DIY traction board tire mount?

J

jeepwillikers

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New Jersey
I just got a great deal on a set of X-Bull style traction boards. I know, I know they aren’t Maxtrax.... at $63 I couldn’t resist and honestly I can’t justify the $300 for Maxtrax, so it was either these or nothing. I don’t anticipate needing them but it’s nice to know I have something in case I get into the soft stuff. Now that I have justified my purpose I have to figure out how to mount them to my rig. I’m leaning toward mounting them to my spare under my Trasharoo. I’ve seen the Maxtrax tire harness but at $150 that’s not really an option. I’m thinking with some creativity I can rig something up. Has anyone home brewed a solution for mounting non Maxtrax boards to their tire?


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jeepwillikers said:
I just got a great deal on a set of X-Bull style traction boards. I know, I know they aren’t Maxtrax.... at $63 I couldn’t resist and honestly I can’t justify the $300 for Maxtrax, so it was either these or nothing. I don’t anticipate needing them but it’s nice to know I have something in case I get into the soft stuff. Now that I have justified my purpose I have to figure out how to mount them to my rig. I’m leaning toward mounting them to my spare under my Trasharoo. I’ve seen the Maxtrax tire harness but at $150 that’s not really an option. I’m thinking with some creativity I can rig something up. Has anyone home brewed a solution for mounting non Maxtrax boards to their tire?


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We can't justify the price of Maxtrax either that's why we run with the much less expensive Maxsa boards. We've been using the heck out of them for years and have never had an issue with them breaking. We mount ours on our spare tire with a simple ratchet strap and when we're in a populated area we add a cable lock so they don't walk away.
 
I know everyone loves storing them outside, on the roof or on the spare. I did for many years. Recently, because of a RTT, I’ve had to move them inside using a Camp Cover recovery board bag. They are wedged between the back (facing the front of vehicle) of my drawer system and the internal cargo net, from side to side. Almost a perfect fit. I am starting to like not having accessories outside the vehicle. Hi-lift will go in a wooden box built to fit along the rear passenger footwell next.


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Wanderlost Overland said:
We can't justify the price of Maxtrax either that's why we run with the much less expensive Maxsa boards. We've been using the heck out of them for years and have never had an issue with them breaking. We mount ours on our spare tire with a simple ratchet strap and when we're in a populated area we add a cable lock so they don't walk away.
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That might be the ticket. Simple and easy.


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NotGumby said:
I know everyone loves storing them outside, on the roof or on the spare. I did for many years. Recently, because of a RTT, I’ve had to move them inside using a Camp Cover recovery board bag. They are wedged between the back (facing the front of vehicle) of my drawer system and the internal cargo net, from side to side. Almost a perfect fit. I am starting to like not having accessories outside the vehicle. Hi-lift will go in a wooden box built to fit along the rear passenger footwell next.


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Our rig is a Jeep TJ so interior space is at a premium otherwise I’d probably go that route. If water won’t ruin it, it goes outside! Lol. I’m fixing up a Land Rover for my wife and the interior is cavernous! I don’t know what I would do with all that space!


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jeepwillikers said:
Our rig is a Jeep TJ so interior space is at a premium otherwise I’d probably go that route. If water won’t ruin it, it goes outside! Lol. I’m fixing up a Land Rover for my wife and the interior is cavernous! I don’t know what I would do with all that space!


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I would love to be your wife :)
 
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First, I don’t believe you should have to justify not buying maxtrax. I get why you said what you did though.
I mounted my mats between my spare and trasharoo. I used some square tube and angle iron. I had a spare tire license plate mount laying around that I welded in. I don’t have the tent on the rack anymore, so now I carry the mats on my roof rack. A13D8631-BAF4-48F7-8391-74C9F050D0D2.jpeg
 
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This is how I decided to mount them. It’s a modified trailer hitch cargo carrier mounted to some heavy duty tubing mounts. (4 clamps rated at 50 lbs each.) My tent is mounted towards the rear of the jeep so I figured I would make use of the space. I got some long bolts an sandwiched the mesh floor of the cargo rack with some big washers and a nut then I put a wing nut on two of the bolts to hold down the boards.


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jeepwillikers said:
aca02466109a9019930202861425354f.jpg


This is how I decided to mount them. It’s a modified trailer hitch cargo carrier mounted to some heavy duty tubing mounts. (4 clamps rated at 50 lbs each.) My tent is mounted towards the rear of the jeep so I figured I would make use of the space. I got some long bolts an sandwiched the mesh floor of the cargo rack with some big washers and a nut then I put a wing nut on two of the bolts to hold down the boards.


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That’s a cool idea, I see them on Craigslist for 25-50$ allot. How did you remover the receiver part?


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GratefulFozzie said:
That’s a cool idea, I see them on Craigslist for 25-50$ allot. How did you remover the receiver part?


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It was actually a 2 piece rack bolted together by the receiver part. I just cut the receiver section flush with the bottom of the rack with an angle grinder.
Highland 1042000 Hitch Mounted Cargo Carrier
GS Power's Bracket Clamp (choices of 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2 / 3 inch ). Mount LED Light Bar, Safety Flag, Antenna onto Bull Bar Tube Rack Roll Cage Bumper on Boat Can-Am ATV UTV Bike (2 pc)
These were the parts I used. Amazon prices fluctuate a bit but I think I spent about $75.


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I use trac-grabber and truck claws. They both work great and take up very little space and store in there on bag.
 
We are at the end of our trip now and our X-Bull traction mats were only needed to level the rig at a few campsites. They worked perfectly for that purpose and at 20% the price of the name brand. They were simply a back-up for our back-up (we have lockers and a tow strap). If you aren’t going to be beating them up and using them for constant recoveries I can give a strong recommend for these particular knock offs.


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Wanderlost said:
We can't justify the price of Maxtrax either that's why we run with the much less expensive Maxsa boards. We've been using the heck out of them for years and have never had an issue with them breaking. We mount ours on our spare tire with a simple ratchet strap and when we're in a populated area we add a cable lock so they don't walk away.
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There is this, for a spare carrier that is more substantial than straps, and much more secure:1565321525141.png
 
Dogfather said:
have you found any source to purchase this Item?
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Not Stateside. Made in Australia, and so far, I do not think it has been imported into our country. BUT........more and more items are making their way to our shore all the time. Looking at that design, it would not take much to update the actual mounting plate to attach to a side rack. A 'bungee' cord, or lockable clip would keep a set of boards in place.

It's possible someone has a similar design that might be produced now domestically. Research on that would have to be done. Maybe someone who went to EXPO East/West, could better answer that, as the shows have become a magnet for new product releases. I know that you can now get a Max Trax mounting board table for a Toyota Troopie aka...4X Overland...(could be modified for a side rack/roof rack) , that was once only available overseas. So again products are trickling in from other places. I'm surprised that Chinese manufacturers haven't jumped head first into Overlanding. You would have expected companies like Smittybilt to have something out by now.
 
Not on the spare but I mounted ours on the side of our galley box with 4 long bolts and some star knobs from Grainger. Cost about $10. We now have 2 pairs on the same mount instead of just one.
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