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Z
06-26-2007, 09:34 PM
I'm getting scarily close to buying a WK. With modification you can fit a 33" spare tire in the stock spare tire area if you do NOT have the trailer hitch. I want a trailer hitch, so I was thinking that I could cut the center 1 foot section out of the trailer hitch, move it rearward by 3 inches or so then fabricate connecting arms (out of the same material as the trailer hitch) to reunite the center section with the body of the trailer hitch. I think I'd have room for a 33" tire with that center moved back, and the receiver would look stock-ish. But would it be as strong as the unmodified hitch? (I might be able to add some reinforcing plate to the bottom of extension)

OverkillZJ
06-26-2007, 09:37 PM
I don't know enough about the WK's to help you with that, but you have me curious enough to crawl under my dads WK next time I see it...

Z
06-26-2007, 09:48 PM
I don't know enough about the WK's to help you with that, but you have me curious enough to crawl under my dads WK next time I see it...

The Mopar Skunkworks WK had a 33" tire stuffed under there, they had to relocate a crossmember (crossmembers?) and trim the lowest portion of the fascia. I plan to use a pizza cutter spare, so it should be a little easier than fitting a full width spare.

I'd appreciate any thoughts you'd have on the subject after you have a look under your dad's WK. Only a few people on the WK forum have 33s in the stock spare area and they all have deflated their tires to fit (they have OBA).

chadjans
06-26-2007, 10:56 PM
Would this be a compounded pieced together member? Or bent from one piece?

Z
06-26-2007, 11:40 PM
Would this be a compounded pieced together member? Or bent from one piece?
Compounded. Just imagine cutting the center section out, shifting it back 3 inches, then creating the arms/supports/extensions you'd need to keep it there.

chadjans
06-28-2007, 01:30 AM
I would say shift more than 3 inches to allow for gussets to help strengthen it. I would say it could be made strong although probably not as strong as the original rating.

ELLLLLIOTTTTT
06-28-2007, 12:52 PM
It can always be made as strong as the original with proper gusseting and additional planar structures. Post a pic (MS paint maybe) of what you're talking about doing. I modified the hitch to work with a rear bumper on a newer 4-runner and it was beefier than the OEM hitch.

CurtP
06-28-2007, 02:52 PM
I don't see how you're going to be able to do it in the way you described. The hitch for the WK isn't anything like I've ever seen before - it just slides up to the bar that's already behind the bumper and mounts with four bolts. To get an idea of what I'm talking about, here's the installation instructions for the hitch: http://site.justforjeeps.com/guide/82208228.pdf
Those rails that run up each side of the spare tire are permanent - they're not part of the hitch. I thought it was a very interesting design.

There may be other ways to modify it to get it to clear - I'm not really sure. I know I've read about some others that have fitted a deflated 33" spare tire without doing much to get it to fit, but they say that the tire pressure monitor drives them crazy letting them know that the spare tire is low. I wonder what would happen if you just didn't use the monitor on the spare at all...

I just installed the hitch last week and had 31" tires put on mine a couple of days ago. A 31" spare fits fine. What about mounting it inside? The floor of the cargo area is held in by two bolts. Removing it gives you a couple more inches in height and gives you access to the sheetmetal.

CurtP
06-29-2007, 02:22 PM
I just crawled under mine to take a look. The 245/70-17 barely fits in there with the hitch. Side-to-side it looks like there would be enough room for a 33". If you were to cut the center part where the hitch bolts to and use a piece of plate on either side to move that section out, then you should be able to get it to fit. I just don't know how you'd get the plastic bracing and bumper cover back on without really hacking the shit out of it. The hitch will end up sticking way out too, unless you modify it as well.

Are you going to fabricate a custom rear bumper for it too? If you're going to make a bumper for it, I personally think it would be better to put a tire carrier on it instead, or just carry the spare inside like I mentioned earlier.

Z
06-29-2007, 02:37 PM
I just crawled under mine to take a look. The 245/70-17 barely fits in there with the hitch. Side-to-side it looks like there would be enough room for a 33". If you were to cut the center part where the hitch bolts to and use a piece of plate on either side to move that section out, then you should be able to get it to fit. I just don't know how you'd get the plastic bracing and bumper cover back on without really hacking the shit out of it. The hitch will end up sticking way out too, unless you modify it as well.

Are you going to fabricate a custom rear bumper for it too? If you're going to make a bumper for it, I personally think it would be better to put a tire carrier on it instead, or just carry the spare inside like I mentioned earlier.

