As noted in the TiresTiresTires forum, I've made the move to 15" tires. These tires are a bit wider than the OEM 14" tires, and therefore even less tolerant of the cramped vertical dimension of the spare tire carrier. Eric Larson made a great mod to the carrier (shown above in this thread). As part of my move to 15" tires, I tried a different mod. It is not better than Eric's mod - just a different approach.
I dropped in at my local welding shop, and asked the guy to give me a 10-inch piece of 3/16" X 1" x 2" channel iron, with 4 holes drilled in it. One side of this piece is attached to the carrier's hanger loop with a couple 1/4" bolts and nylock nuts. The rest of the story is in the pictures attached below.
Pic 1 is a schematic of the original spare tire hanger.
Pic 2 is a schematic of what I was trying to accomplish. The vertical scale of the extender is exaggerated - it is actually less high than it is wide.
Pic 3 is the actual channel iron that I got from the welding shop.
Pic 4 shows the channel iron bolted to the carrier's hanger loop.
Pic 5 shows the modified carrier hanging in place under the TM.
At the dimensions shown, this mod provides about 5/8" of drop, which turns out to be just about right. The new 15" tire fits nicely on the carrier, and can be raised into place by hand. The advantage of this approach over Eric's is that the channel iron carries the weight, rather than any bolts. The bolts simply keep the channel iron in place. Also, it requires no hacksaw work. The disadvantage is that it is a bit harder to put the safety clips in and out of the retainer pins. And it is more expensive. As I say, I think it's a wash.
Bill
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