By Tony K
While the middle of a wagon is at pretty good height and the front end is really good with the location of the front axle. The rear end is an entirely different story. That long overhang is going to bang and smash it’s way over obstacles no matter what you do.
I did help my rig out by making a custom bumper. Short of trimming the frame, this was my only option. My rear bumper is in 3 parts, the center section is actually the rear of the frame and two short but heavy duty sections make up the outboard sides. The outboard sections serve more than one purpose. My quarter guards are welded to them and the pivots for the tire and fuel racks are welded to them as well. You will also notice shackle mounts and these are also integral to the outboard sections of the bumper.
And to avoid a boat anchor at the center I ran the hitch receiver and winch cable out of the center of the frame rather than below it, gaining a few valuable inches of room for wheeling.
Another thing to change to help with clearance is the stock u-bolts. The stock ubolts and spring mounting plates in a wagon are a pain in the arse. They hang down below the spring packs and manage to snag any available object that comes near them. This also puts the lower shock mount at risk. I put U-bolt flip kits in my rig and pretty much eliminated this from ever happening again. They have been worth every penny. They were made by 4+ and he even went to the trouble of bending up the plates to create even more clearance for the shock mounts.
Routing my exhaust over frame instead of under it was a big help by eliminating the risk of crushing the pipe on an obstacle. There just happens to be a small opening above the frame
and below the passenger seat that was perfect for what I wanted to accomplish. My BJ exhaust comes out on the right side, FJ’s come out on the left but I still think there is room to do this on my 62 which also has the same cross under the frame problem.
