Pajero door hits towball.

[Paikea]

My Pajero has the spare mounted on the rear door. Problem is that when the boat is hooked up the bottom of the spare hits the top of the trailer coupling which stops the door from opening anymore than a small gap. Not enough to get "stuff" out of the back.

I had a look at the bracket that the spare is mounted on and it looks as though the 6 bolts that fasten it to the door are equally spaced. There is approx 25mm difference between the centre line of the bracket and the top and bottom bolts which suggests that turning the bracket through 180 degrees will lift the tyre 25 MM which would be enough to clear the trailer coupling.

The only thing that is stopping me from trying this is that the bottom bolts in the mounting bracket face inward so that the nuts will be inside the door. The other 4 have their nuts facing out. This will mean removing the back door trim to get at the bolts. Haven't got a clue how to remove the trim without damaging it.

Has anyone else had this problem and fixed it as above? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Paikea

[Welster]

I looked into buying a used Pajero some time ago and this was something that stopped me. The early 2000 ones with the wheel to the side looked bad enough. The later ones with the wheel centralised almost impossible.

I'm pretty sure you can buy an aftermarket bracket that lifts the spare wheel 2 inches or so. Google it.

This problem is commonly discussed on various forums. Why any four wheel drive designed for towing has a disfunctional tailgate when towing bewilders me!

Various people on the forums used different types of trailer coupler and modified the handbrake lever.

I'm pretty sure Swordfisherman and others here have a Pajero and love them. Maybe they have some answers.

Edited May 3, 2014 by welst

[Fab1]

Not to familiar with your pajero Paikea, but the removal of trim on most vehicles involves removing screws that are exposed or hidden under plugs in some cases.

Then working around the parimeter of the door trim locating the hidden clips holding the trim panel to the door and gently prying away.

Once pryed apart giving it a sharp hit on the bottom of the trim to dislodge the panel from the window channel to dislodge and the reverse on installation.

Without seeing what you have to work with, the cure around your problem with your spare hiting the trailer are many.

Perhaps you could elongate the existing mounting holes with a die grinder or rats tail file.

Make up a new plate and bolt or weld it to your existing mount with new mounting holes for spare drilled higher up raising your spare to the required height.

Hope this helps somewhat.

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[Paikea]

welst, on 03 May 2014 - 10:41 AM, said:

I'm pretty sure you can buy an aftermarket bracket that lifts the spare wheel 2 inches or so. Google it.

Fab1, on 03 May 2014 - 12:09 PM, said:

Make up a new plate and bolt or weld it to your existing mount with new mounting holes for spare drilled higher up raising your spare to the required height.

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Thanks guys, Welst I rang the dealer in Shepparton Vic, in the PM that you sent me and they do supply a conversion plate that bolts onto the existing bracket as described by Fabl. ($111.00 incl delivery) It raises the wheel 50 mm which should be sufficient to clear the tow ball without affecting the operation of the wipers.

I will take some pics when I fit it and post the details.

Cheers

Paikea

Edited May 5, 2014 by Paikea

[Catchin Jack]

Aftermarket spare lift plates work a treat in pajero, I used to own a highly modified one and had 33in tyres and thar plate was a life saver.

Dalucius, if you have any issues with Jeep....try Shents Automotive, soecialises in Jeep stuff and knows a lot about them.

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[Paikea]

Thanks Jack, I am looking forward to fitting the plate and being able to open the back door. Especially as the lead for my electric winch runs from the little compartment on the left hand side of the back. A real pain to get it out when the door only opens 200mm.

Cheers

Paikea

[Dalucius]

Aftermarket spare lift plates work a treat in pajero, I used to own a highly modified one and had 33in tyres and thar plate was a life saver.Dalucius, if you have any issues with Jeep....try Shents Automotive, soecialises in Jeep stuff and knows a lot about them.Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

I'll keep that in mind thanks Jack.

I deleted my previous post as Geoff said the pajero door would still hit. Our Jeep door is a lift up one so the extension works for us.