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Bike rack Plan A

mattymajors

CJ-8 Member
City
Spring Creek
State
NV
Got my bike rack in this evening. It’s a little too wobbly. I may be looking for a solid plan b...2F012111-D580-4471-A33A-BDA9D4922789.jpg
 

barrys

Scrambler Junkie
Lifetime Member
City
East Norriton
State
PA
Make a rear mount for the long piece anchoring to the rollbar or the roll bar mounting bolts in the back( assuming you can get two of them out).
 

walkerhoundvm

Just trying to stay upright
Lifetime Member
City
Cave Creek
State
AZ
A long time ago I took some pretty simple fork mounts and mounted them to my roll bar using 3" circular clamps.
 

bigwalton

Alaskan Postal nutjob
FORUM MANAGER
SOA Member
City
Dexter
State
MI
A long time ago I took some pretty simple fork mounts and mounted them to my roll bar using 3" circular clamps.

I did something like this on an old Ford Ranger, just a pair of fork mounts on a 2x4 that had 1x1s bolted to the ends that I dropped into the stake pockets. Didn't need anything on the back wheel, the fork mounts were rock solid, even on just a 2x4.

I could totally see doing something to mount them to the back side of the top bar of the roll bar. Maybe wrap the roll bar in rubber, figure out a way to hose clamp it to the bar, lock the bike in and go. Maybe you could use a cable lock around the angled rear rollbar tubes.

I'm pretty sure it would move the bike far enough forward to close the tailgate too because you'd gain some angle and lose the radius of the front wheel.
 

joshvt

Scrambler Enthusiast
Lifetime Member
City
charlotte
State
nc
I am trying to rig up something similar. Anyone riding a 29er? I have gotten as far as purchasing the Thule fork mount and then realized it was going to be a very tight fit for my 29er. I want 2 bikes mounted with tailgate closed and the half cab on. I messed around with it a few weeks ago and the only way I could figure it might work without my bar ends hitting the rear glass when top is on is if I drilled the bulkhead for the fork mount- which I don’t want to do. (My son’s 26” wheel mtb appears it will fit much easier). Now that the mountain biking and Jeep weather is finally here, I plan to figure out a solution.
 

walkerhoundvm

Just trying to stay upright
Lifetime Member
City
Cave Creek
State
AZ
Yep - mine's an xl specialized 29er. No problem with the hose clamps/fork mount on the roll bar.
 

FLCJ8

Legacy Registered User
City
Palm Bay
State
FL
I am trying to rig up something similar. Anyone riding a 29er? I have gotten as far as purchasing the Thule fork mount and then realized it was going to be a very tight fit for my 29er. I want 2 bikes mounted with tailgate closed and the half cab on. I messed around with it a few weeks ago and the only way I could figure it might work without my bar ends hitting the rear glass when top is on is if I drilled the bulkhead for the fork mount- which I don’t want to do. (My son’s 26” wheel mtb appears it will fit much easier). Now that the mountain biking and Jeep weather is finally here, I plan to figure out a solution.
Does your rollbar have the upturned tabs at the base of the front pad mounts?
If so, I fabbed up a bracket - for a storage box - that runs across the front of the bed attached to the tabs that is easily removed. Maybe you could do something similar for the bracket.

Could the 29" be installed with the back wheel in the rack and the front wheel turned sideways, if needed, to close the tailgate?
Seems like it would be more stable with the solid rear wheel in the mount. :shrug:
 

YJ-8

Basic User
City
Austin
State
TX
Get a 2" receiver hitch, and a 1-Up rack and be done with it.
Then if you must have your bike in the bed, use parts off the 1-up rack to make it work.

I dont think you will ever get 1 (or 2) 29ers in a Jeep bed with the tailgate shut unless you turn the front wheel, and even then...
You need a 6' bed.

YJ-8
 

bigwalton

Alaskan Postal nutjob
FORUM MANAGER
SOA Member
City
Dexter
State
MI
Get a 2" receiver hitch, and a 1-Up rack and be done with it.
Then if you must have your bike in the bed, use parts off the 1-up rack to make it work.

I dont think you will ever get 1 (or 2) 29ers in a Jeep bed with the tailgate shut unless you turn the front wheel, and even then...
You need a 6' bed.

