When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Have you given a thought to any of these options from Wilco? I have a SOLOXL on the way. I expect it in the next week or two. I'll post a detailed install/review when it arrives.
Have you given a thought to any of these options from Wilco? I have a SOLOXL on the way. I expect it in the next week or two. I'll post a detailed install/review when it arrives.
I got word yesterday that mine is still 2-3 weeks out. I will posts tons of pictures...and while I have nothing to tow, I will find something to tow just to try it.
Which model did you order? 4 Wheel Parts had the UHG 1060/1 available for next day delivery to their local store in S. Texas. The license plate holder was on a 4-6 week delay, though. They had variants depending on whether you will add fuel/water tanks to the back and whether you wanted the offset or not. They may have another variant in stock. Price was the same as direct from Wilson and no shipping charge.
But now the bad news. The shipped unit does not work properly with the Excursion. I will have to call Wilson on Monday to discuss the issue. There are two holes for the receiver/hitch pin. You can't use the first hole because the bolt head for the wedge lock blocks the hole and the assembly with the wedge bottoms out in the receiver before the second hole is aligned with the opening. The whole assembly is about 1/2" too long. With the wedge lock removed it fits just fine but now everything rocks and bounces around.
This is unfortunate as I really want to get this unit to work. It is very well designed and built. Not something you could slap together with some scrap steel laying around. The whole thing weighs a couple of hundred pounds. The reduction in tow capacity is not from any weakness in the system but simply from having so much weight sitting on the hitch.
There is a minor issue anyone thinking about buying this unit should keep in mind. You will probably have to remove the trailer in order to open the rear doors/swing the tire out. With a regular hitch the swing arm will hit the top of the latching mechanism for the trailer. You will probably need a drop hitch anyway, in which case the arm will miss the latch but now it will hit the trailer jack. So basically any time you need access other than the back hatch you will need to unhook the trailer.
Which model did you order? 4 Wheel Parts had the UHG 1060/1 available for next day delivery to their local store in S. Texas. The license plate holder was on a 4-6 week delay, though. They had variants depending on whether you will add fuel/water tanks to the back and whether you wanted the offset or not. They may have another variant in stock. Price was the same as direct from Wilson and no shipping charge.
But now the bad news. The shipped unit does not work properly with the Excursion. I will have to call Wilson on Monday to discuss the issue. There are two holes for the receiver/hitch pin. You can't use the first hole because the bolt head for the wedge lock blocks the hole and the assembly with the wedge bottoms out in the receiver before the second hole is aligned with the opening. The whole assembly is about 1/2" too long. With the wedge lock removed it fits just fine but now everything rocks and bounces around.
This is unfortunate as I really want to get this unit to work. It is very well designed and built. Not something you could slap together with some scrap steel laying around. The whole thing weighs a couple of hundred pounds. The reduction in tow capacity is not from any weakness in the system but simply from having so much weight sitting on the hitch.
There is a minor issue anyone thinking about buying this unit should keep in mind. You will probably have to remove the trailer in order to open the rear doors/swing the tire out. With a regular hitch the swing arm will hit the top of the latching mechanism for the trailer. You will probably need a drop hitch anyway, in which case the arm will miss the latch but now it will hit the trailer jack. So basically any time you need access other than the back hatch you will need to unhook the trailer.
I ordered the SOLO XL. WILCO builds all of their stuff by hand at their shop in SOCAL, good to hear it's solidly built stuff. I would expect you would have to unhitch the trailer to gain access to the back. Just too tight of quarters. Let us know what you get worked out.
Well, in this case I guess it wasn't that stupid. I bought one of the "anti-wobble" devices from Northern Tools , the one with two bolts that mounts as a collar if the link doesn't work, and it appears to work as well as the internal wedge from Wilco. Applying about 500 ft-lbs of torque the top of the spare tire moves less than 1/8". Appears pretty good to me considering it is held on by only a 2" square.
With my tires (295/70/18) the active leaf of the rear doors (i.e. the RH side) cannot open with the Wilco closed. It looks like there is a good 3" overlap so even stock tires probably won't work. So the "offset" design only helps with the rear view. It does not allow you to open at least one of the back doors. A better design for Wilco would be to reverse the swing. This would allow you to open the device enough to open one of the back doors while a trailer is still attached.
The hatch back opens with no problem.
I didn't measure the top/main bolt after attaching the tire. I started with the spacing from the top of the bolt to the top of the disk about 1". I tweaked it from there to allow one bolt at the bottom and two bolts at about 30 degrees each side from the top.
Attaching the bottom/main/inactive part of the Wilco can be done by one person. The swing side needs two. It isn't that heavy but you need one person to hold/raise/lower one side while you attach the other. Aligning the spare bolts is best done by three people. Two holding the tire and raising and lowering it and one person to tighten the bolts. Edit: I had several stops and starts. I would allow 2 hours for the install with help assuming you are reading the instructions as you go. So figure BBQ'd steaks for two and a six-pack for your installation costs . You will want a SAE socket set up to 1" (I didn't measure the tire bolt size but it was slightly under 1" so a set up to that size will work) and one crescent wrench or a set of SAE box ends. Plus one #1 Phillips screwdriver.
The only problem with the instructions is the mounting point for the cable for the lock pin is wrong. Otherwise everything was correct. All the hardware is present. It includes two different side mounting bolts for the spare. The large ones worked for the Excursion.
Despite the problem with the locking wedge I am happy with the product. If they can replace the wedge that is good but if a warranty repair involves returning the whole active swing arm I will likely just stay with the Northern Tool gadget. It looks like there is enough material to grind the wedge down to fit while still having enough to provide proper function. But they may want to grind down both the hitch side as well as the wedge or relocate the bracket for the wedge bolt in order to use the first holes which would involve shipping most of it back.
Edit: PS - Plan on buying the license plate mounting bracket and lights or having to rig up something yourself. Yes, it is $90 but if a police officer wants to give you a ticket it is slightly obstructed. You can see the plate from a SUV/truck but from a car part of the bottom is covered. Also you will need some sort of drop down hitch. The new receiver sits above the old one.
Update - Finally had some time to call Wilco. Appears to be excellent customer service. They had recently modified their design slightly to increase the strength of the locking wedge - I can see how the ramp angle is pretty steep. But this angle increase resulted in a longer assembly hence the problem I ran into. It was implied that they are either going to come up with a new design for the Excursion or go back to the older design. In any case they are going to provide a replacement that will work properly.
My fabricator utilized the stock mounting holes with spacers where needed. I know the stock mounting holes aren't the best but I only plan to carry my spare and any overflow cargo on long trips. He felt they were strong enough to hold the rack. It is also supported/secured by the rear ladder. He made a custom mount that slides into the stock hitch receiver and is removable (check out pics below). He was going to do another support bar vertically in the other side but felt this setup was more than enough.
Yes I'm running amp steps with the extension arms, that's why you can see the steps. If I didn't have the extension arms the steps would be much more flush with the body. Wife needed it lower so I added the extensions.
who was your fabricator ? i need something like this done on my.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
