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For what it's worth, I have not had my bottom tabs on the Tahoe connected to be brackets for almost 2 years now and it is doing fine. The bumper is perfectly steady.I feel you. We didn't do it to ours and no problem highway driving at all. Two plastic tabs aren't going to save this thing from flying off. Lol. But yes, it will reinforce it for those folks who are concerned.
Kenny, we've discussed this at great length in other threads. There is no way to do it safely. There is not enough room. Not only that, but the new bumper does not allow for access to the spare tire hoist like the current one.
There is not enough room to safely run a 2"+ in diameter exhaust pipe and snake it through the frame and rear tire and then out the exhaust sleeves. I stress the "safely" part.
But, if you are destined to do it, make sure to document your modifications so we can watch and learn.
I've had atleast 10 customers attempt it and decide its simply not safe and practical enough.
There are 2-3 people who have done this rear bumper with keeping their spare. They say their tire isn't getting affected by it. I guess only time will tell. I'd hate to do all the work to keep the spare, and then after months of daily driving, the go to use their spare and it's all warped or a lump in it or even worse they start to drive on the spare and it pops too.
Lol yea I hear youFirst of all that's a different type of rubber compound on the hangers than on a tire. One thing you can be sure of is that GM will not spend the extra $ to put one part more on a vehicle than they need to, because that translates to huge money in extra costs over time. So if they deem it necessary to protect the spare of all these SUVs with a heat shield it's because it is necessary. And that's at stock spacing which has more clearance than any custom setup would with the spare and two pipes.
I dunno, both my old Tahoe Hybrid and my current Escalade came without a spare and with the emergency tire repair kit. It's as useful (if not more) than a spare should AAA be beyond reach for some reason ... plus not having a spare saves a couple of bucks in gas over time.
But it's your truck and if you feel like rolling the dice that it's worth going through all this extra trouble and expense to add a spare that might or might not be functional when you need it it's up to you. If I were in your shoes I'd buy the emergency tire kit to be sure ... an extinguisher might also be a good idea.
There are 2-3 people who have done this rear bumper with keeping their spare. They say their tire isn't getting affected by it. I guess only time will tell. I'd hate to do all the work to keep the spare, and then after months of daily driving, the go to use their spare and it's all warped or a lump in it or even worse they start to drive on the spare and it pops too.
Who else besides esca2012? Just curious. Would like to see their installs and feedback.
Gotcha. Amazing how many first time posters immediately stir up this issue.![]()
Well I'm sorry if I offended you
Thought that's what forums are for 2 talk about things
You didn't offend him. He was the first on the forum to do this mod on a Chevy. I was the first on a GMC. He was just saying that because you're not the first new person to the forums to ask why it can't be done. If you knew the story behind it, you'd understand.
If you're 100% wanting to do this with the spare tire, just do it and have the exhaust shop bend the pipes way out of the way, put a heat shield up (even though there is already a heat shield protecting the spare from your OEM exhaust, and wrap the pipes. The worst that could happen is you put the spare on when you need it, and try to drive and it fails. It's up to you if it's worth the money and trouble to hope/guess if works.