A while back I built my custom roof rack with mounts for my Hi Lift, axe, shovel and gas cans. I love the rack but I don't keep it on my kj all the time because it sucks a ton of wind. I wanted to keep my jack on my jeep all the time so I could use it whenever I need it but couldn't do that without the roof rack. I was looking at my spare tire the other day and with the rims I have now the spare sticks out quite a bit. I grabbed my hi lift and stuck it behind the tire. Sure enough it fit great. So I looked at the spare tire holder and saw that the top of it is kind of rounded so it would be more difficult to fab something up on top of it to mount the jack to. So I remembered the bottom of the spare holder is flat and would be a better fit for what I was looking for. So I took off the spare, flipped the holder upside down and remouted the spare. I stood back and the tire actually sticks out farther away from the kj at the top now because of the slight incline of the spare holder. The rear window clears perfectly, the bottom is more tucked in (ever so slightly better depart. ang.), and there is a bit more room for my jack. So I was off to Home Depot today to get it done. I bought what I needed and went home and finished the whole thing up in about an hour.
I had a some spare bolts that I took off when I replaced various things on my kj and they worked perfectly. I took a piece of steel flat bar (2"X12", 1/4" thick) and measured and drilled two holes in it for the bolts to hold the jack down. I took one of the bolts and drilled a hole in it so I could put a small lock through it to prevent anyone from stealing the jack. I took the flatbar and welded it to the spare holder and then welded the bolts in through the holes I drilled. I used some washers as well so that the heads had extra beef with them. I welded the washers and bolts all together and to the flatbar and then checked to see if it still fit and it did. I cleaned it up and painted it all black and remounted everything. I used washers and wing nuts to hold the jack in place and it works exactly like I had hoped. I can lock it and leave it and not have to worry about it.
I know that it ads unwanted weight to the rear door especially with my heavier tire and wheel, but I said screw it and I'll just be more careful with the door when opening and closing it. As far as the roof rack goes, I am going to mount the axe and shovel to the stock roof bars (still deciding how) and fab up something else to hold my NATO fuel cans. I will be selling the roof rack I think. We'll see.
I'll post pics ASAP and by the way, the whole thing cost me $1.12 out the door.
Trust me I've tried 
