The project starts with these brackets - they're made from 1/8" steel plate and powder coated very nicely. The 8x12 size is just big enough for this application: https://www.rockler.com/heavy-duty-steel-shelf-brackets-black-finish. The next larger size would probably be better, but one leg would have to be trimmed a bit shorter.
The brackets get bolted to the hinges, using the holes in the hinges and nut plates on the inside. Simple nut plates would be pieces of metal that are large enough to cover the hole in the hinge and have a hole in them for a bolt to pass through so a nut can be threaded on; think of this type of nut plate as a big washer to go behind the hole in the hinge. Since it can sometimes be awkward to start the nuts inside the hinge, I used these plates, which accept 5/16 clip nuts. The plate is 1/8" stainless steel with a 1/2" hole for the clip nut to go into.
You will have to drill additional holes in the bracket to have holes in the bracket that line up with the holes in the hinges. Brackets bolted to the hinges:
A jerry can tray gets bolted to the top of the brackets. You'll need to drill a few holes in the bottom of the tray to match the holes in the brackets. You could use a "military style" Blitz jerry can tray, but the consumer ones (i.e. not military surplus) are made from thinner gauge sheet metal so they're not very rigid. I don't recommend using a consumer tray. Real military surplus ones are heavy gauge and quite rigid. Ths is a consumer tray:
I decided to use a heavy-gauge MORryde tray.
A ratchet strap secures the can very well.
The MORryde trays are available in two versions: http://www.partspros.com/8120018.html and
http://www.partspros.com/8120017.html. The low side MORryde tray is made from thicker steel than the high side tray, so for maximum stiffness that's the one to use.
The can clears just fine with the tailgate fully open. The angle of this photo is misleading, there's a lot more clearance than it appears in this photo because the bottom of the can is above the tail light.
It's also a good place to carry an ammo can; this is a 25mm can; the same mount is bolted to my JKU in this photo..
The MORryde JK and TJ hinges have different holes and the spacing of the hinges on the tailgate is different between the two model Jeeps, but I was able to drill the one set of shelf brackets so they fit both Jeeps.
A few caveats - My spare is 32" and you can see that the jerry can tray is pretty close to the spare. For a larger spare you'd have to mount this further to the passenger side. Also, my spare carrier is mounted about an inch to the driver's side, which gives me more room - a long time ago I drilled new holes in the carrier to move it over. Here are two that have been drilled.
The brackets get bolted to the hinges, using the holes in the hinges and nut plates on the inside. Simple nut plates would be pieces of metal that are large enough to cover the hole in the hinge and have a hole in them for a bolt to pass through so a nut can be threaded on; think of this type of nut plate as a big washer to go behind the hole in the hinge. Since it can sometimes be awkward to start the nuts inside the hinge, I used these plates, which accept 5/16 clip nuts. The plate is 1/8" stainless steel with a 1/2" hole for the clip nut to go into.
You will have to drill additional holes in the bracket to have holes in the bracket that line up with the holes in the hinges. Brackets bolted to the hinges:
A jerry can tray gets bolted to the top of the brackets. You'll need to drill a few holes in the bottom of the tray to match the holes in the brackets. You could use a "military style" Blitz jerry can tray, but the consumer ones (i.e. not military surplus) are made from thinner gauge sheet metal so they're not very rigid. I don't recommend using a consumer tray. Real military surplus ones are heavy gauge and quite rigid. Ths is a consumer tray:
I decided to use a heavy-gauge MORryde tray.
A ratchet strap secures the can very well.
The MORryde trays are available in two versions: http://www.partspros.com/8120018.html and
http://www.partspros.com/8120017.html. The low side MORryde tray is made from thicker steel than the high side tray, so for maximum stiffness that's the one to use.
The can clears just fine with the tailgate fully open. The angle of this photo is misleading, there's a lot more clearance than it appears in this photo because the bottom of the can is above the tail light.
It's also a good place to carry an ammo can; this is a 25mm can; the same mount is bolted to my JKU in this photo..
The MORryde JK and TJ hinges have different holes and the spacing of the hinges on the tailgate is different between the two model Jeeps, but I was able to drill the one set of shelf brackets so they fit both Jeeps.
A few caveats - My spare is 32" and you can see that the jerry can tray is pretty close to the spare. For a larger spare you'd have to mount this further to the passenger side. Also, my spare carrier is mounted about an inch to the driver's side, which gives me more room - a long time ago I drilled new holes in the carrier to move it over. Here are two that have been drilled.
