I'm looking at buying a "cargo carrier" for my 2011 sport. My concern is both the exhaust and spare tire location. Heat from the exhaust can cause items stored on the carrier to melt (I've heard). And the spare tire location will definitely hinder space on the carrier itself. However, without first buying, I'm not sure how much of a hinderance the spare tire will have in overall carrier capacity. I'm not willing to drive without the spare.

Has anyone had success with cargo carriers on there JK's?

Thanks,

Matt

 

If you are taliking about the kind that goes in the hitch, they do OK. I've got one of the harbor freight ones and it doesn't sit that close to the exhaust. The spare doesn't affect it much, but I have the stock aluminum wheels, so a bigger tire might.

 

I've got one on my '11 and it works fine. There is little interference from my 35" tires. The exhaust has never been an issue. If either of these becomes an issue, you could always get a hitch extender( piece of tubing that puts the recover further away from the vehicle. I believe mine came from Sportsman's Guide ($60).

 

Check out my Cargo Basket Install in my signature. I believe both of those concerns are no problem if you use a similar setup as mine. I took quite a few pics and gave some dimensions, which should give you some good estimates on rear spare clearance depending on which cargo carrier you go with.

P.S. Never heard of anyone running into the exhaust problem you described, but the spare can be a problem if you don't use a hitch receiver that sticks out from the rear bumper. My hitch receiver is the "Hidden Hitch" and works great to allow for rear spare clearance, if you have stock wheels.

 

Thanks All, I'll place the order.