miljeep
06-26-2008, 21:57
Ok, so here is my review of the M-PAC and why I felt that it would be a welcome addition to my Jeep.
I have an 06 Unlimited, a wife a 3 year old daughter and a kid on the way. We do trail rides as a family, so after packing the family and the gear in the Jeep, it tends to get pretty cramped sometimes.
I had the Smittybilt GEAR front seat covers, which worked really well and held a lot of stuff, but the cover on the passenger seat took up a lot of my daughters leg room. That may not sound like much of an issue on the trail, but we have a3 hour drive just to get to where we can legally wheel.
Someone from MJ knew I had expressed an interest in getting the rear seat cover after already buying the front covers, so since he was going to get the front covers anyway, he brought up the idea of just trading my front seat covers for the rear cover which he would buy and just send to me.
That got me thinking that since I have an unlimited, if I can move as much gear to the rear of the jeep as possible, it will free up room in the front.
I already had a cage sort of thing that I made to go over the tub behind the rear seat, this would help to hold items down in the event that we roll or just flip. We have the Rockhard 4x4 Sportcage to protect the wife and kid (soon to be kids), but that would not do much with a 4-way lug wrench, tool boox, tool bag and all the other spare parts and tools that we carry on the trail flying around inside the rolling jeep. So, the cage, or cover I guess you could say, is a welcome and I feel needed addition.
Anyway, being that the military brainwashed me to have some sort of holder or place for everything, when I saw the M-PAC, I knew that it was something I could get some use out of. What I was worried about was if it would work with the rack I had made for the rear. After checking the dimensions, and realizing that it would be a very close fit, but would fit, I figured I would give it a shot.
It took about 3 days to get the M-PAC. I got the TJ combo kit, so it had bags and everything I would need to mount the M-PAC. I was at the Belvoir Auto Shop today when my wife called and said it arrived, so knowing that I wanted it installed tonight, and the daylight was lipping away fast, I left to head home to check my new goodies.
The TJ Combo kit came in one box, it had the M-PAC Rack, two bags to go on the rack, two bags that are designed to fit in the little slots on your front doors and I also got the QuikFist Mount since it came with a special rail that allows them to easily mount to the M-PAC Rack.
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=366
Checking the fit:
I had to see if the rack would indeed work with my cage in the rear of the jeep, so I solicited the help of my wife and daughter to help me hold it in place as I adjusted it and attempted to close the door. The photo below shows the M-PAC Rack mounted, but it kind of shows you the rack I had to get it to fit with.
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=370
I determined that the M-PAC would indeed fit, so I hd my wife hold it in place while I positioned it in it's final position and marked off the holes that I would need to mount the rack. The rack came with self-tapping screws, but I just took a tiny drill bit to start the holes out a little and make it easier. After drilling two holes, I temporarily mounted the rack to see if the door would open and close ok. It did.
Mounting the gear to the M-PAC:
Mounting the gar brought back memories of building up my IBA. Although the attachments are very secure, when done correctly, I did nto want to mess with the whole weaving the straps in and out of the webbing just to secure it in place. If I find that I need that, I will do that later.
to be honest with you, I could not figure out a way to mount the bags to give me max additional space on the rack for other bags, so I ran inside the house and checked the Springtail Solutions website for photos of how others had mounted the rack.
About the gear bags:
The gear bags are heavy duty, but having so much additional gear already, I think I would rather use some of my smaller pouches which would have a more specific purpose or use for them. Te large bag that comes with the TJ Combo kit is nice and would make for a nice first aid kit bag. The large bag has a handle on top and you can attach it so that by popping four buttons, you can free the bag to take with you. (I just may use it as my first aid kit after coming up with this brilliant idea)
The bags that came with the TJ Combo kit which are designed to go inside the slots on your front doors are well made, zip up and velcro to hold the contents inside, but I know they will end up being stored next to the divers and passenger seat on the sides to hold more stuff that would be nice to get to easily like zip-ties, electrical tape, and other stuff that someone often yells "hey, does anyone have any of ????"
Here are some photos.
I am not a professional photographer, and I know that you won't have a rack in the back like I do, but I wanted to show how it was mounted in my jeep.
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=368
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=369
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=375
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=372
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=370
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=371
The large bag that mounts on the M-PAC
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=374
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=373
My conclusion on the M-PAC:
The M-PAC helps to make use out of space that is rarely used. Being that it is mounted on the inside of the rear door, it will allow for quick easy access to items.
The rack is easy to install and if I did not have to try to make it work with an already installed cage, I probably could have had the whole system on the jeep in 20 minutes or less.
What I hope to see from springtail Solutions in the future:
Smaller racks which can be mounted on other areas of the jeep to allow for the mounting of other bags in other locations on the jeep. Even a rack that is about 3 inches by 4 inches could be mounted in other locations. I like how the racks are designed and how easy they are to install. Smaller racks would help to make use of other areas that are often overlooked in the jeep store some additional gear.
