Can the RTRs replace all of these? Just did the HB with raptor hinges
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Raptor Tailgate Hinges installed with Hammerbilt Bracket
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I did the same but now that I'm about to mount a bracket to the HammerBuilt accessory arm for my recovery boards, I'm noticing that the vertical alignment of the HammerBuilt tailgate reinforcement and accessory arm mounting points aren't parallel to the vertical plane of the tail light - it angles in towards the top of the back of the Bronco. It became pretty noticeable when mounting something tall and straight, like recovery boards. Can you share a pic of yours from the side for comparison?And these are the additional brackets that can be mounted to the plate to which you can mount things like an antenna or Max tracks or rotopax if you're not a fan of a fuel carrier in a jerry can shape or a Scepter:
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That is because the Bronco upper hinge and lower hinge are not aligned vertical in relation to one another...all the Bronco top hinges are more toward the front bumper than the lower hinge is (not because of the hinge heights but because of the angle of the tailgate itself). If you took the hammerbuilt assembly off, and put a level between the upper and lower hinge, you'd notice the angle is not 90°. That is one of the nuances of the Bronco...when I was trying out different plates such as the BAMF and the HB and toying with mounting things such as fuel cans, it was obvious that they were going to angle inward. I was torn between my OCD of wanting things to be straight up and down or having them be tight to the bodywork on the tailgate, and although I could have just simply put spacers at the top, I just went with going as close to the bodywork as possible. I don't have a reference point anymore other than older pictures because I sold my Bronco and went a different direction.I did the same but now that I'm about to mount a bracket to the HammerBuilt accessory arm for my recovery boards, I'm noticing that the vertical alignment of the HammerBuilt tailgate reinforcement and accessory arm mounting points aren't parallel to the vertical plane of the tail light - it angles in towards the top of the back of the Bronco. It became pretty noticeable when mounting something tall and straight, like recovery boards. Can you share a pic of yours from the side for comparison?
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@broncorik what bolts did you use to affix the Raptor Hinges to your Bronco. I imagine the stock Bronco bolts aren’t long enough since the hinge is thicker. I think I’m going to pull the trigger soon since I already have HBV2
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Stock are the correct ones...Raptor hinges are dimensionally identical to OEM hinges in the mounting area for through-bolts. The profile ramps up past the bolts.
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I went with 15 foot pounds for torque...I did not want to risk stripping the nut plates. Ford didn't have a torque listed for them (even @flip checked ...)...so I used an engineering calculator for pitch/diameter of OEM bolts. Some of the kits out there recommend much higher torques...but I wouldn't go there (maybe 17-19 at the most). Also use a torx plus...
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Thank you - it was my OCD that flagged this when I noticed it...
The lower hinge I got from oemfordpartsdirect.com looks more like the original hinge. The upper hinge has the flat mounting points, but the lower hinge is just like the original, but with thicker pin.
I also didn't get black bolts from hammerbilt for some reason with my reinforcement plate for raptor hinges.
I also didn't get black bolts from hammerbilt for some reason with my reinforcement plate for raptor hinges.
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Unless the Raptor hinges changed from when I bought them the lower Raptor hinge should look just like the upper Raptor hinge with similar thicknesses to the OEM hinges where the bolts go but a lot thicker center sections with threaded holes.
Where'd you buy yours?
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OEM Ford parts. Part numbers are below. Note the similarities of the hinges in the pics:
Just finished reading this thread. Thank you to @broncorik for keeping at it for 2 plus years.
Just wanting to know if those that have been using the HB plate and Raptor hinges are still happy with the OEM tire mount......the part that actually bolts the tire to the carrier? Has the OEM proved to be strong enough with 37 inch tires? How about a 37 inch tire and 2 Rotopax strapped to them?
Again, thank you for the info and the trial and error you all have put in.
Just wanting to know if those that have been using the HB plate and Raptor hinges are still happy with the OEM tire mount......the part that actually bolts the tire to the carrier? Has the OEM proved to be strong enough with 37 inch tires? How about a 37 inch tire and 2 Rotopax strapped to them?
Again, thank you for the info and the trial and error you all have put in.
Shew... quite a read if you start with this post from the start! Ha ha ha Great info and many thanks to all the contributors.
I'm left with one question, however, when will the Hammer Built Raptor hinges be available? As of 9/15/2024 they still don't appear on their website for sale.
A couple other conclusions I think I've ascertained from reading...
