R1S Spare tire hitch mount options?

[exRiv33]

Been searching for awhile for an R1S hitch mount for a full size spare. Has anyone found anything that works? Looked through the different pages and was not finding anything recent on this. I know Rig’d, Wilco and Dirtcom are currently not options.

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[Dark-Fx]

I haven't seen any commercial options fit to the R1S yet either. I've heard Dirtcom is working on one but they aren't advertising compatibility of any if they've done so yet.

 

[909phillyman]

Been searching for awhile for an R1S hitch mount for a full size spare. Has anyone found anything that works? Looked through the different pages and was not finding anything recent on this. I know Rig’d, Wilco and Dirtcom are currently not options.

I have actually been researching this for a year, as far as options for post delivery. Since taking delivery in June, I have done some mods, but I was waiting until my after-market wheels were delivered and until I have tires put on the new wheels...which will happen this Thursday, to put the spare tire mounting plan in motion.

Long story short...the Dirtcom and RiGd trail swings are just too expensive for my needs and use cases, so I picked up and test fit a Kuat Pivot v2 swing-away hitch mounted extension, and I will be pairing it with an e-Trailer hitch mounted spare tire carrier. I plan to mount everything tonight or tomorrow to confirm proof of concept, so I can update this thread afterwards.

Kuat Swing Away hitch extender:
https://a.co/d/i08Uldh
-It should be noted that this usually ranges from $378 - $398 on Amazon, but you can get"used, like new' ones on Amazon as well, at a considerably lower price ($335+)

eTrailer hitch-mounted spare tire carrier:
https://www.etrailer.com/Spare-Tire-Carrier/etrailer/e98ZR.html
-$120, plus comes with bolts and lugs for the spare

Benefits of hitch mounted swing away option:
-Clears the rear bumper
-Offers hitch accessibility for other hitch mounted items (in my case, a spare tire carrier)
-Has manual latch with additional security pin
-Swings open from 90 to 120 degrees
-Has weight capacity around 250lbs
-Costs under $400
-Allows for a practical and convenient solution for Rivian full-size spare tire hauling
-Is versatile
-Offered in Driver or Passenger-side configs

Here are some pics from my test fit last week on the hitch swing away:

Note, that I did not secure the hitch swing away during my test fit...I just wanted to get a quick reference point for fit. Once I get this mounted properly, I'll test fit the spare tire mount.

Hope this is helpful...

 

[Mathme]

I have 2 e-mtn bikes mounted on a 1-Up Dual Rack. I needed an extension to get it to work and initially went straight. The problem is those bikes were mounted REALLY high.

I then on a 4" drop extension from Reese that works well. I can't drop the tailgate with the bikes on, but can once the bikes are removed.

I haven't seen anything for a spare holder on these rigs as of yet.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I haven't seen anything for a spare holder on these rigs as of yet.

My DIY bounces around quite a lot, but it's been secure enough so far. Planning on making something more permanent for my R1T that pokes through the bumper and leaves the hitch itself alone.
I like the way the kuat swing arm above has more support under the swing-away arm part, I might have to do that with mine since adding the second receiver was just kind of a hacky thing I did to make it serviceable.

 

[Mathme]

Be careful how far you extend from the rear bumper. Anything >48" requires a flag, lights, etc. and all it would take is one cranky state patroller to run ya through the wringer over it.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Be careful how far you extend from the rear bumper. Anything >48" requires a flag, lights, etc. and all it would take is one cranky state patroller to run ya through the wringer over it.

I have two more 1up spots, one I modified with lights to be compliant with the law. Not sure I'd want to put four places up with the spare also on my setup though, at least not on the swing-arm part.

 

[mrodriguez]

My DIY bounces around quite a lot, but it's been secure enough so far. Planning on making something more permanent for my R1T that pokes through the bumper and leaves the hitch itself alone.
I like the way the kuat swing arm above has more support under the swing-away arm part, I might have to do that with mine since adding the second receiver was just kind of a hacky thing I did to make it serviceable.

What awning do you have mounted? If its a 270 I assume it clears the liftgate?

 

[Dark-Fx]

What awning do you have mounted? If its a 270 I assume it clears the liftgate?

I had to make custom brackets, it is an Overland systems 270 degrees. You can probably get brackets from somewhere but I didn't have time to wait. Awning is up about 8" higher than the standard mounting points. It makes the R1S close to 7'6" tall where the awning is, about level with the top of the ladder on my tent. We don't typically use the R1S for trips but my T was in the shop at the time and I decided to try putting all my gear on.

