I recently got a 86 Samurai. They guy I bought it from mounted a custom welded swing out spare tire / jerry can holder. Obviously he never took it offroad because in the first minute I took it offroad the bumper started to bend down and tear at the mount bolts. The bumper mount are just too flimsy to hold the extra weight bouncing on the bumper.

So I need some suggestions on how to mount the tire. I'm concerned that the stock tailgate mount is not sturdy enough to hold the large spare tire without tearing off the tailgate when bouncing across rough terrain. I don't want to mount it inside because I don't want to take out the rear seat. I'm a newbie to Samurai's and need help on figuring this one out. Thanks!

That is a big spare.  Can you send a close-up picture of where the existing mount was tearing off at?

Tearing is on the bumper mount on the Samurai. There is a nut welded to the bumper mount and the plate that nut is on is now bent and one of the nuts tore into the metal. I think I may have found a solution. Shrockworks sells a bumper for the Samurai with a spare holder. However, there are 6 bolts instead of just 4 on mine. They have a brace that mounts to the top of the bumper to the two body mount bolts in the rear. That should give it a good bit more support. You can see photos and reviews of the bumper here:

http://www.izook.com/tech/samurai/bumper/shrockrearbumper/rearbumper.htm

http://www.shrockworks.com/Suzuki-Samurai-Spare-Tire-Rack-&-Rear-Bumper-pr-16154.html

Going to repair the lower bumper mounts and weld a plate to the stock bumper mounts to beef it up some. That along with connecting the upper part of my bumper to the frame using the body mount bolts may do the trick. Don't see the rear hatch holding up to the weight of the large spare if I mounted it to the hatch. 

http://www.puresuzuki.com/softrack.jpg   JUST A THOUGHT