Announcing the BTS (Behind the Seat) Bracket for Jeep Wranger JLUs!
Update: The BTS Bracket ver 2.0 also fits the 07-18 Wrangler JKU!
Power Tank is proud to announce our latest bracket design made specifically for 4-door Jeep Wrangler JLU's! It has an all new design that we love for its convenient placement, sturdiness, and ease of installation.
The 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL is the latest in a long line of Wrangler redesigns. The last major update was for the JK platform released 11 years ago in 2007! With this latest JL redesign came a lot of changes over the outgoing model. One big change was moving to a square tube sports bar from the typical round tubing that dated back to the original CJ. We couldn't recycle our JKU roll bar mount. These new square tubes caused us to pause, take a step back, and realize we had an opportunity to create something entirely new!
A quick flash back:
For the old school Wranglers, the CJ, YJ, and TJ, LJ, and JK the roll bar clamps were a great mounting solution. With the introduction of the four door JK Unlimited Wrangler came a slew of new aftermarket products, including the slant back soft top which caused clearance issues with our typical roll bar mount. To be able to run both the soft top and a Power Tank, we created our Drop Down Bracket (BKT-2252). This kept the roll bar clamps but dropped the Power Tank down behind the rear seats and under the sports bar giving plenty of clearance for whatever top you ran. It came with the added benefit of making the regulator easier to reach and version 2.0 introduced a MOLLE panel that allowed you to attach a pouch onto the bracket for additional storage. What started as a solution for the soft top quickly became our preferred mount for all 4 door Wranglers, soft top, hard top, or no top!
What to do with the JLU?
For the new 2018 Wrangler JLU, we wanted to integrate all these great features in our new bracket. It wasn’t long before we picked up our very own JLU, a Rubicon in Granite Crystal, and got to work designing. Steve, Power Tank president and lead product designer, opted not to redesign the roll bar clamps to fit the new sports bar. Instead, he wanted to place the Power Tank first, then design a bracket around that. The first mock-ups were done in paper and acrylic and, in an attempt to make the install as easy as possible, used stock hardware to mount off of.
Once he was satisfied with the placement and initial design, we got in contact with our friend Scott at Candor Offroad to work on building us some prototypes. He took our CAD drawings, imported it into his CNC plasma cutter software, and got to work cutting, bending, and welding our first JLU mount.
Testing phase:
The new JLU mount is stiffer than the JKU bracket, mounts your 10 or 15 lb Power Tank right behind the rear seats keeping it accessible, yet out of the way, and we were able to integrate the MOLLE cutouts retaining the option for additional storage. There is even space behind the bracket that we will utilize soon with a custom bag.
We sent a couple prototypes to a few of our JLU-driving friends, Rod (RC3_Jeep) and Bob (TheUnofficialBob) for feedback. They have been hard at work wheeling their new JLU jeeps across the country and the feedback has been very positive.
Along with our JLU Mount, Rod is also testing new Eibach suspension components and Bartact seat covers on a cross country road trip. Rod sent us his initial impressions of the bracket, "The mount is well made (like all PT parts), easy to install, and makes perfect use of the space in the JL - like Jeep planned for a 15 lb tank to go right there!" Here is his gloss black mounting bracket in the back of his rig and another picture wheeling through Utah!
Bob has been wheeling his JLU in Johnson Valley, Moab, Virginia and everywhere in between. He wheels hard and expects his equipment to keep up. He’s also running a 15 lb Power Tank mounted to the driver side as the tunes blasting from his factory Alpine Sub limits a passenger side mount. Bob reported back to us recently, "I have had zero issues with mine and the mounting is super solid." Here's Bob's Power Tank mount and a short clip of him attempting to climb out of Devils Hot Tub in Moab with a Tepui Tent strapped to the top of his rig!
Success! Let's get some brackets built!
While these prototypes were cut in 10 gauge steel by Candor Offroad, our production units will be cut out of .125 aluminum to keep the weight and shipping costs down. The initial run will only be available in silver but keep an eye out for a semi-gloss black powder coat option very soon. Install is very simple requiring drilling just two holes through the fender well and using two stock hard top bolts. Rod said it took him less than half an hour to get everything installed. The 3 piece design allows you to slide the bracket up or down allowing you to adjust between top and no top.
You can use the Power Tank Super Bracket you already have or add it onto your JLU bracket order. If you were waiting for a JLU mount before you ordered your Power Tank, we recommend checking out a 10 lb or 15 lb Power Tank Package B and adding the JLU mount to your order (BKT-2248). The Package B already includes a Super Bracket as well as a tire inflator and Super Coupler making it easy to air up and use air tools.
Here are final production pictures. On the left is the bracket ready to mount a PT15. Notice the bracket is in the upper position near the logo. On the right is a 10 lb Power Tank mounted up. If you look closely at the second picture, you'll see that the Super Bracket sits lower than if you were mounting a 15 lb system.
