TheOtherSide
01-26-2009, 12:57 AM
A few years back when my 94 Grand Cherokee was lifted only a little, I was catching my hitch on everything when offroad. So in my amazing wisdom I decided to remove the hitch and install factory hooks on the rear bumper for more clearance and a cooler look. Well... a few times my hooks grabbed onto a few things and I found the hitch would have been better. At this point I had just gone from 2" of lift up to 3.5" and was still dragging the hooks so I decided to break out my limited fabrication skills and see what I could do.
I was happy with the results! I modified my factory hitch (which was annoyingly heavy and taking up space in my garage) in such a way that I gained 2.5" of clearance in the rear which increased my departure angle... and made me happy.
Here is a before photo with the factory hitch... and you can see how low it hangs:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/001.jpg
And here is a photo of the hook-alls that I put in:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/002.jpg
And this is the final result:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/003.jpg
Now I'll show you a few photos of how I got there...
I didn't want to cut a straight line across and cut out 2.5" of height and weld back a straight line. I figured for a little bit more strength, I would right angle the cut and end up with an "L" shaped weld.
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/004.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/006.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/007.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/008.jpg
I also cut off the trailer wiring box which was to the left side of the receiver for clearance behind the bumper rebar... and also capped off the ends of the cross pipe of the hitch to avoid dirt build-up inside as it would be a bit harder to rinse it out after a trip:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/005.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/009.jpg
Then I had it sand blasted as it was a few years old and a bit on the ugly side of life:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/010.jpg
After that... I have to apologize that I do not have photos of my amazing welding when I put it together... but I welded the flat bracket back on and ground off that useless point that was remaining. When it was all welded up I had it painted with a thicker paint... I believe it was truck bedliner and it was ready to install:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/011.jpg
And that's it... installation time. What you don't see in the photos is that I had to obviously notch out the rebar on the bumper to make room for the raised receiver. My goal was to have a little bit of that newer SUV style look where their hitches are completely behind and inside the rear bumper. I couldn't go any higher unless I wanted to start cutting into the body of the Jeep... so this was fine with me:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/012.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/013.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/014.jpg
So that's it... it's just that simple. Only thing now is, I want to build a completely new rear bumper which would see the factory bumper cover and rebar removed... but that's what happens in the evolution of your trail rig!!
Thanks to Nathan (Scheff) for his sand blasting and painting services!
I was happy with the results! I modified my factory hitch (which was annoyingly heavy and taking up space in my garage) in such a way that I gained 2.5" of clearance in the rear which increased my departure angle... and made me happy.
Here is a before photo with the factory hitch... and you can see how low it hangs:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/001.jpg
And here is a photo of the hook-alls that I put in:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/002.jpg
And this is the final result:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/003.jpg
Now I'll show you a few photos of how I got there...
I didn't want to cut a straight line across and cut out 2.5" of height and weld back a straight line. I figured for a little bit more strength, I would right angle the cut and end up with an "L" shaped weld.
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/004.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/006.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/007.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/008.jpg
I also cut off the trailer wiring box which was to the left side of the receiver for clearance behind the bumper rebar... and also capped off the ends of the cross pipe of the hitch to avoid dirt build-up inside as it would be a bit harder to rinse it out after a trip:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/005.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/009.jpg
Then I had it sand blasted as it was a few years old and a bit on the ugly side of life:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/010.jpg
After that... I have to apologize that I do not have photos of my amazing welding when I put it together... but I welded the flat bracket back on and ground off that useless point that was remaining. When it was all welded up I had it painted with a thicker paint... I believe it was truck bedliner and it was ready to install:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/011.jpg
And that's it... installation time. What you don't see in the photos is that I had to obviously notch out the rebar on the bumper to make room for the raised receiver. My goal was to have a little bit of that newer SUV style look where their hitches are completely behind and inside the rear bumper. I couldn't go any higher unless I wanted to start cutting into the body of the Jeep... so this was fine with me:
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/012.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/013.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/hitch/014.jpg
So that's it... it's just that simple. Only thing now is, I want to build a completely new rear bumper which would see the factory bumper cover and rebar removed... but that's what happens in the evolution of your trail rig!!
Thanks to Nathan (Scheff) for his sand blasting and painting services!