I thought some may want to see how I removed my spare tire carrier on my SUT since many ask how to do it without buying the expensive Real Wheels kit.

I was able to find a set of black tow rings on ebay for around 100 bucks after shipping. This is one thing I really wanted as I didn't want chrome. Anyways, after getting those, I bought a flat piece of 1/8" thick x 1" wide piece of aluminum. I also purchased a license plate light from AutoZone and a black license plate frame.

I cut the piece of aluminum to length so I could attach it to the right tow hook and also attach the license plate holder to it. I drilled a hole in the one end so that the bolt that holds the tow hook onto the bumper would fit through it. I then drilled two additional holes that would be used to mount the license plate. After that, it was as simple as screwing the tow hook on like normal, except I put the piece of aluminum on the top bolt so it stuck out to the left. I also put two washers behind it so the piece of aluminum wouldn't rub and scratch my bumper.

For the light, I used the hole that the original light wire was running through. I think the hole is 1 1/2" in diameter and I found a light that was 1 1/4" in diameter at autozone with mounting tabs on one end. I got under the truck and stuck the light through the hole. I mounted the light with outdoor heavy duty 3m tape.

Overall, I am really happy with it and think it looks great. My main concerns are how the paint will hold up on the light and aluminum arm piece. I painted them both black and am not sure how well the paint will hold up. The other concern is how the 3m tape will hold up if it gets wet, etc. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.

 

Hey buddy I have the same white SUT and that looks pretty good, Im going to look for some tow hooks and try it out, but wish i had some better pics with better light up close. Do u think u could email me some better pics when u get time? meh1510@sbcglobal.net

 

I will do my best to get some better pics and post them here. It may not be until next week though.

 

Here's a few more pics as promised. Not sure if this will be any better or not...

 

Ok cool I see how u did it now, looks great.. thanks!

 

Looks great, I'm gonna attempt this with my SUV H2!

 

How's your modification holding up? I want to do the same thing.