Tiregate

Well, thanks to the Frog man, he hooked me up with a site that sells the EXACT same tiregate that Ford offers, actually it is the same one considering they are the ones who make it for ford. basically this addition has been really nice...i like the fact how my 900 dollar spare isnt getting damaged! the rim and tire combo underneath is really expensive..I wish i took it out once i got the truck, cause there are scratches on the rim, and wear marks on the actual tire...in the pics you can see the damage to the tire from it being underneath.

Also, this has provided me more ground clearance underneath...and i have yet to use it, but to remove and install the spare tire on this thing is pretty simple, no more cranking to lower or raise it out...just spin the spindle and its off.

it was really easy to install, not hard at all, with some minor fabrication. tiregate took all my concerns well and my report back to them after install was great...they took in all my info and was willing to help on anything, and was even willing to ship out any parts that didnt fit just right. here are some pics:

Looks good! Glad to see this being done and kudos to you and the FrogChucker for helping you out.

Some comments:

* I'm not sure how you calculate $900 cost for a wheel without TPMS and the BFG tire
* I didn't notice any damage but it looks like the sidewall got dirty
* As I recall the wheel is mounted face up underneath the truck so the back of the wheel and the inside side of the tire should be facing down (the dirty side)
* I haven't taken my wheel and tire off (out from underneath) but I don't expect to see much although it's possible since I've been rock crawling in Death Valley (and one of each of the two brackets holding the running boards on the Raptor have been dinged by the rocks)

Looks really good and while it's not for me I do like it.

That is bad ass :rockon:

So how hard is it to swap back and forth between the standard tail gate and the tiregate?

Well the tire itself costs 539 dollars, the rim is close to 400...That's what I was quoted..rim might be less.

What you see isn't dirt, those are rub marks, I tried scrubbing and cleaning it out, the rubber
actually wore down in those areas. Also, you can't really see t, but the rim has more than a few scuff/scratch marks...sucks really, cause I wish it looked clean and new since I got it on the back for everybody to view. Black rims actually look pretty damn good, wish we had the option between black or grey for rims, I would have chosen black. Thanks for the compliments Dan! I hear ya, pretty pricey upgrade if you don't need it or like it.

I think it looks great.

Are the scuff/scratch marks you are talking about on the face (front) of the wheel or on the back side? If it's the front (face) of the wheel it's unfortunate that happens when the spare tire/wheel are up under the truck. I expect the face to be unblemished during storage under the truck. The back side I realize will be scuffed (especially the tire) since it's acting as my Raptor's "cushion" when I'm wheeling offroad.

By the way, scuffs are a part of life offroading. And they're the enemy of garage queen owners everywhere :mrgreen:

Have you used a nice tire finish product? Meguiars makes a product that works well - I think it's called Hot Shine - give it a try and it should make your tire look nicer.



Regarding costs...

The wheel is $370.95 suggested list price according to Ford Racing's site
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=11285

The tire is approximately $232 according to Tire Rack
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...reModel=All-Terrain+T/A+KO&partnum=17SR7ATAKO

Jesse said:

Well the tire itself costs 539 dollars

Click to expand...

:shock2:

Its on the front of the rim...when I pulled it out from underneath, it was thrashed! And yes, I used a tire cleaner, scrub brush, whole nine yards.

The wear is imbetted in the tire, those two "dirt marks" are the actual wear marks...I am using that tire on the front right now (rotating), just removed tire from black rim and so on...

I tried cleaning it but it looks better when tire cleaner is applied, but once dry, it comes right back. Also you can feel the wear marks on the tire, and it isn't small wear...its evident.

And yes, that's what the dealership quoted me when I had my tire issues....not counting the spare rim, assuming that rim is approx 300

I think a lot of it has to deal with its actual size...normal spare tire size is half the size of our really nice spare combo...I'm stoked we don't have donuts as spares, but I'm not stoked how my side wall got wear and tear just sitting underneath...and its the same side that was facing up.

Also, those BFG's at tirerack may not be the same compound as from the dealer. I saw a set (with the S) on my buds toyota Tundru, and they don't feel or have the same hash marks to reduce road noise.

My new set will be the normal BFG's when the time comes...the hell with road noise Lmao. But yea, I use my spare in the rotation of my tires, I pay 15 to get it done, but it helps.

Now are you going to use a tire cover....something like what jeeps come with stock to help keep the tire from dry rotting etc.