Ray Hyland
Expedition Leader
One of the cool things about being involved with the overland industry is being exposed to a lot of interesting gear. I recently bought a Wilco Hitchgate Solo from Tom at Adventure Ready in Seattle. They are priced reasonably, about $550-$620 depending what options you want.
I've been using it for about a month now, and I am impressed. It doesn't rattle, and it's really solid. I mounted a bike carrier over it, and carried three mountain bikes, and it didn't make a creak.
I decided to get this because on my Tuktoyaktuk trip last year, when I was running taller tires, the spare was too big to carry in its normal spot in the back of the truck, and it became a hassle to pack around it.
I could have bought a custom rear bumper with a swing-away for about three times the price, but since I have a collection of vehicles, this allows me to move it from truck to truck and use it as and where needed, as the hitchgate is universal, it just slides into a trailer hitch receiver.
They also make a high-clearance version, but that one wouldn't allow me to open the tail gate all the way down, that's why I got the standard version, it just clears the tailgate.
The only downside is that the holes for the lugs and the actual lugs it comes with are a bit small. It assumes you are using a steel rim. Mounting my alloys, with the huge lugs and oversized lugnuts Rovers use, meant I needed to drill the holes in the mounting plate a bit bigger, but that's actually a pretty common issue for Rover owners, I've had to do that with my Thule bike carrier on my Defender too.
Anyways, I'm very happy with it so far, and happy to answer any questions anyone might have.
Tire sits nice and high
Solid construction, rattle-free hinges and bushings.
Swings all the way around the truck if required. Also has a licence plate relocation option.
Simple design.
Allows you to still have a class-4 hitch while mounted, so you can still pull your trailer.
Universal tire mounting plate.
Lots of clearance from the truck, and the ground.
I've been using it for about a month now, and I am impressed. It doesn't rattle, and it's really solid. I mounted a bike carrier over it, and carried three mountain bikes, and it didn't make a creak.
I decided to get this because on my Tuktoyaktuk trip last year, when I was running taller tires, the spare was too big to carry in its normal spot in the back of the truck, and it became a hassle to pack around it.
I could have bought a custom rear bumper with a swing-away for about three times the price, but since I have a collection of vehicles, this allows me to move it from truck to truck and use it as and where needed, as the hitchgate is universal, it just slides into a trailer hitch receiver.
They also make a high-clearance version, but that one wouldn't allow me to open the tail gate all the way down, that's why I got the standard version, it just clears the tailgate.
The only downside is that the holes for the lugs and the actual lugs it comes with are a bit small. It assumes you are using a steel rim. Mounting my alloys, with the huge lugs and oversized lugnuts Rovers use, meant I needed to drill the holes in the mounting plate a bit bigger, but that's actually a pretty common issue for Rover owners, I've had to do that with my Thule bike carrier on my Defender too.
Anyways, I'm very happy with it so far, and happy to answer any questions anyone might have.
Tire sits nice and high
Solid construction, rattle-free hinges and bushings.
Swings all the way around the truck if required. Also has a licence plate relocation option.
Simple design.
Allows you to still have a class-4 hitch while mounted, so you can still pull your trailer.
Universal tire mounting plate.
Lots of clearance from the truck, and the ground.