1) the best single thing you can do to increase the strength of your rear tailgate is to upgrade to Raptor (or Raptor-like if available?) hinges. Adding the reinforcement plate, whichever one you choose, also adds strength and stability, but the hinge is really the weakest link in this equation. You have to get the new hinges painted or powder coated so there's a much higher degree of "things to do" to achieve this, but that's the solution that you can rest assured will put you in a spot to have no issues from now to eternity, regardless of what you end up hanging from the back.
2) the reinforcement plate you chose really comes down to your intended use. Technically you could still add the cheaper Rough Country type reinforcement plates... there are a ton of options out there... but why would you add Raptor hinges and then not take advantage of mounting your plate to the hinges as opposed to mounting them along with the hinges. From what I can tell, there are 3 or 4 options. Hammer Built's reinforcement plate gives you the most potential and strength to carry whatever you want. Then there's the OEM Raptor reinforcement plate that looks the best but has less attachment capabilities. Lastly, there's the Mabett/RPM/BuckleUp options that are just knockoffs of the OEM Raptor reinforcement plates.... and I guess those last 3 options come with their own Raptor-like hinges.
For me, I'm not going to be loading washing machines on the back so aesthetics wins out. Now I just need to figure out if I want to stay OEM... hinges are $220/each, plate can be had for $250 on eBay so ~$700. 3rd party seems to be in the $400-500 range so...
Do I want to pay $250 for my reinforcement plate to have "Ford Performance" stamped into it. Hmmm....
I'm left with one question, however, when will the Hammer Built Raptor hinges be available? As of 9/15/2024 they still don't appear on their website for sale.
A couple other conclusions I think I've ascertained from reading...
1) the best single thing you can do to increase the strength of your rear tailgate is to upgrade to Raptor (or Raptor-like if available?) hinges. Adding the reinforcement plate, whichever one you choose, also adds strength and stability, but the hinge is really the weakest link in this equation. You have to get the new hinges painted or powder coated so there's a much higher degree of "things to do" to achieve this, but that's the solution that you can rest assured will put you in a spot to have no issues from now to eternity, regardless of what you end up hanging from the back.
2) the reinforcement plate you chose really comes down to your intended use. Technically you could still add the cheaper Rough Country type reinforcement plates... there are a ton of options out there... but why would you add Raptor hinges and then not take advantage of mounting your plate to the hinges as opposed to mounting them along with the hinges. From what I can tell, there are 3 or 4 options. Hammer Built's reinforcement plate gives you the most potential and strength to carry whatever you want. Then there's the OEM Raptor reinforcement plate that looks the best but has less attachment capabilities. Lastly, there's the Mabett/RPM/BuckleUp options that are just knockoffs of the OEM Raptor reinforcement plates.... and I guess those last 3 options come with their own Raptor-like hinges.
For me, I'm not going to be loading washing machines on the back so aesthetics wins out. Now I just need to figure out if I want to stay OEM... hinges are $220/each, plate can be had for $250 on eBay so ~$700. 3rd party seems to be in the $400-500 range so...
Do I want to pay $250 for my reinforcement plate to have "Ford Performance" stamped into it. Hmmm....
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I would wager that there have been zero OEM hinge failures. The only reason I went down the rabbit hole of figuring it out how I could get a better design of attaching a plate to the hinge (to carry a couple of gas cans was the original idea) was why I reached out to Hammerbuilt to inquire about a different plate being made. The reason I wanted to use the Raptor hinges on my Badlands was because they're drilled and tapped for what later became the mounting points for the Hammerbuilt second generation plate. By mounting the plate directly to the hinges, that eliminates some of the potential movement that might happen when loading up a tailgate. Without those threaded holes, you are limited to using the same bolts for the plate mounting as you are the hinge to those weak sauce nut plates. If someone is going to use OEM hinges, then they can use the RTR adapters that allow you to not have to take apart the tailgate from the OEM hinges.
In my humble opinion, if somebody's going to be putting a lot of weight on their tailgate then they should consider a swing out tire carrier on a robust bumper. The problem with the Bronco design is that the attachment points for the hinges on the right where quarter panel/pillar area mount only to thin formed sheet metal. That will be the limiting factor with any body on frame design because obviously one can't mount OEM hinges to anything that's bolted to a frame...hence my eventual switch to a swing out tire carrier. If you're not going to be caring too much weight, it makes the most sense to simply use the OEM hinges with the RTR adapters and the gen 2 Hammerbuilt plate (that's the one designed for Raptor hinges).
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