Contributor III
Currently I'm carrying a foldable shovel, (Think entrenching tool) and a medium handle Estwing hatchet. Can't put an external rack on my LJ because it won't fit in the garage if I do. The drawback to 4.5" long arm lift kit, but I'm not complaining :)
Wow. Full weight? I would not have guessed that just by looking at them in the picture. That's pretty impressive. Dont get me wrong, I'm not able to just throw money at all of my solutions and have been known to come up with a few "off the cuff." Obviously this is more substantial than met my eye.
No worries at all. They don’t look very sturdy in the pic so I totally understand. I put some gasket rubber under the actual clamps to keep them from rubbing my rack when I tightened them down. Not sure if that is why they don’t spin on the rack or if it’s just from the actual pressure. But yeah, they are pretty dang solid. My original idea was just to use 1” pipe clamps/hose clamps which would probably also have worked. The conduit hangers just give a little more clearance off the side.
Just a guess, but I'm thinking sandwiching the rubber between the bar and the clamp gives it enough resistance for it not to move
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Explorer I
I agree with a lot of your points here. I really toiled with keeping my shovel and axe on the outside of the jeep. I have a few axes that are very special to me and I would probably never mount them on the rack of the jeep just because I dont want them exposed. I do take my shovel and axe off the rack when not using it.Hey Mark - thanks for another nicely done video on an interesting topic.
I have a hard time keeping my Gransförs Bruk axes or hatchet on the outside of my van or trailer. I like them too much, really, and exposing high quality steel to the elements regularly just increases the amount of time necessary to keep them in the shape I prefer. Additionally, time and hassle spent mounting and unmounting from rack brackets, as you allude to in your vid, is something I avoid.
My axes and hatchet have a dedicated spot inside my van. Though I am fixing a spot to mount my Forest ax inside the rear door, where it will be handy all the time. My mid-size kind of lives strapped to my go-pack for bushcraft and canoe trips. The hatchet doesn't get used anywhere near as much and is kept with assorted Moraknivs inside my right rear door.
Shovels: I often keep my long-handled shovel, especially while out backcountry and camping, exposed to the weather and simply ball-bungeed to the uprights for my trailer rack. Especially if it's gotten dirty. I regularly clean it with spray from my faucet or shower hose and then oil it lightly. When not camping or likely to be needed as much, it lives on top of my packing but under the rolling tonneau cover on my trailer, and occasionally on the floor alongside my bike in the van.
Shovel most always lives where it is on the right in the image below.
View attachment 144647
When I had a small homestead, I made a little lined sandpit I'd put a bit of used motor oil in, just for cleaning/oiling tools. I'd occasionally run my shovels, hoes and pick-axes etc through the sand. Cleaned rust and oiled 'em all up at the same time. A nice trick I learned from an old farmer in Kentucky. He used to dip his dogs in a 55 gal drum of used motor oil, too, to rid them of mange. I did not adopt that use
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Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE
Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.roaddude.com
Explorer I
I have carried a few different variations of the army shovel. They are cool. A TJ has such little space to being with that I need a specific spot for every little thing in order to stay organized.
Explorer I
Yea, the hardware on this thing is very heavy! It does make me feel good knowing that the shovel and axe are not going to fall off and hurt someone on the highway. But, there are a few downsides with accessing the axe specifically. It is expensive and that is why for years I carried the axe and shovel inside. I looked for 8 months for a good solution to carrying these tools. I had bought one other mount before hand but when I went to install it and saw how poorly constructed it was, I just had to return it.
Member III
This I kind of like!
Member III
I looked at some different kinds of clamps, fire extinguisher clamps for example, and various Velcro straps and really didn't find anything that I felt was tight enough. That was my problem with the Quik-Fists. They just weren't that tight at that end of each tool.
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