Quote Originally Posted by tom4bren View Post
Of course for all I know the door & hinges were holding up fine but something happened to it while the door was open one time.
So far, my hinges are holding up with the 35" tire/hi lift. I think the lower support bumper helps and I'm also very careful when I have the door open.


Quote Originally Posted by housertl View Post
What exactly is the limiting factor to carrying a stock full size spare in the rear door? Tire diameter, tire width, or weight?
If you have stock sized tires, I would pull one and test fit it in the door. I think you'll have issues because the width of a stock tire definitely won't fit in the door and I believe the lower part of the spare cutout goes into the bumper area. This would prevent the door from closing because your bigger spare would be mounted too low to clear the bumper. Also, if you were able to get the door to close, the wider tire would take up cargo space.

Good luck, seems like a nice challenge if you're up for some custom work