NorthWalesJK

So I had been reading posts and trying to decide what basket to purchase or make on my own. I decided to go both ways. I went out and purchased the harbor Freight aluminum one when it went on sale and made a few changes. I did not want a steel one as I fish on the beach often and it will rust – I see many guys with the old steel ones in the corner of their yard rusted and unused. I also wanted to be able to open up the back so it had to be low.

The pictures below show my solution. The Harbor freight model comes un-assembled. So I loosely put it together and measured what I needed to remove to clear the spare. I cut all of the risers the same height with a table saw, bolted back together, drilled a few new holes to bolt the top on, moved the reflectors. Two cans of Rustolum Hammered black (It had to be black – no shiny metal on my JK) and the result is below.

The 500lb carrying weight is more than I will ever need and I can easily access everything in the back. Before and after pic's below. Worked great this weekend. I will be adding rod holders in a few weeks when time allows - I will post a followup.

Before - loosly put together


Tire will not make it.


After - opened door


Tire clearence



More than enough





I turned the reflectors the other way - gives you an idea of how much I cut off.



My favorite cooler fit fine


425 miles later and it was still there.

redbank

I like what you did. I also bought the harbor freight aluminum carrier. Although before I go chopping mine up I did buy an aftermarket bumper that I can adjust the spare tire carrier on the swing out carrier so I may not have to do this. But thanks for the idea if I need it.

Four Low

Very nice, you used what you had to make what you wanted - the essence of " Jeep ".

Mudbob

looks very nice. i just finished welding mine up but doesn't look that nice.

Matts08

That looks great. I had that same carrier but sold it on craigslist a year or so ago as I never used it after a bought a truck. Now I sold the truck so I may look into getting another one. These are great because they are so light--much lighter than the steel ones. What saw and blade did you use to cut it down?

NorthWalesJK

The basket is aluminum so cutting was not that hard. I put a metal cutting blade in my table saw and went to town, it only took about 10 minutes to cut all of the pieces. Even if you used a vice and a hack saw it would not take that long.

I have made about 10 road trips with the basket and it works great - as was mentioned on this thread earlier you can't beat how light it is.

afish

For cutting aluminum you can pick up a carbide blade for cutting non ferrous metal usually its a tcg grind with a negative rake. Im sute that HF basket was a very thin walled tube so it probably could have beem cut with just about anything. Just be careful when cutting aluminum it is bery gummy and can bind the blade easily. Its best to use some type of coolant or lube when cutting. There are plenty of commercial coolants out there but for the garage mechanic WD-40 works good amd almost everyone has a can kicking around.

afish

I hate typing on my phone with big thumbs