Custom Hitch Mounted Tray for a TJ

[GotLime?]

Here was my dilemna:
I have a 2004 TJ.
I have a girlfriend
I have 2 kids
We like to go wheeling
We'd like to go camping
We like to take the Jeep to the boat
With the back seat in, I'd have to ask other folks to carry my cooler on the trail. No storage!! That little bit of space behind the rear seat is almost useless. The lack of storage limited what I could and would do with the Jeep.
I had one of those trays that slides in the receiver. With the spare tire hanging down, it limited what you could put on the tray and I didn't like how low to the ground it was.
My buddy Chris is a pretty talented guy. He has a full time job, but it trying to get his company, Blue Note Fab, off the ground. We were at his house Saturday playing with the Jeeps and I asked if he could make me an extension that would take the tray out past the spare and make the tray more usable. "Sure, come by tomorrow morning, pick me up and we'll take it over to my shop."
So I pick him up, we get some Subway for breakfast and off to the shop we go. It was a long day, but so worth it. I'm in the doghouse with the GF, but this tray is so useful now. He learned a thing or two that he might do different next time. Nothing major, just cuttting some holes in the tube to run wires and little stuff like that. I can't wait to sue this thing!
On to the pics.
Disclaimer: In some shots, it may appear tubes are not square. They aren't. My Jeep is not square so we made the tray fit the Jeep instead of making it squarwe. And I've never noticed it before, but the Warn rear tire carrier does not center the spare. It is to the left. I'm not sure why.
Who knew we'd use jackstands? Mocking it up.

Chris replaced everything on the tray except the frame and the mesh floor. This is the new center support.

 

[GotLime?]

Chris even gave me a quick lesson and allowed me to weld a little bit. To you guys that know how to do it, I'm sure it doesn't seem exciting, but it was fun for me!!

We struggled with what to do with the plate. It would be covered if there was anything on the tray. Chris came up with an idea to mount the plate on the tray. It can easliy be moved from the mount in the spare to the tray now. With an extension to the wiring, the license plate light and integrated 3rd brake light will also work!

Chris added these supports under the mesh to help keep the tray rigid and support the weight of the cargo.

Shot from underneath:

Chris fabricated this piece that goes AROUND the receiver. It can be used to attach straps to the tray or chains if I was towing a trailer. It can be removed when not in use. Super cool!

Chris fabricated these tabs and welded them to the tray. If I want to use a ratchet strap to further secure the tray to the Jeep, I can attach them here and to the piece he made that is attached to the receiver (see above). These look really cool.

The almost finished project. We realized that if the tray was being used, the taillights would be blocked. So I'm going to buy some trailer lights and mount them to the tray. Chris drilled holes in the tube so we can run the wiring internally. We'll have it ste up so I can move the plate and connect the lights for it and the tail lights very quickly and easily when using the tray and it will look very clean.

 

[braxton357]

Did you do the "jump up and down on it" test?

 

[GotLime?]

Did you do the "jump up and down on it" test?

Chris and I are both 200+ pounds ( I'm more + than him). It supported Chris' weight on one side. The Jeep moved, but the tray was solid.

 

[mncdriver]

Chris, nice work. Was told about your new tray. It is amazing what Burger can come up with. Blue Note Fab did a great job on my jeep! Wish I had some sort of write up to show off his custom work done on my Jeep.