I went to Walmart and bought a short, aluminum ladder that I carry with me. It is the kind with a handle that goes up above the steps (that's not the exact one pictured below). Also, the MBRP rack makes great handles to grab onto when climbing up onto the rear tires. I use the rock rail as the first step. Just yesterday, my son and I loaded the tires from his pick-up onto it so we could haul them to a shop to be swapped (while we worked on his truck's brakes). Wouldn't want to do that with 35s, but it was pretty straightforward with his little 235s, LOL.



The two gray cases that you see on top: I put those up there by myself without too much trouble using that ladder.





Another advantage for having a ladder: Sometimes when shooting a picture I want to be just a little bit higher. It really does help sometimes to improve an image.

 

Any chance you have build plans / dimensions for this marvelous shelf/drawer system? I have been planning on making one of these this summer.

 

Mark, How long have you been running the 35 Duratracs? I am on 33's now, but my 35's will be in this week.

 

I put the light bar up there because I typically have a rtt and it's not taller than the tent. I have thought of mounting it under the rack but I think It'll be nearly impossible to remove the freedom panels if it's there. There are spot light brackets and a universal mounting bracket for the rack but I prefer the easier route of mounting it to the slat.

 

You said thats a gobi rack? name/model?

 

Gobi Ranger Rack

 

I picked them up in February 2011. They have about 55K miles on them. They still have plenty of tread left for pavement driving, but maybe not so good for off-road. I plan to replace them in the next couple months--before an off-road trip I have planned for this summer. I will keep 35 Duratracs--four new ones. And I'll keep the best two of these for spares. On my recently completed trip I ripped the sidewall open on my only spare after about 90 miles of what ultimately turned into 463 off-road miles. While I have a kit to repair a punctured sidewall (as well as they can be repaired), it would have been better to have a second spare.

 

Made my home brew limb risers today

 

Thank you! My 33's have over 30,00 miles and going strong. I had an offer to buy them from me so I am heading to the 35's!

 

Looks good, thinking about this for mine as well. But I'm thinking I want it alittle higher so branches will clear the snorkel. How much did you spend on it all?