Finding a secure place to haul extra gear can be a pain, no matter if you are getting ready for a weekend on the trail or trying to haul tools to the jobsite. This is especially true if your vehicle of choice has a limited cargo hold. We recently got a chance to check out a fairly simple and clever invention meant to make hauling extra gear a snap for anyone with an externally mounted spare tire. That’s right- all you need is a securely mounted spare tire that’s between 31 to 42 inches in diameter.
It’s called the Bugout Rack. It’s a gear rack that secures to your spare tire via a 2-inch and a 1-inch ratchet strap. The kit includes both straps, a 10-gage steel rack with a 15-inch-long x 11.5-inch-wide rack surface, and all necessary hardware.
The rack’s arched mounting surface gives it plenty of area to rest on the tire. In our case, we secured it to our Tacoma’s 285/75R17 Nitto Trail Grappler. Depending on the tire size and placement, it’s possible to run multiple Bugout Racks on a single tire.
Once you have the rack placed where you like it, you’ll use the main 2-inch circumference strap to set it in place. Next, you’ll run the 1-inch strap through the wheel opening and through the rack for additional support.
Each rack is rated for 50 pounds, so they can easily handle something as heavy as spare fuel and water containers. We’ll be using it to secure our X-treme Series Hi-Lift jack along with a fuel caddy.
The biggest benefit of this product for us is that we can use it on a variety of vehicles. This is especially handy for when we want to haul extra fuel around, but don’t want it inside the cab or bed. For those with limited cargo space, or simply do not want to bolt on another heavy fixture to your daily driver, the easily removable Bugout Rack is an excellent gear hauling option.
