MountaineerTom
LJ Enthusiast, Retired USAF Weapons Loader
Supporting Member
Ride of the Month Winner
Mine did the same. When you get the top on and connect the rear corners, it will pull down.
Inside-Out Build—2006 LJ
- Thread starter freedom_in_4low
- Start date
I guess I didn't update this thread after my spare tire incident last year.
On what was barely more than a dirt road, I went rather enthusiastically into what looked like an everyday shallow puddle, not realizing the entrance had been dug out by SxS to the point that it was basically vertical... Until my front bumper scraped the bottom. Ended up catching my spare on the way in which trashed my tailgate and even bent the top edges of the tub. So I only carry a spare when wheeling now and it goes inside.
This years Colorado trip includes a 135 mile stretch between fuel stops so I'm gonna carry extra. Since I don't have a spare, the tailgate seems like a good place to carry it. Got a couple of 3 gal rotopax cans and rigging up a mount using the MORryde reinforcement.
These 1.5" x .5" x 1/8" C channels will bridge between the upper and lower spare mount bolts and the upper and lower tire snubber bolts and provide structure for the RX-UP 2-can mount plate to attach to.
I realize there are bolt on options that utilize the spare tire mount but I want them as tucked as possible to minimize load on the tailgate as well as exposure to poor departure angle judgement.
On what was barely more than a dirt road, I went rather enthusiastically into what looked like an everyday shallow puddle, not realizing the entrance had been dug out by SxS to the point that it was basically vertical... Until my front bumper scraped the bottom. Ended up catching my spare on the way in which trashed my tailgate and even bent the top edges of the tub. So I only carry a spare when wheeling now and it goes inside.
This years Colorado trip includes a 135 mile stretch between fuel stops so I'm gonna carry extra. Since I don't have a spare, the tailgate seems like a good place to carry it. Got a couple of 3 gal rotopax cans and rigging up a mount using the MORryde reinforcement.
These 1.5" x .5" x 1/8" C channels will bridge between the upper and lower spare mount bolts and the upper and lower tire snubber bolts and provide structure for the RX-UP 2-can mount plate to attach to.
I realize there are bolt on options that utilize the spare tire mount but I want them as tucked as possible to minimize load on the tailgate as well as exposure to poor departure angle judgement.
As is my custom, I scrambled to get this done around midnight before the morning I had to leave.
This photo was taken seconds before realizing I had to take it back off to get the fasteners in. The bolts that hold the rotopax mounts to the long plate are carriage bolts and they have to point away from the tank.
What makes that tedious is that each of those mounting points to the tailgate has two washers and an oversized nut as spacers to keep from crushing the channel, and with bolts short enough not to hit the inside of the tailgate, it's a fiddly process to get it all back together.
The tailgate shuts like they're not even there and it doesn't rattle or move around. I'm not filling them up until my last fuel stop before hitting the long stretch, but it's 6 gallons so only 36 more pounds, a far cry from the 92lb spare I had there and tucked a lot tighter to the axis of the hinge and latch.
In general I also think the early tailgate is a better design. Not only does it not have the ugly ass vent but the latch cover is metal and bolts on, which helps contain any rattling from the latch mechanism.
This photo was taken seconds before realizing I had to take it back off to get the fasteners in. The bolts that hold the rotopax mounts to the long plate are carriage bolts and they have to point away from the tank.
What makes that tedious is that each of those mounting points to the tailgate has two washers and an oversized nut as spacers to keep from crushing the channel, and with bolts short enough not to hit the inside of the tailgate, it's a fiddly process to get it all back together.
The tailgate shuts like they're not even there and it doesn't rattle or move around. I'm not filling them up until my last fuel stop before hitting the long stretch, but it's 6 gallons so only 36 more pounds, a far cry from the 92lb spare I had there and tucked a lot tighter to the axis of the hinge and latch.
In general I also think the early tailgate is a better design. Not only does it not have the ugly ass vent but the latch cover is metal and bolts on, which helps contain any rattling from the latch mechanism.
Predator.LJ
New Member
Hey, how did you find the fitment of the new soft top? You weren't quite sure it was going to line up prior to the canvas goin on the frame.
Meh. Not bad enough to rise to a warranty return but pretty disappointed. I went wheeling with two other TJs last weekend who had older, not name-brand tops and mine was the worst fitting. I had to push the right window back in the tub channel a couple times and the top likes to work it's way out of the door surround channels if I go on the highway without doors to keep them in. I'm probably gonna put my frameless top back on after I wash the jeep and sell this one.
Predator.LJ
New Member
Sorry to hear about your soft top troubles. It really goes to show the new ones are not the same quality as they used to be.
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