Brandon Fuller

H2 Shovel and Hi-Lift Mounts for a GOBI Stealth Rack

Many people buy cars and just drive them. Although when people buy trucks, something different happens. They accessorize them — hitches, winches, toolboxes, etc. Driving the truck almost becomes a secondary purpose. I wonder if my Dad influenced me with his old beast.

Anyway, I really wanted to get some gear on the truck to help out when you (or somebody you are with) gets into something rough. Because I never get stuck. So I decided to mount an axe/shovel and Hi-Lift jack on my rack. GOBI, the company that makes my rack, only makes the mounts for their full-size rack. I have the Stealth rack which allows me to still fit the truck in the garage. I talked with GOBI several times and they finally said they would work on it but I still haven’t seen anything. They may eventually release something but I have a feeling my solution ends up a whole lot cheaper and just as rugged.

I was chatting with Dave at BlueHummer and he mentioned that he had some rubber mounts that would work great for this and they are only $10 a pair. So I bought 3 pairs of mounts and a Hi-Lift jack from Dave and decided to give it a shot.

Now, with the long Labor Day weekend here, it was time to do the mount. Originally, I was going to use some conduit clamps and go around the bars but later noticed that I could remove and re-use the a few of the places were the tie downs are mounted in. So 3 trips back and forth to the hardware store later, I was all done. Here is what I did.

Here is the Hi-Lift mounted. The jack is so tall it is a little awkward to handle but you get the hang of it. 3 bolts protrude out inside of the rubber grips. All you have to do is put the jack up there and slide the jack onto the 3 bolts. Then you clamp the rubber grip around the jack to hold it in place. I added a wing nut on each for extra protection.

For each rubber mount, I used a 3/8” hex bolt that was 5” in length. The holes in the mounts and included plastic washers are very small so you have to drill them out so that the bolt fits through. Be sure sure to get bolts that are threaded the entire length of the bolt. This was the hardest thing for me to find. Ace Hardware ended up with the best selection. So I put the bolt through a washer, then through the rack. I put another washer on the outside and then secured it with a lock nut. Now you have a big bolt sticking out of your rack. Then the challenge was to get the rack to hang far enough out that it didn’t rub on the side of the truck. I originally tried with 2.5” bolts and the jack hit the truck. So to get the space I bought a 2.5” metal spacer (metal tube) and put that on the bolt. Followed by a washer, the rubber mount, the plastic washer that comes with the mount, and then another lock nut.

Here is a closeup without the jack in place. You slide the bolt through one of slots in the Hi-Lift to hold the jack.

The shovel mount was far less tricky. Unfortunately, the mount only fits either the axe or the shovel and not both. So I guess I will stick with the shovel for now. I bought this nice fiberglass Razorback shovel with red handle to match the red jack. How nice!

For this mount, I used 1.5” hex bolts. This time the head of the bolt goes toward the outside of the truck. Put the bolt through the plastic washer, the rubber mount, the rack, a washer and finish with another lock nut.

At the end of the day, I spent $30 in rubber mounts and about $10 in hardware and I have a great rack mount set. That was far less than I expected to spend. I had visions of custom fabricated metal racks. The only downside to this approach so far is that the truck does not fit in the garage with the jack or shovel on. The shovel is very close though. The jack misses by about 1 inch. My wife says this is good because now I will not look like a dork driving around with a shovel on my truck. Whatever. Women do not understand.