Wanted to build something like this need input

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Rang...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

I was wondering how y'all thought this would work etc.

A few people here have built something similar.

iluv83vettes said:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Rang...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

I was wondering how y'all thought this would work etc.

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The basic theory is sound enough; there's at least one company out there making something along these lines. They're called the HitchGate,and are a) extremely expensive and b) inadvisable for use if actually towing. Not to mention how this would affect departure angles...

It's not a bad idea per se, but probably not totally practical for the trail. Then again, if you're not doing anything involving high ledges, rocks, or washes, it could work out OK. There's a review of one here you may want to check out. The Range Rover setup looks very similar.

casm said:

The basic theory is sound enough; there's at least one company out there making something along these lines. They're called the HitchGate,and are a) extremely expensive and b) inadvisable for use if actually towing. Not to mention how this would affect departure angles...

It's not a bad idea per se, but probably not totally practical for the trail. Then again, if you're not doing anything involving high ledges, rocks, or washes, it could work out OK. There's a review of one here you may want to check out. The Range Rover setup looks very similar.

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For the price of the hitch gate id get the rigid co tire carrier ($700-800~~~)

emr1101 said:

For the price of the hitch gate id get the rigid co tire carrier ($700-800~~~)

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Which is exactly the conclusion that I came to with it. Quite frankly, I was shocked to see how much they were charging for those things - but I guess people are willing to pay that much for them.

One thing I would like to see would be along the lines of the Hidden Hitch Tire Carrier, but with a fold-down option. At least it would get the spare off of the floor of the cargo area for hauling junk when the extra space is needed, but could be removed for trail use. I've seen a one-off out there doing exactly this, but am surprised that nobody offers a commercial product along those lines. I'm aware of a couple out there (like this one) that bolt to the bumper, but from the ones I've looked at they're not suitable for mounting to an XJ bumper, nor can they handle much more than about a 30" tyre.

casm said:

I was shocked to see how much they were charging for those things - but I guess people are willing to pay that much for them.

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my theory is stuff like this appeals to a certain crowd...
ever notice wranglers that have chrome accents all over it, a light rack and gas cans but stock tires and suspension?

its bling, people like bling... but not I!
the xj crowd is more function... we have the back of our xj's for spares and water jugs.

if your gonna build it, why make it fit into the receiver? (or is that your intention?)

plugging custom parts into oem structure just looks... honkey... build a custom tire carrier rear bumper instead!