This is the best ting I can come up with in paint. I'm still contemplating wether or not to get one.

 

why put one back there?

 

no...... that would look silly

 

i say no. unless you really want to.

 

I need a better place to mount my back up lights. I would mount them on the bumper, but I want something up higher. Also it would be a great place for my hi-lift.

 

ew no. i wouldnt. just get a bed bar, or a nice rear bumper. you should be able to mount that hi-lift in the bed.

 

mount them on your roll bar support.

 

Where in the bed? the only place I have space to mount it is in the bottom, the thing's 4' long. I'm actually thinking about mounting it on top of the two supports for the roll bar( what he said^). I just need to get someone to weld me some mounts. My buddy said I should just weld it on sideways for when I roll my truck. I actually got a kick out of it!

Bed bar???

 

Easy, just take a peice of decent tubing and attach it somewhere just above bed height on your rollbar and put the lights there. Trust me, the 4runner rollbar isnt a good idea, looks like ick.

Still you want be getting the light you want unless you mount he lights to the rear bumper or underit.

 

not the bed. the supports(tubing) that meet the roll bar. one on each side ought to do it. i am mounting mine either on the bumper or in the bumper.

 

I would put them on your rear bumper, on the top right under the tail lights. Mine fit perfect in there

AS for the hi-lift... I would (if you can) weld some studs on your roll bar on the slanted pipe. Eventually im doing the same.

 

if you ever need to haul a couch or something of that nature it will be a pain. Not to mention it really would look weird with both on the truck.

 

bolt some seats in the back and put the roll bar on

 

well if your going to do it i guess your the first so i say pop that cherry buddy and have someone weld in some bars that go from the rear roll bar to the front bar might look a little better

 

The last pair of reverse lights I had were mounted below the taillights, and I didn't really like them there because when my tailgate's down I use that portion of the bumper to help me get up there!

Instead of welding a bar that goes across, I could weld light tabs on the supports(I already figured it would be my best bet). I have also thought about mounting them on the rear corners of the bed, but I can see that being a very bad idea very quickly. I figured I would mount the hi-lift on top of the two supports versus one side, so I could have easy access from both sides of the truck.

I don't think I'm gonna be hauling a couch anytime soon, but I guess you never know!

As for the seats in the bed....

I was thinking about doing that when I had my camper shell on, but the problem was that the extra truck bench seat was too tall, wide, and I couldn't even squeeze my way in there. But face them sideways and it's no big deal. That is actually what sparked the idea of the runner roll bar in the first place to tell you the truth, they gotta have protection too! If I ever get this thing to be a respectable trail rig, I figured I would do something like that anyway. (Of course have seatbelts in the back also)

As for welding the bars together, I figured if I ever found anybody that would do an exo cage for me for a decent price, that would be underway as well.

All in all I'm leaning further towards not putting one in, but I'm still thinking about it.

 

I have seats in the back of my truck. Belts and all. I got lucky and found 4 seats and complete 4 point harness' sitting abandoned on the beach in Pismo a couple years back. I love them! Althought they do limit the ability to haul much. And I've had a passing thought of adding a Runner bar too. But I'd rather build something that looks better, functions more and ties the entire bed together in a "cage" as well as going the full length of the bed. Possibly also acting as a canvas camper frame.

And on the mounting of the hi-lift. I punched a couple holes in the inner side of the bed and stuck a couple studs throught to mount my Hi-Lift on. The first mod to my truck. I love it, I also use it to mount my Shovel and the shovel has a hole in the head allowing me to lock it to the mount. Thus keeping either from being stolen.

Infact, they are the only tools that didn't get stripped out of my truck when it was stolen last year.

I also mounted my Back Up light in the center of the Roll bar, between my KC's. It's just a cheap Walmart "Utility Light" but it's bright as heck and really lights up the world behind me.

 

Just build a custom roll bar that goes to the back of the bed, in the general shape of a camper shell. Plenty of places to mount your lights, or a jack, or a back seat. Whatever. No need to go straight to EXO with this thing.

 

if you have/planning on seats back there then it would be a good idea, but otherwise its kinda funky looking imo.

 

Grant- Could you post a picture or two of the studs w/o the jack and shovel mounted? I'd appreciate it.

Yodaforce- I have been wanting to do an exo anyway, that's why I "jumped" to it. Where I wheel I have to be EXTRA careful not to scrub too hard against trees and such, which I wouldn't really need a full exo, just something along the fenders, but if I put a seat in the back, I might as well do a full exo when I have it done. -IF- I have it done.

 

Ya, I'll get that for you tomorrow or Saturday if I can. It's dark and raining here right now.
What I did was take a couple 1/2" (I believe their 1/2") carriage bolts, about 6 inches long, and 2 pieces of ply-wood. About 12" across (I used pieces withe the corners rounded) and stuck the bolt through the wood and "seated" them with a hammer, before installing them in the hole in the bed side. Doing so distributes the weight more evenly along the side of the bed and doesn't buckle the sheetmetal. I put a nut on the other side of the bed, to hold them in place even if the jack is not installed. I also cut a couple pieces of old tire to make "bumper" to support the jack off the side of the bed a little. I'll post pics of the "rings" I made to hold the shovel and lock the jack on to the truck. It works out slick. My biggest word of caution is, if you have a roll bar, make sure you mount it high enough that it doesn't interfer with the bar. Like I said. I'll get you some pics soon.