YJ-8

Pull front wheels. Done. I hate dealing with hitch racks. I say go for the rollbar mount. :cheers:
 

gr8dain

Old and Slow
BENEFACTOR
Gold Member
Lifetime Member
SOA Member
City
Ashburn
State
VA
Pull front wheels. Done. I hate dealing with hitch racks. I say go for the rollbar mount. :cheers:

I have a hitch rack that I used on a different vehicle. Tried it on the Scrambler, but the rack does not stick out past the spare, so to use it, I would need to remove the spare or get an extention for the hitch receiver, which would make it floppy. I don't like either option. I am all for seeing a rig for the rollbar or bed somehow.
 

walkerhoundvm

Just trying to stay upright
Lifetime Member
City
Cave Creek
State
AZ
This absolutely works. And it's cheap as heck. Here are fork mounts similar to the ones I used.
 

joshvt

Scrambler Enthusiast
Lifetime Member
City
charlotte
State
nc
Pull front wheels. Done. I hate dealing with hitch racks. I say go for the rollbar mount.

Yes, fork mount is what I want to do. This was my plan all along... unfortunately, even with the fork mount held tight against the bulkhead I couldn't achieve a location where my bar ends wouldn't hit the back window, my back wheel was about 3/4" too far back for the tailgate to close. It might work with the top on if i loosen and rotate the bar ends. Even without bar ends, it is going to be a very tight fit if it works. Most of the time I am hauling bikes the top is off so I may just have to accept that. I plan to mess with it more this week and will report back.
 

walkerhoundvm

Just trying to stay upright
Lifetime Member
City
Cave Creek
State
AZ
Yes, fork mount is what I want to do. This was my plan all along... unfortunately, even with the fork mount held tight against the bulkhead I couldn't achieve a location where my bar ends wouldn't hit the back window, my back wheel was about 3/4" too far back for the tailgate to close. It might work with the top on if i loosen and rotate the bar ends. Even without bar ends, it is going to be a very tight fit if it works. Most of the time I am hauling bikes the top is off so I may just have to accept that. I plan to mess with it more this week and will report back.

On the roll bar.
 

joshvt

Scrambler Enthusiast
Lifetime Member
City
charlotte
State
nc
That's plan B. I'd rather not add the height. I have to pull through a carport on the side of our house to get to my garage. Would also be nice to pull into the garage w/ bikes loaded. Should have mentioned that goal.
 

joshvt

Scrambler Enthusiast
Lifetime Member
City
charlotte
State
nc
Finally got my rack figured out. KC light mounts for a 3” roll bar clamped just above the tub>A length of perforated angle> Rocky Mounts bolt on track> Rocky Mounts Lo rider fork mounts.

My bike fits Inside the tailgate and isn’t too high above the roll bar. 1/2 cab top is off for the summer, but I am cautiously optimistic I will be able to haul bikes w top on.

I am happy w the low profile look if this- willl leave it in all the time. Perforated angle also gives me points to attach hooks for light tieoffs or bags

More pics than you probably care for





8CB38CD8-4B60-47D0-8816-FE64774A1941.jpegBFD01B4E-E977-41AA-883A-04D6F8A8E1FF.jpeg59E6302B-B0D0-4E25-B5B0-8A580851EC2E.jpegAED1F9F8-3E8C-43A4-A969-24569E48B32D.jpeg391A7A52-4EE4-45B0-A4A0-39ABC8E0EFBD.jpegFF5D323D-76AC-49CB-A149-7F552CD9BADC.jpeg1EECFDEC-D811-4A45-B7AC-427BFB0C8EEE.jpeg
 
Last edited:

CJ7Pilot

18436572
BENEFACTOR
Gold Member
Lifetime Member
SOA Member
City
Yuba City
State
CA
That turned out well. Nice setup! :thumbsup:
 

cdvcj8

It's Not My Scrambler
Lifetime Member
City
West Friendship
State
MD
Very cool. We use a hitch mounted rack between the Scrambler and the Subaru, but this is very clean and sharp. Especially for long trips it would be nice not to have that hanging off the back.

Chris V.
 
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