Being that the all new Jeep JL Wrangler is designed with a license plate holder that's a part of the rear bumper itself, the question of where to mount the plate becomes a problem especially if you choose to run your JL bumperless. Back in the day, the easy answer would have been to simply relocate it to the center of your spare but of course, the JL now has a backup camera there. Sure, you can make it work anyway and I did briefly by positioning the plate above the camera but... that just looked weird to me and so I started looking for a better solution.
Working off of an old idea that I had come up with years ago for my JK's, I decided to find a way to mount the plate onto the rear cross member using recycled parts, some nuts and bolts I had laying around and strong tie that I bought at the hardware store for .88¢. It may not be the prefect solution but if you're interested, this DIY write-up will show you what I did.
What you will need
• (1) 20-Gauge 1-1/4" x 9" Simpson Strong-Tie
• (2) 1/2" - 1/4" x 20 Bolts
• (2) 1/4" x 20 Nuts
• (2) 1/4" Washers
• (2) 12 x 1.5mm Nuts
• (1) 3/4" - 1/2" Bolt
• (1) 1/2" Toothed Nut
• 16mm Socket
• 3/4" Wrench
• 7/16" Socket & Wrench
• Ratchet
• Center Punch
• Drill
• Unibit
• Bench Vice
• Ruler or Tape Measure
• Sharpe Marker
This is a shot of what you'll need to make your own rear cross member license plate mount. The black bracket you see was originally mounted to the driver side frame rail and sandwiched between the J-hook. The one bolt next to it was originally used to secure the factory bumper to the bottom of the cross member. I decided to recycle both for this mod.
Instructions
1. Take a 20-Gauge 1-1/4" x 9" Simpson Strong-Tie, locate the center of it and then make 2 marks 2-1/2" on either side of it using a Sharpe marker as shown in this pic.
2. Using a Sharpe marker, draw a line from the mark you made and then draw a parallel line 3/4" from it as shown here.
This is what your Simpson Strong-Tie should look like all drawn up.
3. Place your Simpson Strong-Tie into a bench vice with one of the inner lines positioned at the top edge of the vice jaws.
4. Bend the Simpson Strong-Tie in your bench vice as shown and then repeat on the other side.
5. Remove your Simpson Strong-Tie from your bench vice and then clamp it back in place, right up to one of the outer lines you drew eariler. Again, use your vice to bend the Strong tie so that it's parallel with the center portion of it.
6. Locate the small existing hole closest to the outer bend and then measure 7" out from the center of it as shown in the pic below.
7. Use a Sharpe marker to locate the center point, 7" across from the other existing hole.
8. Use a center punch to mark the point you made in step #7.
9. Use a unibit to drill a 1/4" hole through the point you just center punched as well as the small existing hole on the opposite side.
This is a shot of what your new rear cross member license place relocation mount should look like when done.
10. Take your old bumper bracket, place the index tab into a bench vice and bend it a bit so that it's no longer sitting at a 90° angle.
11. Slip the recycled bolt through the bracket and place a washer on top as shown. The washer is needed to help level things out between it and the buckle in the middle of the bracket.
12. Locate the factory mount hole with the built in washer on the bottom of the cross member and thread the bolt onto it.
13. Use a 16mm socket to secure your bracket in place.
14. Using a toothed nut and small 1/2" bolt, secure the license plate mount you made onto the recycled bracket. A 3/4" wrench will be needed for this job.
15. Using 1/4" x 20 bolts, nuts and washers, secure your license plate to the mount you made. A 7/16" socket and wrench will be needed for this job.
And that's all there is to it! You now have your license plate mounted onto the rear cross member of your Jeep JL Wrangler and with enough room to install frame rail D-ring mounts once they become available. Here are a few pics of what everything will look like once everything is installed.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Let There be Light on the License Plate
ADDENDUM 04/26/18
Ever since I removed our Jeep JL Wrangler's factory rear bumper and relocated the license plate on to the cross member, I've been meaning to install a light for it. Being that the factory license plate location was in the bumper and the wiring for the light was already there, I figured it would be a piece of cake to do and it was. Recycling the wiring on the factory bumper, I simply cut off the plug for the light, soldered on a couple of license plate LED light bolts and just like that, my licenses plate is now illuminated at night again.
For those of you who are interested, these are what I got for lights:
Rupse 2pcs License Plate Screw Bolts
And, here's what they look like installed.
Finally, what they look like when on.
A few pics outside at night.
And yes, they put out a crazy amount of light for being so tiny!
