Slee rear bumper install help - pass through rear crossmember

[elemenohpee]

I ran into an issue when installing a Slee rear bumper on my 2003 Land Cruiser. I have the rare pass through hitch crossmember that is more commonly found on lx's. I think the frame must also be a bit different where the crossmember connects because the Slee instructions make zero sense.

Basically I'm stuck on this step. There's supposed to be a bolt through the side of the frame on both sides (red arrow), but there's no way to access the other side to tighten it.

Any ideas on how to get these bolts on? The only thing left I can think of is to drill out the other side of the frame. I've tried every socket extension and swivel combination I have with no luck. Curious how other people have handled this.

 

[MechE30]

I’m not sure but Slee is very helpful, give them a call!

 

[elemenohpee]

Yeah I've already been exchanging some emails with Slee. They've acknowledged that these bolts won't fit and their recommendation is to just not install them.

That's now a total of 6 bolts that won't fit though... I can't help but think that surely all these bolts were added for a purpose. I'm also running a bit of extra weight on my swing out and any additional strength would be helpful. Luckily I don't plan to tow with this though.

Anyways if anyone has a solution that worked for them, I'd love to know.

 

[sleeoffroad]

The rear cross member bolts won't line up. However there is something weird with your truck. The area circled is normally open. Is that dirt compacted or what. Also is that a US based truck.

 

[elemenohpee]

Yeah it's a US truck with no frame repairs/modifications as far as I can tell.

I should have taken some better photos after I cleaned off all that dirt. Here's a photo I found online that looks exactly the same though. There's no openings on the top or bottom. This appears to be pretty standard for frames with the pass through hitch. I've been trying to dig up as many frame photos as I can find to compare and they all look just like this.

And here's the "best" photo I have of mine without all the dirt.