I have an 06 Unlimited, a wife a 3 year old daughter and a kid on the way. We do trail rides as a family, so after packing the family and the gear in the Jeep, it tends to get pretty cramped sometimes.
I had the Smittybilt GEAR front seat covers, which worked really well and held a lot of stuff, but the cover on the passenger seat took up a lot of my daughters leg room. That may not sound like much of an issue on the trail, but we have a3 hour drive just to get to where we can legally wheel.
Someone from MJ knew I had expressed an interest in getting the rear seat cover after already buying the front covers, so since he was going to get the front covers anyway, he brought up the idea of just trading my front seat covers for the rear cover which he would buy and just send to me.
That got me thinking that since I have an unlimited, if I can move as much gear to the rear of the jeep as possible, it will free up room in the front.
I already had a cage sort of thing that I made to go over the tub behind the rear seat, this would help to hold items down in the event that we roll or just flip. We have the Rockhard 4x4 Sportcage to protect the wife and kid (soon to be kids), but that would not do much with a 4-way lug wrench, tool boox, tool bag and all the other spare parts and tools that we carry on the trail flying around inside the rolling jeep. So, the cage, or cover I guess you could say, is a welcome and I feel needed addition.
Anyway, being that the military brainwashed me to have some sort of holder or place for everything, when I saw the M-PAC, I knew that it was something I could get some use out of. What I was worried about was if it would work with the rack I had made for the rear. After checking the dimensions, and realizing that it would be a very close fit, but would fit, I figured I would give it a shot.
It took about 3 days to get the M-PAC. I got the TJ combo kit, so it had bags and everything I would need to mount the M-PAC. I was at the Belvoir Auto Shop today when my wife called and said it arrived, so knowing that I wanted it installed tonight, and the daylight was lipping away fast, I left to head home to check my new goodies.
The TJ Combo kit came in one box, it had the M-PAC Rack, two bags to go on the rack, two bags that are designed to fit in the little slots on your front doors and I also got the QuikFist Mount since it came with a special rail that allows them to easily mount to the M-PAC Rack.
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=366
Checking the fit:
I had to see if the rack would indeed work with my cage in the rear of the jeep, so I solicited the help of my wife and daughter to help me hold it in place as I adjusted it and attempted to close the door. The photo below shows the M-PAC Rack mounted, but it kind of shows you the rack I had to get it to fit with.
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=370
I determined that the M-PAC would indeed fit, so I hd my wife hold it in place while I positioned it in it's final position and marked off the holes that I would need to mount the rack. The rack came with self-tapping screws, but I just took a tiny drill bit to start the holes out a little and make it easier. After drilling two holes, I temporarily mounted the rack to see if the door would open and close ok. It did.
Mounting the gear to the M-PAC:
Mounting the gar brought back memories of building up my IBA. Although the attachments are very secure, when done correctly, I did nto want to mess with the whole weaving the straps in and out of the webbing just to secure it in place. If I find that I need that, I will do that later.
to be honest with you, I could not figure out a way to mount the bags to give me max additional space on the rack for other bags, so I ran inside the house and checked the Springtail Solutions website for photos of how others had mounted the rack.
About the gear bags:
The gear bags are heavy duty, but having so much additional gear already, I think I would rather use some of my smaller pouches which would have a more specific purpose or use for them. Te large bag that comes with the TJ Combo kit is nice and would make for a nice first aid kit bag. The large bag has a handle on top and you can attach it so that by popping four buttons, you can free the bag to take with you. (I just may use it as my first aid kit after coming up with this brilliant idea)
The bags that came with the TJ Combo kit which are designed to go inside the slots on your front doors are well made, zip up and velcro to hold the contents inside, but I know they will end up being stored next to the divers and passenger seat on the sides to hold more stuff that would be nice to get to easily like zip-ties, electrical tape, and other stuff that someone often yells "hey, does anyone have any of ????"
Here are some photos.
I am not a professional photographer, and I know that you won't have a rack in the back like I do, but I wanted to show how it was mounted in my jeep.
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=368
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=369
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=375
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=372
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=370
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=371
The large bag that mounts on the M-PAC
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=374
http://www.militaryjeepers.com/community/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=373
My conclusion on the M-PAC:
The M-PAC helps to make use out of space that is rarely used. Being that it is mounted on the inside of the rear door, it will allow for quick easy access to items.
The rack is easy to install and if I did not have to try to make it work with an already installed cage, I probably could have had the whole system on the jeep in 20 minutes or less.
What I hope to see from springtail Solutions in the future:
Smaller racks which can be mounted on other areas of the jeep to allow for the mounting of other bags in other locations on the jeep. Even a rack that is about 3 inches by 4 inches could be mounted in other locations. I like how the racks are designed and how easy they are to install. Smaller racks would help to make use of other areas that are often overlooked in the jeep store some additional gear.