Kaymar Wheel Carrier Questions

[mos]

Have been looking for a while now for a wheel carrier to suit my Defender 90 and I have looked at the Bearmac, Scorpion, and the Kaymar ones. I think that I will be going the Kaymar option because it takes all the weight off the rear door.

I just have a couple of questions about the Karmar Carrier though.

1. How easy are they to fit yourself? They look fairly straight forward but would like to know about any tricks or issues in fitting it.

2. What have people done to cover the holes in the rear door once the original carrier is removed? I have seen checker plate panels covering the hole on the rear door but I’m a little worried about trapping moisture in the area and then having rust issues.

Any advice or comments appreciated.

Cheers
Mos

[x-box]

i have a kaymar carrier and it works fine, although in hindsight i would prefer a bearmach or something else. main reason is that it is a pain to always open the carrier first before you open the door, and believe me your friends and passengers will yank the door open and ding it quite nicely on the carrier - then have that stupid look on their faces as if it was your fault for messing it all up ;).(as the carrier is 100% independent of the door). also the kaymar is supported at two places on the chassis cross-member, with the wheel sitting on the upright bar, which means it has a fair bit of movement forwards-and-backwards, and thus vibrates and squeaks sometimes. most other makes of carrier opens with the door and is supported at three points, not just two.
apart from this (and i have now lived with it for about 7 years), it is a strong and sturdy carrier and there is space to put your camping light on as well - which is what i have done recently with good results and little $$ outlay.
as for the chequer-plate to fill the holes, no problem there at all, just make sure it is isolated from the rest of the panels by some good silicone or something, which acts as sealant as well.
the fitting part was done for me but no extra holes to drill and bolts straight on, you just lose the right-hand side grab handle.

[cmurray]

I have a Graeme Cooper spare wheel carrier on my 90 that opens with the door.
http://www.lrexpert.com.au/parts_gif/large/21.jpg
This wheel carrier when setup properly puts no weight on the door, and can be used to lock the door open. In the seven years that I've had it, I haven't had any problems.

[gromit]

I fitted a Kaymar carrier about 8 years ago.
The rear door had self destructed. Twisting the door back into shape, 13 separate welds and re sealing in the glass made it a reasonable fit again.
Mine isn't a daily driver so the fact that you have to swing the carrier out of the way first isn't an problem.

No real issues fitting it. I had to re-route the valves for the Polyairs because one of the holes being used was needed to fit the carrier ! I remember that some of the bolts had strips of steel (scrap) welded to them to help positioning inside the rear crossmember.
Piece of chequer plate was included in the kit, I did buy a can of spraypaint to match it to the door.
I nearly lost the spare at one point because two bolts worked loose. Spoke with Kaymar at the 4WD show and they explained that heavy duty tab washers were now used with the bolts. Took my details and two turned up in the mail just after the show.

Very happy with it but if it was a daily driver I would consider the other units on the market.

Gromit