Rear cargo baskets

[EDH_JL]

With a 2 door storage is always at a premium so I bought a hitch mounted cargo basket. I had fitment issues so I took the guardrails off to fit under the spare tire, but I keep scraping it due to the reduced departure angle. A hitch extender/riser also interferes with the rear tire.

Is there any way to raise this thing up without spending $$$ on a bumper/rack system? Have another hunt coming up at the end of October and if I'm lucky it would be nice to have the deer outside instead of in with me

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[Stormin’ Moorman]

Have you tried flipping the drop-receiver over and putting the ball on the bottom? This way it raises instead of drops the basket. #redneckskills

 

[wrangler-rob]

I have an LOD setup and the elevated basket which gave me an idea for you. That said this is simply a thought and NOT something I have done BUT.... What if you were to get a Thule Bike Carrier off like craigslist (or fabricate something similar yourself) then position the basket on top of that support ARM and the tire. This might allow for distribution of weight HOWEVER I would caveat that the stock bumper being frame mounted and having a tendency to move apart from the vehicle body to which the tire is mounted makes for some possible "shiftiness" BUT would still dramatically improve your departure angle and better distribute the weight of the makeshift elevated rack to both the hitch and the tailgate. Again, not something I have done but believe it is possible. I would not want to simply use just a Thule as I am not sure I'd trust the weight of a healthy buck without additional support which is where the tire/tailgate might assist. Again biggest gotcha, is the stock rear bumper which has a tendency of rocking into and damaging the body of the vehicle on larger hits. If you aren't rubbing rocks with your bumper on these trips then I suspect you might be fine.... Again just a thought and I wish you luck!

 

[wrangler-rob]

I have an LOD setup and the elevated basket which gave me an idea for you. That said this is simply a thought and NOT something I have done BUT.... What if you were to get a Thule Bike Carrier off like craigslist (or fabricate something similar yourself) then position the basket on top of that support ARM and the tire. This might allow for distribution of weight HOWEVER I would caveat that the stock bumper being frame mounted and having a tendency to move apart from the vehicle body to which the tire is mounted makes for some possible "shiftiness" BUT would still dramatically improve your departure angle and better distribute the weight of the makeshift elevated rack to both the hitch and the tailgate. Again, not something I have done but believe it is possible. I would not want to simply use just a Thule as I am not sure I'd trust the weight of a healthy buck without additional support which is where the tire/tailgate might assist. Again biggest gotcha, is the stock rear bumper which has a tendency of rocking into and damaging the body of the vehicle on larger hits. If you aren't rubbing rocks with your bumper on these trips then I suspect you might be fine.... Again just a thought and I wish you luck!

As I think about it further being hitch mounted, bumper movement may not even factor into this as I know the hitch is separately mounted to the frame of the vehicle....

 

[EDH_JL]

Just found this trail basket from EAG but the reviews are terrible from a supposed mis-welded bracket. I wonder if I can just get some aluminum stock and make my own riser for the basket to sit on...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P7MQPPV/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_fYbLDb29F8T02

 

[T43]

I built an adapter that slides into the receiver hitch and goes up to almost the center of the spare tire where I welded another receiver tube to slide my rack into. It solved the departure angle but it sways left to right more. I use bungee cords from the rack to the spare to slow down the sway and so far I don't have any problems with loading coolers and saws on it. I'll try to get a pic of it when I get home from work.

 

[T43]

Forgot about the pics until I used the rack yesterday. I snapped a couple quick ones. One of the adapter in the hitch one with the basket and one of the backup camera screen. It does block out some of the view but the camera is still usable for stump and rock spotting. It is still in the beta stage. After yesterday I decided to put a wedge block in from the front of the stinger so I can limit some of the swing and bounce by tightening it into the Jeep hitch.

 

[am1978]

Forgot about the pics until I used the rack yesterday. I snapped a couple quick ones. One of the adapter in the hitch one with the basket and one of the backup camera screen. It does block out some of the view but the camera is still usable for stump and rock spotting. It is still in the beta stage. After yesterday I decided to put a wedge block in from the front of the stinger so I can limit some of the swing and bounce by tightening it into the Jeep hitch.

You should sell these.

 

[T43]

I suppose once I get the wedge built and see how it works if someone wanted one I could.

 

[Flyslinger2]

With a 2 door storage is always at a premium so I bought a hitch mounted cargo basket. I had fitment issues so I took the guardrails off to fit under the spare tire, but I keep scraping it due to the reduced departure angle. A hitch extender/riser also interferes with the rear tire.

Is there any way to raise this thing up without spending $$$ on a bumper/rack system? Have another hunt coming up at the end of October and if I'm lucky it would be nice to have the deer outside instead of in with me

I bought a similar rack for the very same reason. Not interested in have deer juice sloshing around inside the vehicle. I didn't have any clearance issues with my JLU on a washed out Jeep trail in WV. Sadly the bear and deer did not cooperate last week so my cargo basket is still a virgin.

 

[EDH_JL]

I used the rack again last week on a trip but this time had it loaded with two 5 gal fuel cans, a 70qt cooler, and a 5 gal water can. The aluminum rack stretched around the steel hitch piece and it doesn't sit flat anymore and I see it breaking on the next off road trip. Don't get the cheap aluminum rack from Harbor Freight, it also has plastic corners which makes tying things down more difficult.

I just saw this one, but it lists a 75 lb capacity and shows 2x 3gal rotopax which means if they were full you can only hold another ~30 lbs while putting that extra weight directly on the stock tailgate hinge. https://www.extremeterrain.com/garvin-jeep-wrangler-trail-rack-20000.html

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