Oh yeah...in other news...still have the full size (35x12.5x15) spare hanging off the back on the spare tire carrier. So far so good. I wanna know what the weak point is, that won't handle the 40lb weight increase from the stock 31" spare to the 35" fullsize. Is it the latch point on the gate? Is it the mounting point on the quarter panel? Is it the actual 'arms' that aren't meant to support the weight? I guess only time will tell.
The answer there is simple... there is no weak point. Most folks assume that because over time the outer skin of the tailgate begins to separate from the tailgate on the side of the gate that the spare hangs that it MUST be because the tire is too heavy for the carrier and body panels to handle it hanging there. Not true. I don't know if its ok to link to another site on this forum so I won't. However, if you are interested in the "fix" I implemented to keep a brand new tailgate from suffering the same kind of "torque stress failure" that the previous one had, look up my screen name at FTE and check my Gallery "Tire carrier torque fix".
Many have argued this point with me but NO ONE who followed my advice has ever come back and told me they developed any further problems with the tailgate.