Because you never know when you’re gonna need a little extra light, I like to carry a good MagLite flashlight with me in my JK. Unfortunately, there really aren’t a whole lot of convenient places that you can store one without it rolling around while you drive and driving you nuts. And, that’s why I decided to secure mine with a mount. Fortunately, MagLite sells a basic wall mounting kit that you can buy for cheap at your local hardware store and, it can be installed in minutes. Here is a quick write-up I did to show you how easy it is to install.
What you’ll need:
• MagLite Mount Bracket Kit
• Hand Drill
• Small Metal Drilling Bits
• Center Punch
• Phillips Screwdriver
• Self-Tapping Bolt
• 5/16″ Socket
• Ratchet
Here’s a shot of the MagLite mounting kit.
1. Using one of the MagLite mounting brackets as a template and mark the points where you will need to drill on your driver side seat rail with a center punch.
2. Drill the mounting holes into your seat rail as shown. If I recall, I used a 1/16″ drill bit.
3. To make this install easier, I used a self-tapping screw about the same size as the screws provided to thread the mouting holes. A 5/16″ socket was needed for this job.
4. Finally, I secured the mounting brackets to the driver side seat rail of my JK using the phillips screws provided.
And that’s all there is to it.
Please let me know if you have any questions 🙂
so basic and easy yet so awesome. 🙂 ill be doing this for sure.
I, too, have installed the MagLite brackets but was a little concerned about the long-term holding ability of the self-tapping screws in the 1/8″ thick seat rail, so I substituted machine screws backed by corresponding nylon lock nuts. So far, no problems.
Just did this mod a few days ago after first seeing you post it. Probaly one of the best inexpensive mods i’ve done. Very handy!
Great mod, just done in my jeep thanks for posting.
Thanks! put two in my car! on there and one on the tailgate!
Just installed the MagLite brackets in my JK. Love it!! Little things like this means ALOT!
Simple, cheap, effective and looks nice! Thanks for the write up!
A few words of advice when doing this. Don’t run into the silly stupid things I did by rushing this. follow WOL’s tips and these and it will be an easy job.
-1/8 drill bit
-go buy the self threading screws with the drill bit tip. i bought four of them for 64-cents. didn’t check the size. handed the guy at the hardware store what i wanted and he pulled the proper screws.
-why buy them? the stock screws won’t screw self-tap and screw into the seat frame. they will just barely sink in and when you crank the setting on the drill they snap.
-a 6V drill isn’t enough to even drill through the seat frame. i used a 18V which does the job, but will shear the stock screws if you try putting them in without tapping.
i farted around for nearly an hour trying to rush this and got no place. i went and bought the proper hardware and was done in 5-minutes
Just finished this today, looks great! Thanks again!
Excellent and simple mod. I love it and my 20 year old thinks it’ s badass. That’s a testimonial!
I took a few minutes looking for a self-threading screw (as suggested) in my spare screw bucket with the expected result. This was so much fun, I decided to forego the hunt for my tap & die set that I haven’t seen in years. I ended up just using a 1/8 bit and installed the supplied screws by hand without any trouble. 10 minutes looking for a self-tapping screw, 5 minutes to drill and install.
Did this mod in about 10 minutes. Overall, it cost me 24 bucks for the flashlight, batteries, and mount. Love it, since it is out of the way but makes a nice addition to my Rubi
I did this last weekend. I upgraded to some panhead screws and nuts.
Many thanks for the tip. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that make the most sense.
Are you using a 2 or 3-cell maglight? Just ordered the 3-cell LED and a mounting bracket to see if I can make this work. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll make it fit. 😉
Yes would like to know if you used the 2D, 3D or 4D MagLite?
This is great, but my concern is security. I rid a lot with out my doors and that would just scream “steal me”
Thank you for this post and thank you “Whiskeypete” for the improved process. I just completed this task today and it really went fast. Simply great!
What a cool/simple little upgrade. And yet the convenience of having my full size flashlight there is awesome (I also have some small LED lights in the console, but sometimes a full size flashglight is nice).