Gearhead Projects, #1

As an avid off-roader, I have a lot of specialized equipment for recovering my truck when my ambitions over-reach my truck's capabilities. For starters, there is the winch mounted on the front. It has a capacity of 12,000 pounds, even though my truck only weighs a little over a third of that. So far, I have yet to actually need the winch to recover myself. It has been used, however, to recover a tourist's stranded SUV at the beach, and to pull my wife's car back to solid ground when she got it stuck in the back yard. It is also frequently used to remove unwanted bushes and fallen trees.

The second-most important recovery tool I have is my Hi-Lift® jack. Mine is the 60-inch X-Treme® version, which comes with accessories to expand its usefulness. I've had mine for six years, spanning four different trucks. Properly maintained, they will last forever. The trouble with it, unfortunately, lies in its ungainly dimensions. It weighs a little over 30 pounds. It's easy enough to just toss it in the bed of the truck when I know I'll need it, but I would prefer to have it with me at all times. To do so, I need it up off of the floor of the truck bed, so it doesn't rob me of usable cargo space.

Just by eyeballing it, the jack appears to be as wide as the top of the wheel well. Mounting it there will satisfy the requirement of having it out of the main cargo area. A solid mounting system is important, to make sure the jack stays put and to discourage theft.

This is the intended mounting position. With the handle facing outboard, the jack can be mounted closer to the wall of the bed. Facing the base of the jack forward ensures that the storage box will still be accessible.

There are numerous options for mounting an off-road jack available online, but be prepared to pay a premium price for them. This handful of hardware cost less than $10.00 at Tractor Supply, and it should be all I need. There are two 1/2"-13 x 4" carriage bolts, two 5/8" fender washers, two 1/2" fender washers, two 1/2" lock washers, four 1/2"-13 hex nuts, two 1/2" x 5/8" steel spacers, and two 1/2"-13 wingnuts.

I begin to lay out the location of the holes that will need to be drilled for the mount. Using soapstone and a speed square, I draw a line four inches from the wall of the bed along the top of the wheel well. Laying the jack along the line, I select the holes in the beam of the jack that I want the bolts to go through and mark the line through them. The further apart, the more supported the length of the jack will be. Too close, and the long end of the jack will vibrate with every bump in the road, eventually tearing the mount out, in the worst case scenario. Setting the jack aside, I use the square to find the center of the marks.

Since my Toyota Tacoma's bed is made of a composite material, a spade-bit drill will do the trick. The holes must be drilled slowly, as I don't want to blow out the bottom side of the bed.

With the holes drilled, I am ready to begin the assembly. The 5/8" fender washer goes on the carriage bolt, and the bolt is inserted through the bottom of the hole. The 1/2" fender washer, lock washer, and a nut go on from the top, tightening the nut until the bolt is secure. The fender washers will spread the load of the weight of the jack, to avoid cracking the composite.

The spacers go on over the first nut, then another nut is tightened down on top of it. This is the completed mounting system; all that's missing is the jack and the wingnuts to hold it tightly to the mount.

The jack is now secure on its mount. If a more secure method of retention is necessary, I can use a flat washer, lock washer, and another nut in place of the wingnuts. If that's not enough, I can find a small locking lug nut and drill it out and tap it with 12"-13 threads. For now, though, the wingnuts will hold the jack securely in place, and my truck is better-prepared for whatever the world can throw at it.