Land Rover ideas for Jeeps
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
One thing that I don't like on the Jeeps and all new vehicles in general is the fact that they center the spare. Granted, most folks don't need anything else but the spare there, while I would love to have the tire offset so that I could carry a regular 5 gallon JerryCan. I know that there are mounts out there that allow you to carry a narrow plastic rotopax next to the tire, but I'd rather be able to fit a metal can.
Even the aftermarket carriers center the tire - I believe due to the fact that they want to center the weight in order not to have the vehicle lean to one side. My answer to that is that if the jerry Can is always going to be on, the weight will be more or less centered - or at least not any more offset then if I had a centered tire and a rotopax off to one side.
I have the MorRyde hinges and already figured out how I could build things out to stiffen up the gate and move the mount as well.
Even the aftermarket carriers center the tire - I believe due to the fact that they want to center the weight in order not to have the vehicle lean to one side. My answer to that is that if the jerry Can is always going to be on, the weight will be more or less centered - or at least not any more offset then if I had a centered tire and a rotopax off to one side.
I have the MorRyde hinges and already figured out how I could build things out to stiffen up the gate and move the mount as well.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Here are two ways I've done it on a JK with MORryde hinges without moving the spare.
The high mount is also a good way to carry propane for the stove.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
In all my years in the Jeep world, that's the first time I've heard of the left-right distribution of the weight added by a single jerry can being a concern. I'm not saying that the concern is wrong, it's just the first time I've heard it.I have seen those and the issue that I have there is that the weight is 100% offset to one side. by moving the tire, the weight gets spread onto both sides....
Might end up being lazy though and just pickup your carrier
One solution to the left-right distribution of weight is this:
The photo shows my LJ with a spare carrier mounted jerry can crossing the Animas River near Silverton, Colorado. The same mount also works on the JK and JL.
When it comes to weight distribution, I most often hear about front-back weight distribution issues. Adding a heavy spare, a full jerry can, a fridge/kitchen and a roof top tent biases the weight towards the rear. Many people have to improve their suspension to handle the rear-biased weight of an overland-equipped Wrangler (I added AirLift air bags to my rear suspension to handle my overlanding configuration).
One thing I do to help with weight distribution is carry extra fuel on side mounts just behind the front wheels. When carrying two full jerry cans this way, about 100 pounds is moved forward and that relieves some of the weight on the rear suspension. In this photo we're playing in the cinder fields at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona. The side mounts support both jerry cans and Rotopax and I've got one of each because two days after this photo was taken MORryde was borrowing my JKU for their booth at Overland West and they wanted to show both types of container.
Of course there's no "right" place to carry extra fuel on a Jeep, and some people say there's no "safe" place either, and no place for carrying extra fuel is perfect, so all of this is a mostly a matter of personal preference.
There are issues with left right distribution. A lot of folks have encountered a one side lean in their JK's and that has been attributed to the fuel tank - whether that's accurate theory or just a guesstimate, that's another issue.
I looked at the forward side mounted options and not sure if I like them that close to the front doors
I looked at the forward side mounted options and not sure if I like them that close to the front doors
Did you put a stop there to prevent the gate from opening wider? Or is it because you have a smaller tire? (what's the size of that tire?). I test fitted with the 255 75 17 and the nato can would have crushed the light when the gate was open
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I have the same size tires as you do.
MORryde provides a hinge stop with their tailgate reinforcement kit that limits tailgate opening to roughly 90 degrees. At that angle there's enough room for a jerry can. This illustration is from the MORryde instructions:
The stop is not included with the hinges, it's only included with the reinforcement kit. But the same thing can be done with one 10-cent washer, I did these photos on my salt-encrusted JKU one winter to demonstrate.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
Using the space under the roof:
It attaches easily - the Defender hardtop roof bolts to the side panels and this rack uses those same bolts.
A few photos from the company's web site:
The company is Mobile Storage Systems:
I'm wondering how the company expects you to secure cargo stored on the shelf - it doesn't appear to have any tie-down points or other provision for securing cargo.
My solution to providing overhead storage is the Overhead/Swing Down Molle panel (shown here in my son's 2dr):
I've got these in my JKU and my LJ.
It attaches easily - the Defender hardtop roof bolts to the side panels and this rack uses those same bolts.
A few photos from the company's web site:
The company is Mobile Storage Systems:
I'm wondering how the company expects you to secure cargo stored on the shelf - it doesn't appear to have any tie-down points or other provision for securing cargo.
My solution to providing overhead storage is the Overhead/Swing Down Molle panel (shown here in my son's 2dr):
I've got these in my JKU and my LJ.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Since there's nothing you can buy that requires the stop, there's no reason for MORryde to provide a stop with every set of hinges sold. 10,000 stops is a lot of stops that wouldn't be needed. You can blame me if you want, I designed the hinges and I designed the stop and my advice to MORryde was that the stop did not have to be included with every pair of hinges. I told them that if they ever offered an add-on product for the hinges (like a jerry can carrier) then they should include the stop with that product, because the stop wouldn't be needed until a customer bought and installed that add-on product.
I hear you - it's sad to see extra parts in some setups that end up being thrown away because they're not needed. When I originally bought it though, I recall reading that there is a stop, but it was not very clear that the stop wasn't included if you bought just the hinges.... I wouldn't have minded to pay a few bucks extra to have it added. Anyways... it's been years and I didn't need it till now, though I always have been careful so that when the gate was opening on a slope it wouldn't swing out too hard and far out. That was the reason for needing the hinges in the first place - the factory one overtraveled pulling the stop out and damaging the gate in the process. Wasn't too happy as the dealership too nearly 2 weeks to fix something that was a "shortcoming" with a stock tire causing it to overswing....
jscherb
Expedition Leader
There is a well known problem with some JK Wranglers in which the tailgate retaining strap over extends and comes out of its tension mechanism. Jeep has issued Technical Service Bulletin TSB #23-022-14 Rev A, dated October 23, 2014 regarding this issue. One of things that TSB calls for is replacing the hinges with a later revision. And a revision to that original TSB was issued on 9/5/2015. I don't have a copy of the later TSB but I believe it calls for the hinges to be replaced with an even later revision of the hinges.
Jeep has issued several revisions to the tailgate hinges over the years to try to compensate for the poor tailgate retaining strap rod design. The black hinge in the foreground is an early hinge, the red one is a later version, you can see how the early hinge opens further than the later version. There are even later versions than the red one, because the problem can still happen with the red one (from a '13). The TSB calls for installing updated hinges as part of the fix.
The TSB is entitled "TAILGATE RETAINING STRAP OVER EXTENDS AND BREAKS", but in fact the strap isn't broken. I posted a video in 2016 showing how the strap can be popped back into place.
The screwdriver is used to keep the stay rod centered in the opening, without it the rod will hit the nylon side guides in the opening, which will prevent the rod from going in. It takes a pretty good amount of force with the screwdriver to keep the rod centered while you're gently but firmly closing the tailgate. Don't rush closing the tailgate, when the rod is properly centered and there's enough force from the tailgate, the rod will pop back into place.
Even though the strap is easy to pop back in place, it'll pop out again unless the hinges are updated.
The MORryde hinges are designed to open just far enough to prevent the retaining strap from pulling out. The reason for the stop is that when the hinges are installed with the MORryde tailgate reinforcement, because the reinforcement is sandwiched between the hinge and the body the tailgate can pull the strap just a bit further and that can cause it to pull out. For that reason the stop is only included with the tailgate reinforcement.
