I saw a Lexus SUV the other day that had the rear hatch swing out to the pass side. The hatch was constructed just like the xB with a metal frame behind the glass. Could the hinges be made to fit an xB or use different ones from another vehicle. I hate banging my head on it everytime it's open.

 

That would be a very sweet mod...I hate crouching down to fit underneath the thing, I always feel foolish and think that everyone is looking at me lol

 

That sounds like a nice mod. I was fine with the height up until I lowered my box.

 

I've seen some pictures somewhere of an xb with a side open door. I have no idea where.

 

I saw those photos as well, now where was that at....I think they are in Oklahoma or something.

 

anything can be done with proper funding. how much you got?

i remember a few posts from about a year ago where there was a discussion of the cost involved, and the genreal consensus was that it was not worth it.

 

i think its the the dude with the pink top. hes got the swing door. ill try to find it.

 

yeh its the one with the pink top, hes on sounddomain

 

Yeah he is one of my friends on MYSPACE his name is Chris

 

yup there ya go homie.

 

Seems to me you'd want it on the driver's side, so you could load things from the curb side without having to go around the door. (But yeah, I get that practicality isn't the main idea here...)

Here's a mod for ya: bag it, and have the rear go up when you open the hatch so you won't bang your head.

 

It would have to open that way (swing toward pass. side) because the car will always lean that way when parked at a curb. Otherwise it would swing closed all the time.
I'm gonna check one of the possible donor vehicles at a Lexus dealer and if possible just order the hinges and latch system if it looks feasible. This would be so much nicer than the stock way. Thanks for the pics! Is he on here. Maybe he has up close pics of the hatch and hinges.

 

Wouldn't stronger shocks solve the problem of the hatch closing itself? Gsnorgathon has a very valid point. I worked at a lawn and garden store and hated loading 50lb bags of soil into vehicles that had the doors that opened to the passenger side.

 

I was thinking along the lines of a free swinging hatch like on my wifes Jeep Wrangler. Now I might mod it with a strut of some sort so it doesn't just swing freely. The ideas for mods just never end!

 

the hatch is heavy, i would imagine you would have to brace the frame somehow or it might buckle.

 

That is the only way it will swing because the wiring harness is running on that side unless you want to rerun all those wires to the other side.

 

Given all the work entailed in adding hinges on the side for the hatch, I'd think re-wiring it wouldn't be such a big deal. Adding springs or a damper to hold the hatch open might be tricky. It all depends on how useful you want the hatch to be.

 

Looks cool!

 

anybody have anymore pictures of that xb? i think it looks cool with the hatch like that

 

he is on cardomain or if you click on my myspace link he is on my top friends list.