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Daily Driver, Go Where I Want To Build
- Thread starter jjvw
- Start date
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This is what the paint looks like after 15-20 seconds of MAP gas to soften the factory thread lock. Heat one bolt. Heat a second. Go back to the first after the heat has soaked in a bit.
The far left is what happens when you get impatient and don't use heat first. Fortunately there was enough tooth left to unscrew after the heat.
The far left is what happens when you get impatient and don't use heat first. Fortunately there was enough tooth left to unscrew after the heat.
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I must have been extremely lucky when I removed my stock hinges to install the Exogate. I didn't use any heat and they broke free without much resistance.
Heat is the number 1 way to get those things out. Even on my salt ridden rust box, I was able to spin those bolts out easily after some action with a propane torch. The whole paint problem is a myth. I’m going to keep this picture as proof in the future.
OP
Not a whole lot to say about the Exogate, except that it is pretty great.
Install is not difficult. The hardest part was manipulating the bolt plate inside the tub behind the lower hinge.
The hinge is shifted a few inches further outboard.
The cage tie in.
The tire is up against the stock snubbers plus the 1/4" thickness of the Exogate. When I change to a different backspacing and tire width, I'll need to redo this and maybe add in the included offset brackets.
Plenty of room for the CB antenna mount.
Install is not difficult. The hardest part was manipulating the bolt plate inside the tub behind the lower hinge.
The hinge is shifted a few inches further outboard.
The cage tie in.
The tire is up against the stock snubbers plus the 1/4" thickness of the Exogate. When I change to a different backspacing and tire width, I'll need to redo this and maybe add in the included offset brackets.
Plenty of room for the CB antenna mount.
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OP
The Jeep rides differently. It's difficult to say how, just different. The roll might be less in turns. The spare sits a bit lower than what I'm used to, which is nice for visibly. I have one of the Swiss water bags filled with 35lbs of water sitting in the very back to mimic the Swag bumper I intend to get.
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I like them a lot. I left one full of water sitting in the hot garage while I was traveling for two weeks. Today the water was surprisingly not at all awful tasting.
You will appreciate the difference on the trail unless you are oblivious which I don't think is the case. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you wonder why it took as long as it did to get that swing set off of there.
Little off topic, but what is your recommended way of carrying a 35 or 37? I saw in a thread a long time ago that you might not like the OR fab carrier that I run. Is pulling it off the gate and putting it in the trunk the best way?
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I'm excited about this next set of changes. I would like to get out with this one change and try a couple spots where I wondered if the weight, CoG and distribution were working against me.
I’ll be wheeling in the mountains or JV when I finally graduate and move back west. What’s the best way to carry a spare for that? Is the JV rule just run no spare?
Some carry spares, some don't. Few are on the tailgate. Mine is on the trailer.
I was checking out that bumper, it’s pretty sturdy. It’ll be a hell of an improvement to your departure angle
To put that in perspective, I made a lot of changes to the rig I take to JV once and ran short on time to come up with a tire solution for the new 37's. I snagged what was at the time, the state of the art Currie rear bumper and tire carrier. I already ran their front and rear bumpers previous so getting one with a swing out on it seemed fast and easy. Upon arriving in JV and running one trail, it upset the balance and the way the rig worked so much that I removed the tire and swing out portion when we got back to camp that day. It lasted exactly one trail.
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Slight change of plans. I've been pondering the hitch modifications that would bury the receiver into the rear cross member. I don't need all the extra stuff that SWAG includes. Next Venture is the cheapest option for a simple plate, especially with their FoJ sale. From there, I'll make my own receiver and French it in to the bumper and crossmember.
Now I just need to figure out why they can't ship to Colorado...
Now I just need to figure out why they can't ship to Colorado...
I haven't seen their product but whatever one you get, it needs to wrap under the stock crossmember like the one from SWAG does. If you don't do that, the rear crossmember is subject to damage and will collapse. The lower flange gets smacked upward bad enough that you can't get a gas tank skid mounted back up just from hits on the stock tank skid.
OP
I've got a Genright one laying in the driveway that doesn't. It was too much to add to it so the owner got the one from Poison Spyder. As for the hitch. The one I did was on a TJ Unlimited. There is room back there between the two rear crossmembers to put the hitch receiver tube in nearly flush and reach up and access the pin between them. You don't have that option so it will have to stick out far enough to get the pin hole accessible or you're going to be modifying all the bits you want to stick into the receiver to move the holes to line up.