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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
Plan on an extra half hour just to unwrap everything that comes boxed up. Not a single spot of raw steel to rust could be found anywhere; even the machined inserts were anodized for long life.
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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
Assembly started by laying a blanket out on the floor so we wouldn’t scratch the rack. “As tight as you can, and another half turn” is not how you assemble all this, break out the torque wrench and follow the directions.
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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
Because the Power Wagon is so tall, and editor Irons is not, it was best to hand tighten the complete rack on the ground and lift it into position when necessary.
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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
Rubber gasket material is supplied to keep the bed rail in pristine shape for the future.
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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
The plastic bedliner in the truck received choice words while installing the bed rails. It’s time for a spray-in liner Jesse!
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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
Beefy vertical supports are next for installation along with the diagonal braces. Again, everything is just hand tight at this point. With the precision-drilled bolt holes and accurately machined inserts, having a little movement is welcome.
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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
The rear tensioning bars are next and are used to help distribute the stress the cantilevered rack placed on the bed rails.
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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
Editor Irons looked like a 3 year old reaching into the counter cookie jar when it was time to lift the rack into place. We threw the blanket up there for a little added paint protection. Get a box or some blocks of wood to help shim the rack in position.
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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
Time to install the tire holder, align the rack to the truck and finish torqueing all the bolts.
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Bryan Irons photos
Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
We didn’t have our RevTek lift kit in yet for the Power Wagon, but the 37x12.5x17 Falken Wildpeaks were. We couldn’t help but toss a tire up there and see how it looked. Functional, tough, unobtrusive, perfect!
Story & photos by Bryan Irons
Makin’ Space - Outfitting a Power Wagon with the Wilco Off-Road ADV rack system
Have you seen what new car manufactures get away with as a “Spare Tire” these days? You’re lucky to come out of a dealership with a Band-Aid and an auto club number. Unacceptable! And if an actual spare does come with your new ride, it’s hardly fit for service at a playground. Thinking back to some of the bonehead maneuvers we have done over the years, a full size spare tire should be mandatory in anything we drive. This drew us to a little bit of a problem with our buddy Jesse’s 2013 Power Wagon; where do you put a 37-in spare that won’t take up bed space? We found our answer at Wilco Automotive; they have been solving problems like this for years with their Off-Road ADV rack system.
Off-Road ADV rack variants come in a plethora of flavors for holding a full size spare on a truck or SUV. Anything from bed mount kits to replacement tailgates and bumper mounts are available but the new Off-Road ADV rack series got us thinking… and ordering. The Off-Road ADV rack is a full size storage rack that resides over the cab of the truck, but mounts from the bed, and can be outfitted to carry a spare. For an avid outdoorsman like Jesse (I think he has camo PJ’s), having the extra room is great for a guy who spends most of the year with either a quad or sled taking up the lions share of bed space. The spare tire holder is positioned at the back the rack to allow easy access, and the front of the rack provides a perfect place to mount a light bar for late night ventures.
By the look of the boxes at our door, UPS must have a score to settle with us. Luckily, Wilco’s shipping department knew what they were doing and all the powder coating arrived ready to install. Machined steel inserts, high quality bushings and all plated hardware are added reassurance that we made the right call. Let’s face it; you want to know that your hard earned buck is going for something that’s made with pride. In truth, not a single weld, bend, dimple or bolt made us feel like a corner had been cut.
The directions come with actual pictures and instructions by someone who speaks English as a first language, so we’re not going to beat a dead Prius here. What we did do is assemble the main rack on the floor first, to avoid our butter fingers from dropping parts all over the Power Wagon. After being assembled, the framework that attaches to the bedrails was installed and the rack was Hulked up on top. Tight tolerances are a must to get all the parts to sit properly and still handle an extra 100 kg of our junk. An extra set of hands is a big help with this project, which can be easily hammered out at home with simple hand tools.
After installing, aligning and tightening all the hardware, it was a welcome surprise to see how well the rack followed the lines of the truck and didn’t look like a sail on a boat. Even with a full load on the front of the rack, it doesn’t touch in any place it’s not supposed to, but we’re not sure if we would leave the sunroof on “vent” just in case. The mounting system to the bedrails still leaves plenty of room for cargo and we even installed ours with a plastic bed liner in place. The rails are drilled along the inside edge for multiple mounting options and extras holes for eyelets for tying your stuff down.
Overall, we gained space to strap down camping gear, recovery tools, spare fuel containers, animal carcasses, or whatever we choose if the bed is full and the cab isn’t an option. On top of that, literally, we have a place to mount our spare tire where it won’t get beat up on the trail from being strapped to the bottom side of the bed, if it would even fit under there! The rack with the included wind deflector doesn’t make any additional road noise and gives plenty of mounting options for stuff like auxiliary lighting. It’s nice to find a North American made piece that lives up to our expectations!