Tailgate Rack Installation Procedure

Open your tailgate and remove the plastic panel as shown by removing the t30 bolts circled in red.

Locate the handle on top of the plastic panel and remove the rubber lining shown on the picture.

Removing the liner will expose another t30 bolt. Remove the bolt.

Remove the handle trim by pulling up as shown.

Pull out on the lower portion of the plastic panel with your left hand while holding the tailgate with your right hand as shown.

Once the lower portion of the panel has been released, pull on the top portion as shown. Remove the panel and set it aside.

Removing the panel exposes these studs (circled in red) for the spare tire mount. They will have 17mm nuts (not pictured), remove the nuts and use a hammer to knock out the studs out the other side.

This is what these studs look like. Put them in your spare bolts bin at home or simply toss them away. You won’t need them anymore.

Locate hardware labeled A on the kit included. It comes with 2 groups of hardware as show. Each group has a bolt, 2 washers a nut, a hollowed spacer, and flanged nut.

Use the bolts with one washer each and pass it through the holes which had studs as shown.

Install a second washer on each bolt on the opposite side as shown.

Install the regular nuts on each bolt. Now tighten bolt sets using a 19mm wrench and 19 socket. Once tight, you can reinstall the plastic panel we removed on step 1 in the reverse order and close the tailgate door.

Now insert the hollowed out spacer as shown on each bolt/nut. Be sure the nut goes inside the spacer and the flat portion on the spacer faces outward as shown below. The flanged nut will be installed in a later step so keep them handy but don’t lose them.

This is what it should look like.

Remove the 2 bolts shown with red arrows on the spare tire mount. You’ll need a 17mm socket.

Locate the tailgate rack main brackets and compare them to the picture to figure out which orientation each one belongs to. L refers to the left side of the vehicle while R refers to the right side of the vehicle. The bent flanges should be pointed outward as shown.

Locate these carriage bolts as shown. They are labeled D and you should have 10 of these along with 10 flanged serrated nuts to match.

Flip the main brackets over and slide the carriage bolts through. Use masking tape to cover the bolts. I’d recommend using a long strip to tape them all rather than taping each individually. This is just to hold them in place while installing the brackets onto the tailgate. It is not necessary but I find that it helps.

Install both main brackets to their respective side as shown, only hanging from the bolt we previously installed (shown with a red arrow). Do not install the flange nut yet.

Now grab the bolts and spacers labeled B.

Lift the bottom of the bracket and slide in the spacer where we removed the original bolt on step 4 as shown.

Now install the bolt only a few threads. Leave it loose as shown. Do the same with the opposite side.

Remove the two bolts on the top of the spare tire mount as shown with the red arrows.

Now grab the bolts and spacers labeled C.

Install the spacers where we just removed the original bolts as shown.

Grab the upper support brace as shown.

Install the upper brace as shown, making sure all bolts go through their respective holes.

Now you can loosely install the flanged nuts you’ve been saving from step 3 labeled A. Also loosely install 6 serrated flanged nuts for the carriage bolts labeled D. Once all nuts and bolts have been loosely installed, you can start tightening in order A-D. Nut A will require an 18mm. Bolts B and C will require a 15mm. Nuts D will require a 14mm. Once all hardware is tight, you can move on to the next step.

Grab both molle panels. Notice the recessed holes circled in red. You will have a left and right orientation and you’ll be able to tell by where the holes circled in yellow are. These holes will mount to the main tailgate bracket. Compare yours to the ones pictured to figure out which is left and which is right.

Grab the hardware labeled E.

Mount the molle panels to their respective sides using the hardware we just grabbed. Don’t tighten them just snug them on by hand. See picture for reference.

In this picture you will see the front and rear guards for the platform. The rear guard will be the closest to the tailgate door and the front guard will be the further. These are made of mild steel to add rigidity and so you can strap things down to it.

These are the side guard and are again made of steel for the same reason as the front and rear guards. These guards are removable so you can mount long items on the platform and can be used to mount recovery boards horizontally. I will show you that later.

This is the platform and it does have a specific orientation.

You will notice an extra notch on one of the center side holes. This marks the rear of the platform. This is where the rear guard will mount.

Notice each corner is folded inwards with a gap in between. You may need to grab a flat head screw driver and open the gap a bit wider in order to slide the guard into it.

Slide the guards through. The rear guard goes where the platform was notched as shown earlier. Line the holes on the guard with the holes on the platform as shown.

Grab the nuts and bolt labeled G. You should have 10 of each. Use these to tighten the front and rear guards to the platform. Use a 4mm hex/allen and a 10mm wrench.

This is how it should look so far. Notice the arrow pointing at the notch on the rear of the platform.

Now grab the hardware labeled F. You will use these to mount the side guards to the platform. Tools required are a 6mm hex/allen and a 15mm wrench

This is how it should look once mounted

This is what a fully assembled platform will look like. Make sure all hardware is tight before you continue.

Grab hardware labeled H. You will have 6 nuts and 6 bolts. These will require a 5mm hex/allen and a 13mm wrench. Also grab the 4 nuts leftover from D hardware group

Mount the platform to the main brackets and between the molle panels. The lower rear guard holes will line up with the main bracket carriage bolts. This may give you a bit of trouble, just be patient and take your time. A second person can make this easier by holding the platform while you line up the bolts. If in case the bolts are not lining up you can try loosening the bolts from Step 6, then tighten all the hardware once everything is all lined up. You will use the 4 left over nuts from hardware D do not tighten yet keep them snug. Line up the furthest hole of the molle panel with the sides of the platform. Insert a bolt from H group as shown with a red arrow and just hand tight. This will help hold the platform in place. Make sure you do this to both sides.

You can now tighten the carriage bolt nuts as shown on the rear guard. You’ll need the 14mm for this.

Insert the rest of the hardware H and line up the platform so it sits flush and straight. Tighten while you’re holding them. You’ll need a 5mm hex/allen and a 13mm wrench. Repeat for the other side.

Now grab the bumper rails as shown

You’ll be using hardware group I to mount these rails.

These rails will cross brace between the platform and the molle panels. You’ll notice they line up to the recessed holes. Install and tighten on both sides. Youll need a 4mm hex/allen.

Now install your spare tire. It should look something similar to this.

The last items on the hardware bag are these bumper with knobs. These will help keep vibrations to a minimum while also giving the molle panels some triangulated support. You’ll notice they also come with a nut and bolt. You will more than likely not needs these but, they were provided in case you need more adjustability to extend reach so the bumper can make contact with your tire. Try installing the bumpers without the washer and nut first. If your tires are small and need a bit more reach then you can use these.

To install these lift up on the rack as shown and insert the bumpers into the rails, wedging them as hard as you can between the rail and the tire. Do the same for the other side. Once satisfied tighten the knob. These will be easily removable incase you ever want to remove your spare tire.

This is a sample on how it may look. You may also slide it from the top. Whatever fits your spare tire best.

At this point your rack is fully mounted and ready for use. Recovery board can be mounted vertically using two mount on the side molle panels but if you wish to mount them horizontally, attach the side guards as shown to the front of the molle panels. Picture shows a sample with Maxtrax pins installed.