Cool product for gear storage

[orangeTJ]

Here's a really cool idea for gear storage for the adventurer/expedition traveler....

The company, www.springtailsolutions.com makes a rack for TJs/YJ Wranglers as well as the Toyota FJ Cruiser.

This write up documents installation in a Jeep TJ, the racks mount to the tailgate.

Tha rack and bags use the MOLLE/PALS system, like the Smittybilt G.E.A.R. seat covers use for attaching bags and stuff to it.

I exchanged a few emails with them and ended up getting the TJ rack/bag combo on it's way even though the release date isn't for a few more weeks. I love being a product tester/evaluator guru.

The First step was unpack everything and lay it out for a photo shoot.
Hardware bag, rack, and a flashlight holder.
Also included but not pictured yet are the big cargo bag, a small pocket with top flap and a bag for misc doo-dads that fits between the seat and door sill (rocker)




Attention to deal is second to none... sharp corners do not exist ANYWHERE on the rack.






Flashlight holder




Hardware bag. 6 self tapping screws and 4 velcro "dots"
Velcro is used to attach the rack to the tailgate while marking the mounting holes.




Dot attached to the back side to each corner




To mark my desired mounting location, I attached a long strip of masking tape along the top edge of tailgate.




Next I placed a few marks on the tape, then drew a line with a straight edge.
I placed my marks at 1 1/4", 1 1/2" and another (not shown) at 1 3/4" from top edge of tailgate.
I decided on 1 1/4" from the top.




I attached the big cargo bag to give me a better visual reference when choosing my mounting height on the tailgate.

[orangeTJ]

I cut the other half of velcro dots apart, then stuck them face down to the dots on the rack before peeling off the backing paper.






I marked the center of the tailgate - it was 17 3/4".
Then I marked the center of the rack, peeled the backing paper off the dots, then readied the rack for final positioning. I centered the rack on the tailgate, then realized centering it is NOT good.
Pic shows final position, about an inch or more left of center (towards the passenger side).




Had I centered it, the driver's side would have been sitting up high instead of in this recessed area, shown here.




I slipped a piece of tape in behind each mounting hole and stuck it to the tailgate




Then I center punched each mounting hole and drilled the holes using a 1/8" bit. You could use a smaller bit because the screws have a cutting tip on them, but Iwas concerned about breaking a screw with any force required to cut threads in a smaller hole.




This is the bottom of the tailgate.

Inside the tailgate there's a C channel structural rib to strengthen it where the tire bumpers are mounted on the outside, one near the bottom and another near the top.

The two circled areas indicate where the C channel is spot welded to the tailgate. My bottom holes were placed such that they didn't go through where both layers of metal were up against each other, they went through one layer, then there was a gap, then they hit the C Channel. On one bottom hole I broke a drill bit as it hit the second layer and skewed downward since the metal it hit was "angled" and my hole ended up going through at an angle.

Of course even with all my pre-planning, I didn't realize there was a rib inside the tailgate until after I drilled a few holes, and had trouble with one of the bottom holes.

While doing this write-up and looking at all the spot welds and hole locations, I see that ideally I should have gone lower or higher with my rack mounting position.




This is the top. The two black dots are my holes with a daub of caulking in them to seal up around the hole and prevent corrosion of the bare metal on the tailgate (the holes). You can see the spot welds here also.
If you went higher with the rack, you'd hit the sweet spot and go through both layers of metal on all 6 mounting holes.




Lesson learned.... place a small piece of electrical tape on the back side of each side mounting hole, then poke the screw through before attaching the rack to the tailgate. Mount it using the two side crews first.
This pic shows a top mount hole and one side mount hole. Notice that you can access the top mount hole and get the screw in it from the front, but the side screw needs to be poked through first, from inside the rack, BEFORE you you position it up against the tailgate, then you can access it through the hole with a screw driver.
Putting a piece of tape in place helps to hold the screw in the hole as you maneuver the rack in to position and start to secure the two side screws.

As always, don't tighten any screw until they are all in place.

The bottom and top screws are easily access from the front of the rack and don't require the tape technique I just described.




Another view of the top and side screw locations

[orangeTJ]

Once the screws were in place and secured, I mounted up the bags. There's endless combinations to the way bags can be mounted, because so many sizes of bags and pouches are available. The next few photos aren't the greatest because it was dusk when I took them and used the flash on the digicam. I will get a few more photos today since it's sunny out

[orangeTJ]

Once the screws were in place and secured, I mounted up the bags. There's endless combinations to the way bags can be mounted, because so many sizes of bags and pouches are available. The next few photos aren't the greatest because it was dusk when I took them and used the flash on the digicam.

[orangeTJ]

Here's another pic that has better lighting.



I played around with various combinations of the bags and stuff.

With the flashlight this way, it would make a nice area light for setting up a tent after dark.

[weezerbot]

Congrats Orange! You are one lucky duck!

We have had this in our FJ since November and it totally rocks!


Although since installing the fridge I've had to modify the bags a bit. I purchased new smaller ones from Maxpedition and moved the others to different spaces in the truck.




I'm still waiting on one more pack and a knife sheath mount to put on and thats about all we will fit back there. We probably could have gone with one from the Jeeps, but it wasn't out yet and hindsight is 20/20. Overall I'm very happy with this product, the install wasn't bad and Doc is a great person to do business with!

For those of you going to Sedonafest, Springtail is a sponsor and will be giving one of these away for either the FJ or Jeep!

[orangeTJ]

I saw it when someone liked to it on another forum about 2 weeks ago and the posted and said "my friend who owns an FJ has one of these".

I saw it and said "I HAVE to have one of these..."

My usage plans have changed a bit with my Jeep, I'm becoming more interested in Adventure travel/camping with it instead of "beat yourself to death running gnarly trails", so finding places to stow gear is becoming more important to me.

[TheRoadie]

Not knowing what the back of the bags look like, how do they attach to the rack? Do you have to thread back straps through the holes and dedicate the bag to that location, or are they relatively easy to move or swap out?

[Lynn]

Originally Posted by TheRoadie

Not knowing what the back of the bags look like, how do they attach to the rack? Do you have to thread back straps through the holes and dedicate the bag to that location, or are they relatively easy to move or swap out?

Unless I'm mistaken, they use standard MOLLE attachment. MOLLE is a replacement for the old ALICE web gear used by the US Military for years.

Basically they have loops of webbing on the back, and are held in place by MOLLE clips.

Here's the Wiki definition.

[The BN Guy]

Very nice. I'd like to do something like that in my Frontier or in Handbrakes' Escape.