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Welcome to the family!!! Great looking rig. An abundance of great info on this forum with some very knowledgeable members. Congrats
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Welcome, now go get some mud on it. They are super capable and there are plenty of trails that aren’t so tight that you get scraped with branches. That’s a nice looking Bronco.
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Welcome. Was your Bronco a "dealer built" Bronco? Those flares are the BesTop Heritage style flares. They aren't factory (neither is the wheels/tires, lift, RC tailgate support, steps/rails). Whomever built it, did a nice job painting the flares. They don't come that way from BesTop.New here, just bought it a month ago. Glad to be part of Bronco community.
Also, I would recommend ditching those wheels and get a proper offset. That Rough Country tailgate reinforcement isn't going to do a damn thing with that spare tire unsupported. If you are set on those wheels, then look into the trim-to-fit spare tire bumpers to help support that weight. Your third picture clearly shows the large gap between the spare and the OEM spare tire bumpers.
OP
OP
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Beach_Bum thanks for the info, so your saying I need to ditch the factory bumper and do a aftermarket bumper or do a different spare tire carrier?
Any thing you can suggest or help I appreciate.
Any thing you can suggest or help I appreciate.
Thank you so much, yes looking to gain a lot of ideas and knowledge here.
Thank you so much, appreciate your comments.
Thank you appreciate your comments.
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Almost twins
Welcome to our big happy family.New here, just bought it a month ago. Glad to be part of Bronco community.
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The spare tire carrier works in conjunction with the spare tire rubber bumpers to support the weight of the spare tire. When someone opts for aftermarket wheels with a different offset from the OEM wheels, you will end up with a gap. Right now, the weight of your spare is supported by the carrier only. The tailgate is aluminum. When you traverse over bumps (can be just speed bumps at the mall), the weight of the spare will cause the carrier to flex potentially causing dents even stress fractures in the carrier. Your tailgate reinforcement bracket from Rough Country isn't really doing that much. It helps some. But if you are new to offroad aftermarket vendors, you will quickly learn why they have earned the moniker of Rust Country. If it was my Bronco, I would jettison that piece.
In the meantime, the cheapest option is to wedge a racquetball between the current spare tire rubber bumpers and the spare tire itself. But that might seem a little janky (if it works, it works). But the best way is to buy trim-to-fit spare tire rubber bumpers.
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Welcome to the Forum! Where in Texas?
Make sure that you use your trip to Bronco Rodeo, I just went to the one in Horseshoe Bay/Marble Falls, learned a lot about my Bronco and had a great day
Make sure that you use your trip to Bronco Rodeo, I just went to the one in Horseshoe Bay/Marble Falls, learned a lot about my Bronco and had a great day
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Great looking truck! Your gonna love it!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I believe @Beach_Bum is talking about are the rubber supports on the tailgate that help support the spare tire weight. Those help distribute the weight of the spare around the tailgate, which is aluminum and shockingly light when stripped of everything on it. See the gap at red arrow in the pic below? There should be a few of those supports protruding from the tailgate and they should be in contact the spare. I attached a pic of my OEM Sasquatch spare. See how close/tight it sits to the tailgate? The offset/back spacing on the aftermarket wheels are creating that fairly large gap. All the weight ends up cantilevered a few more inches out the back creating bending loads into the the tailgate that can twist it up with big impacts or even smaller ones over time.
Not sure what that tire/wheel combo you have on there weigh, but the tires are most likely heavier than the SAS Goodyear tires (they are incredibly light weight 35" tire). The stock wheels are pretty heavy, so you might be saving a bit of weight there with the aftermarket wheels. You should see what you can do to better support that. Maybe the dealership could help out....maybe....they might say, "Sorry....AS IS was the deal".
Beach_Bum, do you know if a spare tire mount from something that is non-SAS might help pull that spare tire back inward?...or is the RC reinforcement also include a mount? That mount doesn't look stock from what I can see....maybe its adjustable?
The tail gate reinforcement on the right side is a Rough Country part, which will help strengthen the tailgate, but RC are not known for the highest quality on everything they sell. They do have some reasonable stuff in their product line, though, usually at a decent price. Just watch it for rust and touch up any chips it might have in the finish before you see red rust show up.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I believe @Beach_Bum is talking about are the rubber supports on the tailgate that help support the spare tire weight. Those help distribute the weight of the spare around the tailgate, which is aluminum and shockingly light when stripped of everything on it. See the gap at red arrow in the pic below? There should be a few of those supports protruding from the tailgate and they should be in contact the spare. I attached a pic of my OEM Sasquatch spare. See how close/tight it sits to the tailgate? The offset/back spacing on the aftermarket wheels are creating that fairly large gap. All the weight ends up cantilevered a few more inches out the back creating bending loads into the the tailgate that can twist it up with big impacts or even smaller ones over time.
Not sure what that tire/wheel combo you have on there weigh, but the tires are most likely heavier than the SAS Goodyear tires (they are incredibly light weight 35" tire). The stock wheels are pretty heavy, so you might be saving a bit of weight there with the aftermarket wheels. You should see what you can do to better support that. Maybe the dealership could help out....maybe....they might say, "Sorry....AS IS was the deal".
Beach_Bum, do you know if a spare tire mount from something that is non-SAS might help pull that spare tire back inward?...or is the RC reinforcement also include a mount? That mount doesn't look stock from what I can see....maybe its adjustable?
The tail gate reinforcement on the right side is a Rough Country part, which will help strengthen the tailgate, but RC are not known for the highest quality on everything they sell. They do have some reasonable stuff in their product line, though, usually at a decent price. Just watch it for rust and touch up any chips it might have in the finish before you see red rust show up.
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Yeah, that carrier is not OEM. Might be OEM with some spacers to accommodate the wheel offset - which is a terrible setup. But these "Dealer Builds" are more geared towards the "look" than practicality. If I was to guess this was a stripper Big Bend with open rear diff. The dealer staff gets to work and presents a "built" Bronco for a premium....
Beach_Bum, do you know if a spare tire mount from something that is non-SAS might help pull that spare tire back inward?...or is the RC reinforcement also include a mount? That mount doesn't look stock from what I can see....maybe its adjustable?
The tail gate reinforcement on the right side is a Rough Country part, which will help strengthen the tailgate, but RC are not known for the highest quality on everything they sell. They do have some reasonable stuff in their product line, though, usually at a decent price. Just watch it for rust and touch up any chips it might have in the finish before you see red rust show up.
I do think the painted flares are a nice touch compared to what BesTop sells. Dealer did nice work on them. The RC stuff - It's not for me. It's not going to rust right away so the owner shouldn't have to get rid of it. But it will rust as sure as the sun rises.
