The stock tire carrier on this D90 met its unfortunate demise after a run-in with a Jeep (the Defender easily won the battle, but the tire carrier was sacrificed). However, this was a great opportunity to upgrade to the Safari Gard carrier.
UPDATE: This upgrade occurred during the short-lived revival of Safari Gard by new ownership, circa early 2008. Since that time, it looks like Safari Gard has once again faded away. The revival was good while it lasted: this tire carrier came in a week after ordering it and the quality is simply fantastic.
The SG carrier comes very well-packaged, which is good, especially since, due to its size, it must be shipped via LTL freight.
Fast forward a while and it's now on the Defender! Installation is simple. This example is using the stock rear bumper and stock tire size (I've only seen oversize tires being used with this carrier).
A close-up of the heim joint setup.
Another angle.