Yes Jeff, me too... I made mine hit the 6 inch & forgot the 12 degrees... a lot will depend on hight of overall gear too (i.e. size of gear)... The way I saw it, it was important to protect from nose over... but there are many builders that brought the gear WAY back to lighten up the tail... And yes mine would have hit the brackets too, I bent the bottom of the brackets outward slightly... you'll be fine either way is all I was trying to say... Good luck... be safe...