I just took a look under a WK, too. If you can fit a 31" tire under there without modification, if I "moved" the center portion of the hitch receiver back 1 inch, that should give me enough room to fit a 33" tire. As you suggested, I'd cut the center section out and use some heavy plate to relocate it. The crossmember that I need to cut is welded to the runners that surround the tire - I'm hoping that entire assembly is bolted in, so I can remove it for modification...have to look under there again.

At this time I'm not thinking of making a replacement bumper, but I do have ideas about how to better protect the fascia for trail use.

JohnBoulderCO
06-29-2007, 03:10 PM
At this time I'm not thinking of making a replacement bumper, but I do have ideas about how to better protect the fascia for trail use.
Extend the "new" hitch out a little to protect it, while making room for the larger tire.

CurtP
06-29-2007, 04:38 PM
I just took a look under a WK, too. If you can fit a 31" tire under there without modification, if I "moved" the center portion of the hitch receiver back 1 inch, that should give me enough room to fit a 33" tire. As you suggested, I'd cut the center section out and use some heavy plate to relocate it. The crossmember that I need to cut is welded to the runners that surround the tire - I'm hoping that entire assembly is bolted in, so I can remove it for modification...have to look under there again.

At this time I'm not thinking of making a replacement bumper, but I do have ideas about how to better protect the fascia for trail use.

I went back out and checked - that assembly does indeed bolt in, but it looks like a huge PITA to get it out. The exhaust and fuel filler lines run through it and the trackbar is bolted to it too. I'm guessing you'll be removing/installing it a couple of times - mark it, drop it to cut it, reinstall and tack your plates in, drop it again to weld it all up. Once you get all the bullshit out of the way, getting it in and out shouldn't be a problem during fabrication.

Another thought is if you're going to go through all that trouble, how hard would it be to come up with an entirely new assembly to replace the factory setup? You could incorporate the receiver directly into it and move everything around to where you need it. Maybe not fabricate the entire assembly, but maybe the back half of it. Just throwing out another idea.


John - if you look at the installation .pdf I posted, you'll see that the hitch is just a bracket that hangs from the existing structure. You have to modify the structure itself, not the hitch. I've never seen a setup quite like this before.

CurtP
06-29-2007, 04:41 PM
Forgot - everywhere I look I see people saying how great the http://www.4xguard.com skids are. I'm not overly impressed looking at the pictures, but I haven't actually seen them in person yet. I'd really like to see what other people come up with for the WK.

Z
06-30-2007, 08:37 AM
Another thought is if you're going to go through all that trouble, how hard would it be to come up with an entirely new assembly to replace the factory setup? You could incorporate the receiver directly into it and move everything around to where you need it. Maybe not fabricate the entire assembly, but maybe the back half of it. Just throwing out another idea.

I like that idea - especially since I want to enhance that assembly as part of a general bumper protection system. I want to put 3/16" plate right below the bumper fascia so when I scrape the rear on the trail (especially on trails like Golden Spike), I'll scrape the plate and not the fascia (I may trim the fascia for better ground clearance). If I extend the crossmember to the corners of the bumper, that should give me a decent surface for that plate. I'm glad you told me the cover of the cargo area just comes up, 'cause just extending the 2" crossmember tubing to the corners won't have enough strength, so I'll also want to tie supports into the cargo floor, but I'll want to strengthen the cargo floor.

I think it'll be easier to fab up a bumper protector that it would be to fab up a good looking rear bumper.

Regarding 4xGuard, I haven't actually seen the stuff (I missed the opportunity at GSW - he was there). I am a little worried about his rocker protection - I think from posts he's made on the WK forum, they are meant to protect the sides and may not be designed to protect from a heavy fall. Then again, I may create my own rocker protection to asthetically tie it into the rear bumper protection.

jsteves
06-30-2007, 11:08 AM
I saw the 4xguard WK at the meet & greet but not on the trail. He had his prototype rock slidders on. From talking with him it seemed like he might redesign them as they may not have had the beef to stand up to Moab abuse.

CurtP
06-30-2007, 11:03 PM
I saw the 4xguard WK at the meet & greet but not on the trail. He had his prototype rock slidders on. From talking with him it seemed like he might redesign them as they may not have had the beef to stand up to Moab abuse.

On their website, they say they're newly redesigned.

PassRunnerZJ
07-10-2007, 01:17 AM
Tom, maybe this is too simple, but can you put a deflated 33" equivilant spare in then inflate it to just over the minimum so that it isn't pushing really hard on stuff for a while? In the big picture though, you are going to want to build a real protective bumper that can carry a spare since you will have to figure out either onboard air or carry CO2 to fill the spare...