I have a left-hand pivot Kaymar carrier....better visibility than having the spare on the right-hand side. I imagine the reason why the second gen's in the US w/ tire carrier had a right-hand pivot is they were designed for overseas markets w/ right-hand drive (heavy sales of hilux's in Australia/S. Africa). My guess is Toyota just flipped the steering/brake/clutch components to make it a left-hand drive vehicle. All the cruisers w/ tire carriers also have right-side carriers. I've read the DOT vehicle code and can't recall anything about banning left-hand pivot carriers. That would be ridiculous!