 

[tahoer1s]

I have actually been researching this for a year, as far as options for post delivery. Since taking delivery in June, I have done some mods, but I was waiting until my after-market wheels were delivered and until I have tires put on the new wheels...which will happen this Thursday, to put the spare tire mounting plan in motion.

Long story short...the Dirtcom and RiGd trail swings are just too expensive for my needs and use cases, so I picked up and test fit a Kuat Pivot v2 swing-away hitch mounted extension, and I will be pairing it with an e-Trailer hitch mounted spare tire carrier. I plan to mount everything tonight or tomorrow to confirm proof of concept, so I can update this thread afterwards.

Kuat Swing Away hitch extender:
https://a.co/d/i08Uldh
-It should be noted that this usually ranges from $378 - $398 on Amazon, but you can get"used, like new' ones on Amazon as well, at a considerably lower price ($335+)

eTrailer hitch-mounted spare tire carrier:
https://www.etrailer.com/Spare-Tire-Carrier/etrailer/e98ZR.html
-$120, plus comes with bolts and lugs for the spare

Benefits of hitch mounted swing away option:
-Clears the rear bumper
-Offers hitch accessibility for other hitch mounted items (in my case, a spare tire carrier)
-Has manual latch with additional security pin
-Swings open from 90 to 120 degrees
-Has weight capacity around 250lbs
-Costs under $400
-Allows for a practical and convenient solution for Rivian full-size spare tire hauling
-Is versatile
-Offered in Driver or Passenger-side configs

Here are some pics from my test fit last week on the hitch swing away:

Note, that I did not secure the hitch swing away during my test fit...I just wanted to get a quick reference point for fit. Once I get this mounted properly, I'll test fit the spare tire mount.

Hope this is helpful...

This looks very promising! Following! Look forward to your pics of the full setup.

 

[Phatman113]

Been searching for awhile for an R1S hitch mount for a full size spare. Has anyone found anything that works? Looked through the different pages and was not finding anything recent on this. I know Rig’d, Wilco and Dirtcom are currently not options.

I spoke with Rigd, and if you reach out to them and tell them you are interested in something that'd help. They said theirs should be compatible, but the tongue isn't quite long enough. With enough interest, we might get them to create one that works...

I was speaking with Luke, and this is what he said about the R1T (I gave him a bunch of measurements that he requested to see if it'd fit right)

"The tailgate clearance is not an issue it's just an issue of needing a longer tube on the UltraSwing to be able to line up a hitch pin hole."

If you want to reach out to them and tell them you're interested, you can do it here: [email protected]

 

[909phillyman]

I have actually been researching this for a year, as far as options for post delivery. Since taking delivery in June, I have done some mods, but I was waiting until my after-market wheels were delivered and until I have tires put on the new wheels...which will happen this Thursday, to put the spare tire mounting plan in motion.

Long story short...the Dirtcom and RiGd trail swings are just too expensive for my needs and use cases, so I picked up and test fit a Kuat Pivot v2 swing-away hitch mounted extension, and I will be pairing it with an e-Trailer hitch mounted spare tire carrier. I plan to mount everything tonight or tomorrow to confirm proof of concept, so I can update this thread afterwards.

Kuat Swing Away hitch extender:
https://a.co/d/i08Uldh
-It should be noted that this usually ranges from $378 - $398 on Amazon, but you can get"used, like new' ones on Amazon as well, at a considerably lower price ($335+)

eTrailer hitch-mounted spare tire carrier:
https://www.etrailer.com/Spare-Tire-Carrier/etrailer/e98ZR.html
-$120, plus comes with bolts and lugs for the spare

Benefits of hitch mounted swing away option:
-Clears the rear bumper
-Offers hitch accessibility for other hitch mounted items (in my case, a spare tire carrier)
-Has manual latch with additional security pin
-Swings open from 90 to 120 degrees
-Has weight capacity around 250lbs
-Costs under $400
-Allows for a practical and convenient solution for Rivian full-size spare tire hauling
-Is versatile
-Offered in Driver or Passenger-side configs

Here are some pics from my test fit last week on the hitch swing away:

Note, that I did not secure the hitch swing away during my test fit...I just wanted to get a quick reference point for fit. Once I get this mounted properly, I'll test fit the spare tire mount.

