24packman

Hey bud, I'm installing a Snugtop XTR on my truck. I also wanted to mount a firestick antenna similar to how you did yours. Is there anyway you could post up a pic of how you mounted it. Also, if you could do something different now that you installed it would you? Thanks!

RedStx13

Hey love the truck but gotta question, your tailgate tire carrier, who makes it? And do you like it?

bisonium

Thanks Red. So the tire carrier is a HitchGate found here:

http://www.tiregate.com/hg-series/

The reason I bought it was because I didn't think the spare tire carrier under the truck would be big enough to hold a full sized 33" Toyo MT tire, and I was wrong (that's a big space down there).

I loved having the hitch gate on there but it came with some problems. First, it's HEAVY. I mean REAL HEAVY. It would drop the rear end pretty radically giving it that CA "ridin dirty" look, which I'm not a fan of. Second, you have to be REALLY careful opening that swing arm and make sure you do NOT let it go past a certain point or it's going to bust out your rear tail light. I managed to rig a little wedge into the hinge that limited how far that arm could travel, but in my opinion, this is a pretty bad design defect. Not sure if they've changed that or not, but it's something to consider.

Overall, I can't say too much negatively about it, it worked and did it's thing. I ended up getting rid of it due to the weight primarily. The full sized tire fits under the truck and moves the CG forward, lifting up the rear again. Did I mention it's EXPENSIVE?

RedStx13

Thanks for the info, its for a friend whose got an suv. But good to know about the weight issue.