Nissan Xterra Rear Bumper Upgrade - Building A Better Xterra

The latch on our tire carrier came preinstalled, but in case yours does not, use the provided 1/4-inch bolts and lock washers to secure it in place. Close the gate and adjust the latch if needed. Once you get the weight of the spare tire on the carrier, the latch placement may require a little more adjustment. As you can see, Shrockworks predrilled a hole in the latch so you can lock it in place once your installation is complete. With the latch installed, I next installed the nylon gate slides into place on the bumper. On the upper slide facing you, make sure to install the thin edge on top, and on the lower slide facing the sky make sure to install the angled edge outward. This will help the gate slide into place easily with a snug fit.

Now it's time to install the tire mount plate using the three provided 1/2x1-1/4-inch bolts and hardware. I hand-snugged the bolts then attached the tire with the provided lug nuts. Once the tire was mounted, I slid it up against the carrier and tightened all three bolts on the mount. The tire mount is meant to accommodate a tire up to 35 inches in size. The 285/75R16 BFGoodrich T/AKO tire fits perfectly.

Next up is mounting the Hi-Lift jack to the carrier. I simply removed the pin holding the base of the Hi-Lift jack to the shaft and mounted the jack to the carrier. There is a welded bolt in place to line up the jack to ensure a perfect fit. I used the provided 1/2-inch hardware to mount the jack and wing nuts to secure it to the bumper. Wing nuts are used so that the jack can be easily removed on the trail without needing a wrench. As you can see in the second photo, you can lock your jack to the carrier with the aid of a long-neck lock.