Hope this is helpful...

Alright. As a follow-up to my previous post...the quick summary is that my Rivian spare tire setup idea worked!!! Everything fit as I had theorized and hoped, and I definitely plan to run this setup for off-roading and camping trips. If you're looking for a muuuuuch cheaper and functional alternative to the RiGd and Dirtcom spare tire swing-outs, I think that you would benefit from considering this setup.

TLDR:

The Kuat hitch swing is actually pretty perfect in that it fits with VERY LITTLE tolerance between the bumper and the swing arm (maaaaybe a 1/2" gap). The edge of the swing even somewhat angles/contours to the bumper...as if it was intentional and specific to Rivians. This is however, a classic case of coincidence . The Kuat hitch swing itself, is sturdy and comes with a built-in shank wedge that you tighten, to eliminate movement. Once tightened, shaking the hitch swing moves the whole truck, and there is no movement between hitch swing shank and the truck.

The eTrailer hitch spare tire mount also serves its purpose and is functional, however, for my long-term use, the shank is a bit too long so I will likely shave off about a 1/2" of the shank so that I can use the second hole and bring the carrier closer to the back of the truck. However, with everything stock/unmodified as-is, I can still run this setup. One benefit of the carrier being a little long (but not too, too long) is that anyone running this setup has the opportunity to fabricate (or MacGyver) and mount additional accessory attachments or trip essentials, like water packs, propane tanks, folding tables, traction boards, etc to the arm of the tire carrier. I'll consider that myself, but my solutions would likely be "lower-tech" than others.

Opening and closing (operating) the hitch swing is convenient, but also secure. The hinges feel solid and again, the build appears to be quality. There are many reviews on this hitch swing that you can search for if you want more info on it. The aforementioned ability to swing out (and position lock) to 90 or 120 degrees also adds to the versatility and usefulness of this accessory. Being able to access my rear hatch in a variety of ways, while also still being able to carry, and access, a full-size spare tire, will give me tremendous piece of mind while on the trail, as well as the convenience to fully utilize my rig.

Additional notes are that with the hitch swing closed, and with or without a spare tire on the carrier, I CAN open the tailgate of my R1S, however, once you mount the spare tire to the carrier, the liftgate of the R1S will make contact with the tire. You should also note that the reverse/backup sensor is triggered when you put the truck in reverse because of the hitch swing...which was expected. There may be a way to disable this, but I haven't dug into the manual for that yet, but will at some point (unless someone just tells me ). Another note is that I plan to mount my Rivian-provided license plate mount to the side of the hitch swing so that I don't have to worry about traffic violations when a tire is mounted and my original plate is obstructed. This mod I can easily do...and plan to do, this weekend if I have time.

For reference, the wheel that you see mounted to my carrier is this one: https://www.trailbuiltoffroad.com/buy-wheel-offset/70090255503/factory-reproductions-fr70-20x9-25 . Falken Wildpeak ATW3 275/60/20 tires get installed on my off-road wheels on Thursday, and then I'll swap out my dark 22s. I provided links to the hitch swing and tire carrier in my previous post. I also noted in my earlier post that I "think" that the Kuat hitch swing weight capacity was around 250lbs, but I can confirm that that is indeed the weight limit. For my spare tire setup, these will be the initial weights of the applicable components:
-Kuat hitch swing: 39lbs
-eTrailer spare tire carrier: 16lbs
-Spare tire and wheels total weight: approx 90lbs

Anyway, see below for some pics of my fittings for context. Apologies in advance...as there are a $#!t ton of pics, but I wanted to give proper context for the above comments:

 

[909phillyman]

@exRiv33...Sorry to hijack your thread, but I hope this was helpful

 

[Dark-Fx]

@exRiv33...Sorry to hijack your thread, but I hope this was helpful

I'm curious what your departure angle changes to in highest with that all mounted up.

 

[909phillyman]

I'm curious what your departure angle changes to in highest with that all mounted up.

Not...A...Clue, other than to say that when I get my off-road shoes installed, I'll understand that I'm dragging a longer tail so I will need to be more aware and careful, but that would be the same with any of the other spare tire swing out options. Also remember that, in my setup, the tire carrier shank is what really elongates the mount...no the hitch swing. As noted, I may trim the tire carrier shank down so that I can bring the tire closer to the rear of the truck, so that would also improve departure angle. Can't wait to test all of this out...s00n!

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