Jeep Wrangler Rear Flag Mount DIY: Quick & Easy Festive Mod

Prepare your Jeep Wrangler JK for a parade or a tailgating party with this simple, inexpensive project.

Whether you are climbing rocks at Moab or roll down Main Street in your local Fourth of July parade, there are all sorts of reasons why Jeep Wrangler owners have flags flying out back. There are a variety of ways to temporarily hang the flag from your front porch on the back of your Jeep, but if you hit a bump or if something hits the flag, they can easily be knocked loose. Fortunately, one of our members put together a great write-up showing how to install a permanent flag mount on the back of your Wrangler without spending much or without making any unattractive modifications to your rig.

Introduction

This DIY write-up on how to add a permanent flag mount to the back of your Jeep Wrangler JK was originally posted to the forum by atomicmecha. Using the standard spare tire mounting arm and an adjustable flag mount that can be purchased at pretty much any department store, home improvement store or hardware store, the OP came up with a simple, inexpensive solution to keep his flag secure in any situation.

“OK, so I got this wild hair up my a$$ and decided it would be much cooler to wave my pirate flag or American flag on my Jeep while off-roading or crusin’ the beaches in the Outer Banks.

First off, I can’t stress enough how bad of an idea it would be to drive down the highway with this. I’ve done a 10 minute trip at 70mph and it alone tore the ends of my flag. So this is for slow driving only!!!!

Alrighty, so with the stock bumper, there isn’t much room for this and still have tailgate unreality along with sturdiness of the mount. Most aftermarket bumpers would be perfect since they are steel and have plenty of flat spots.

With that being said, I used the 3rd brake light pillar as the mount. It’s metal, strong, and works.”

It should be noted that this DIY pertains specifically to a JK Wrangler with a soft top. Some members learned that with the hard top, this does not work, as there isn’t enough space between the spare tire mount and the rear window. Some other members addressed that issue and we will touch on that below.

Installation

As mentioned above, the OP purchased a metal, adjustable flag mount for a house from Home Depot. That piece is intended to bolt to a house with four screws, but after drilling holes in the front-facing portion of the spare tire mount, he was able to bolt the flag mount in a location where it doesn’t rest against the rear window.

He points out that it was necessary to use short screws so that they didn’t go all of the way through the spare tire mount, but once the screws have been tightened into the metal spare tire carrier, it is as snug as it needs to be.

In his introduction, the OP stressed the fact that this flag mount should only be used at lower speeds, as driving for 10 minutes on the highway at 70 miles per hour quickly tore up the flag. Another user pointed out that while the spare tire carrier is strong, driving at high speeds with the extra drag of the flag might not be good for the spare mount, but the OP points out that it is a very strong component.

In any case, once the flag mount is affixed to the spare tire carrier on the back of the Jeep Wrangler, the vehicle is ready to securely carry a flag along the beach, through the woods or in a parade.

Hard Top Solution

Forum member Csciam1 found that the original ideal didn’t work on his hard-top model, as the rear window of the hard top is too close to the spare tire mount. Putting the flag mount there would prevent the carrier from locking into place when the top is in place and the rear window is closed, so he came up with a unique alternative.

Using a pair of trailer hitch receiver adapters and some welding skills, Csciam1 fixed the flag mount to a homemade trailer hitch setup, allowing him to carry the flag in the hitch. The only downside here is that the flag sits a few feet lower, but this is another great alternative that is simple and inexpensive.

While these two options allow JK Wrangler owners to fly a flag securely whether they have the soft or hard top, anyone with another mount setup should head into the forum and share their design with the community.

Join the JK-Forums now!

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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