"Goldilocks" solution for carrying surf rods outside JLU?

[ekimgnuj]

Hey, were you out at Ft Fisher Saturday?! Saw this exact rig, same color, with poles, go by, but only after it was too late to flag you down!

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[78cj7-18lj]

I went down this rabbit hole - haven’t pulled the trigger, but this is what I found for tire mount:

https://www.justforjeeps.com/fishing-rod-tire-cover.html

This has been out of stock forever. I'll bet out of production?

 

[Matanzas]

This has been out of stock forever. I'll bet out of production?

There is this: https://fishitch.com/ and also this guy has hitch flag pole holders which could work: https://www.wildchildcustom.com/

 

[Ronwho]

Hey, were you out at Ft Fisher Saturday?! Saw this exact rig, same color, with poles, go by, but only after it was too late to flag you down!

Yep, that was me.
Caught a couple nice sharks.

 

[ekimgnuj]

Yep, that was me.
Caught a couple nice sharks.

Holy cow! All I caught was a croaker. But my family and I were swimming in that water. Empirically, I know they are out there, but this scares me! Nice catch, and your setup looked awesome when you went by.

 

[Ronwho]

Holy cow! All I caught was a croaker. But my family and I were swimming in that water. Empirically, I know they are out there, but this scares me! Nice catch, and your setup looked awesome when you went by.

Thanks, still to small to keep.
Chances are I’ll be back out this Saturday as well.
Flag me down if you see me

 

[Matanzas]

Yep, that was me.
Caught a couple nice sharks.

LOL - I caught that guy 3 years ago off oak island…

 

[NCParothed]

my surf fishing rig started as a beach cart...now slightly modified! Heading to Ocracoke in the morning.

 

[ekimgnuj]

Folks, I have looked through the archives, and while there are some great solutions I can't find anything that would work for me. I am trying to find a solution to carrying surf casting (so, long poles) fishing rods, in a way that would not prevent opening the tailgate to access fishing and beach gear. Ideally, something that would attach to the spare tire or the tailgate itself. I have seen the reel rack, seems to be the closest solution but it gets horrible reviews and every single size/make is "out of stock" so I am guessing they no longer make them. I have a receiver hitch rod holder, but the rods extend down low enough to drag in the sand. I would get an adapter to raise that, but again then the whole rack needs to be removed when arriving at the beach. Would prefer not to modify the Jeep by adding a front receiver hitch but may have to take that route. The only other option I've seen is a local company called ruk-rac (or ruc-rak?) but that is a much larger, heavier and very expensive solution.
Yes, before anyone flames me, I'm picky picky picky, like I said I am looking for the Goldilocks solution. Maybe it doesn't exist, but I can't help but hope someone has found or created a quick and easy solution! TIA!

Going to see if I can revive this string, it was posted almost a year and a half ago, hoping maybe someone came up with another solution? I have tried the front receiver hitch, it worked OK except I had to get a hitch riser for the rod holder so they didn't drag in the sand, and it was always a pain to get in and out. Also tried the rhino-rack crossbars and small ski rack, which actually worked perfectly. Now I'm upgrading to a sky one touch top, and the rhino-rack won't work. I know they make a version with 8 inch risers that will work under SOT, but (this is just my personal opinion, no flames) I think that would look ridiculous and be really noisy with the top open. So, back to square one! I could install a receiver hitch up front on the new Jeep, though that was a royal pain in the arse last time and was a pain since the rods dragged in the sand.

 

[thance]

Always thought surf rods were carried vertically on the front bumper in a custom mount using pvc tube... should have looked further down the thread... just like @NCParothed

 

[thance]

You could get a steel front bumper with a flat top and mount an aftermarket bolt on hitch to the top... that should gain you about 8" of height

 

[ekimgnuj]

Always thought surf rods were carried vertically on the front bumper in a custom mount using pvc tube... should have looked further down the thread... just like @NCParothed

Thanks, that's what I had but the front-mounted receiver leaves them dragging in the sand without a riser, which doesn't fit well under the front bumper.

 

[thance]

Thanks, that's what I had but the front-mounted receiver leaves them dragging in the sand without a riser, which doesn't fit well under the front bumper.

I'm referring more to taking a bumper made for a top mounted winch and bolting a 2" receiver plate on top, ideally to the winch mounting holes, such as:

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...rokEHVZkAc0Qwg8oAHoECAUQSg&nis=8&dct=1&adurl=https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...rokEHVZkAc0Qwg8oAHoECAUQSg&nis=8&dct=1&adurl=https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...rokEHVZkAc0Qwg8oAHoECAUQSg&nis=8&dct=1&adurl=https://www.harborfreight.com/5000-lb-step-bumper-receiver-69670.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&ut

Bolted to the top of:

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...3192576_0,prmr:1,pid:2373453007743192576,cs:1

That way your pole holder is at least 8" higher than it would be with a standard jl receiver mounted below the bumper. This is just an example, there are lots of options.

 

[ekimgnuj]

I'm referring more to taking a bumper made for a top mounted winch and bolting a 2" receiver plate on top, ideally to the winch mounting holes, such as:

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...rokEHVZkAc0Qwg8oAHoECAUQSg&nis=8&dct=1&adurl=https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...rokEHVZkAc0Qwg8oAHoECAUQSg&nis=8&dct=1&adurl=https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...rokEHVZkAc0Qwg8oAHoECAUQSg&nis=8&dct=1&adurl=https://www.harborfreight.com/5000-lb-step-bumper-receiver-69670.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&ut
Bolted to the top of:

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...3192576_0,prmr:1,pid:2373453007743192576,cs:1

That way your pole holder is at least 8" higher than it would be with a standard jl receiver mounted below the bumper. This is just an example, there are lots of options.

That would work, thanks! I will need to look into that option, I will probably want to replace the bumpers immediately like usual.

 

[linux_guy]

Pricey...and radical, but if you ever need to replace a side window (mine cracked), things like this allow for attachments. I have the sliding version rather than the gull wing.

https://explore-glazing.com/en/products/jeep-wrangler-jk-jl-explore-overlander-light

https://explore-glazing.com/en/products/explore-overlander-pack

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