Garvin Tire Mount and Axe/Shovel mount.

Nov. 01, 2005 By Bob Mock

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A while back we reviewed the Garvin Wilderness Accessories Roof Rack and have loved it ever since. I've been carrying my spare tire shovel and hi-lift jack up there ever since I got it but had to have them strapped down to keep them from becoming hazardous to other cars. I decided to check out Garvin's accessories and try out their tire mount and shovel/axe mount. Below you'll find install tips for this simple install. To install both it took me about 1.5hrs.

(click on any of the pictures below for a larger image)

	Here's a picture of the before. You can see the hi-lift jack is still there in its protective bag. I didn't get the Garvin Hi-lift mount because I wanted to be able to continue to use the Hi-lift bag to protect the jack.
	Here are the pieces for the tire mount. The tire 'screw' the lockplate, and the pieces that stay permanently fixed to the rack rails.
	One of the first steps is to put the small plastic caps into the 'screw' handle ends to keep water and other junk out of them.
	You have to have the Garvin floor bars in order to use the tire rack that they make. Here you'll see the two center bars are the specified distance apart. Just slightly more than 5"
	The larger plate goes underneath the rails and then the strip brackets bo over top with the bolts going through and nyloc nuts boing on the bottom. Position the plate (front to back) where you want the tire positioned and then tighten these down.
	Depending on the size of your tire and wheel combination you'll have to use the adapter setup to lengthen the 'screw' so that it will extend down through your rim. Here you'll see the whole assembly together without the tire in place.
	Once you the tire over top of the peg you can put the 'screw' through the lock plate and tighten it down. There is a small length of chain welded to the lower plate that you can snake up through your wheel and lock to the 'screw' to prevent theives from walking off with your tire. It is a little awkward and difficult to get such a short lenght of chain up through the rim but I was able to do it and I think it's a good idea. Below are the two pictures of the final installation of the tire mount. I will say that the 'ears' of the 'screw' stick up pretty far beyond the tire an will be prone to breaking off in the dense/low woods here on the east cost so I may have to do some modifications to accomdate that, but otherwise this is a great addition to a great rack.

Assembling the Garvin Axe/Shovel combo mount:
	Here you'll see the pieces for the axe/shovel mount. it's a simple install that takes about 25 min and only had 4 bolts.
	Place the two halfs together and thread one bolt through and put a nut and lock washer on.
	Because I only have the rack with 4" sides my setup required using the given spacer at the top to keep the top from squishing together when the bolt is tightened.
	After completeing both sides spacing them far enough apart to secure the handles of an axe or shovel, you can either get ready to mount your axe or move on to the next step.
	I don't have an axe yet so I couldn't mount one, but you could put the axe up then slide the middle bracket in then put your shovel up then the outside bracket goes on with wing nuts.
	Here in this picture you'll see the finished mount with just the shovel. The axe would be between the shovel and the rack edge.
	This is a great and handy way to hold onto my shovel without having to rely on and find my bungee cords all the time. - Bob Mock
Get your Garvin Accessories from: Rocky Road Outfitters ph: 888-801-7271 www.rocky-road.com