was actually supposed to be three...
so you think a three step process is better than a two... ok. i am sure you can fabricate a separate swing out arm and a set of hinges for the tailgate to open like a truck bed. everyone likes custom touches..
personally i think jeep nailed it when they thought of mounting the spare on the tailgate and using a vertical pivot hinge on the tailgate..
nothing a little paint and some time in the local fabrication shop won't fix...
I do not open the tailgate often. To set a bag of dog food or groceries in the back the tailgate is a non issue. I just swing the spare out of the way, open the rear glass and set it over the tailgate. Two steps. To get loaded coolers in and out and whatever yes you have to open the gate. To access drinks or snacks in a cooler you do not. Plus I also have the gate to do food prep on or other tasks without disturbing what is in the back.
If it bothered me too much three lug nuts would get the spare off the swingout, one bolt would get the swingout off the bumper and I could just throw the spare in the back of the truck. I designed it to be easy to remove because I can't install my slide in camper with it installed (it will fit with the camper but it would wipe out the camper jack if it was open as I backed under the camper)
And yet it doesn't bother me enough to remove it when I am not on trips and don't technically need it.
So day to day for me I would call it a wash... except when I open the back of my Ranger to get my groceries the jar of spaghetti sauce doesn't come rolling out.
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