Land Cruiser Build Uneek 4×4 Rear Bar

Uneek 4×4 Rear Bar

A look at the next part of our Land Cruiser build, installing our Uneek 4×4 Rear Bar.

Initially I wasn’t going to look at adding a rear bar in the short term, however once I changed the wheels and tyres I really had to (welcome to the money pit) with all that extra weight on the rear door. And, if I was going to do it eventually then why not just do it straight away and enjoy it for longer, right!

I had done a little research on what rear bars are out there in the Aussie market and there are some cheaper options to the ridiculously expensive Kaymar setup. The cheaper ones just look terrible and I was not going to drop $5k on a Kaymar setup once you get all the accessories. I have also heard that the tow bar that comes with the Kaymar bar is actually not as great as they advertise, but anyway there are peeps out there that’ll tell you they are the best thing since sliced bread, different strokes for different folks.

So I decided for this part of the Land Cruiser build to go with a Uneek 4×4 rear bar for a few reasons. Firstly, I like the look of them, they are chunky, have a great rough matt black powder coat and just look bloody well made. Secondly, they are manufactured in Australia and I always try and support locally made products as they are usually far better made and you are supporting Aussie jobs. Thirdly, they are not ridiculously expensive when you are comparing them to say a Kaymar bar, they aren’t cheap either but for what you get they are a decent price in my opinion anyway. Finally, the main reason I did go with Uneek is that you don’t need to swing open the spare tyre carrier before you can open the rear door, the door opens as per usual. Why is this good? If you are out exploring on a dusty or muddy track you don’t have to reach under your spare tyre to release the tyre swing arm before you can open the door and get covered in dirt. I did also have a Uneek bull bar on my Wrangler and it was mint.

I purchased the bar from the guys at Murchison Products on the North Side of Brisbane as they are always good to me with pricing. I decided at this point in time to only get the bar and the driver side spare tyre carrier – I will see in the future if I need to get a jerry can holder however with the trailer this is probably not necessary. Fortunately for me, I have a really good relationship with the guys at Speedy Towbars, also on the North Side of Brisbane, and they agreed to help me install this (which is not something that they usually do) while they installed a heavy duty tow bar. I was advised that this would take 6 hours to install by Uneek and Murchison, however the guys at Speedy with all the right gear did this in half that time.

The old rear bumper came off fairly quickly, plugs off the old rear lights were cut off the factory bumper and then the tow bar was installed. The light plugs removed from the old bumper were then connected up to the lights on the Uneek rear bar for easier install and removal if ever required – these were soldered together. You will need to install LED load resistors for the lights as the Uneek bar is fitted with LED’s and the factory bar is not – you need to install these or else you will experience the hyper flash issue with your indicators. The provided spacers were installed and then the rear bar was fitted to the Cruiser. It looks absolutely amazing now with the chunky black bar compared to the cheap plastic factory bumper.

The fitting instructions have a few issues as there must have been some changes with the Cruiser over the years. There was no need to install the nut plate, as the Cruiser already had welded nuts fitted to the chassis – this is where the tow bar is bolted on as well. There is also mention that the factory flares / mud guards need to be cut, however we found that this was not required (so don’t go cutting these unless you really need to, as you will be a bit annoyed if you cut them for no apparent reason). If you have a tow bar already installed you will need to remove the bolts connected to the chassis to install the spacers and then to fit the rear bar. The instructions also mention that you will need the assistance of a friend, if you and your friend are built like a rugby prop then maybe, you will need at least 3 people to install this.

The rear tyre mount on the door was removed and then replaced with the Uneek door plate, swing arm bearings got greased up and then the swing arm was installed. The spare tyre was bolted onto the swing arm and then when the correct placement was found this was secured into place (a few holes need to be drilled here). The swing arm was then connected to the rear door using the supplied tie rod. Getting the correct settings with the tie rod took some time and I have adjusted it quite a few times since to try and get this just right. The rear bar all installed and Big Betty looking just bloody amazing!

Since the bar has been installed and I have done a few hundred kms I have found one issue that drives me a little crazy. The rear door now squeaks whenever you go over a bump. I have played around with the tie rod to try and get the correct tension but I am still having a few noise issues here. It it not as bad as it was at the start, but still an annoyance. I will continue to play around with the tie rod tension settings to see if I can eliminate the noise.

Also need to make some sort of a cap to fit over the left hand side axle for the other swing arm. Doesn’t look great when it’s not being used and it is going to rust really easily being exposed metal. Will need to oil or grease it and cover with something. Once I make something I’ll update the blog so you can see it.

Blog update (Jan 2020)

Contacted Uneek 4×4 and they do sell a cover for the other axle for the swing arm. Turns out it is the Kaymar cover. I ordered one, cost $20 and it fits perfect. Greased the axle beforehand, added the cover and then used a pin to keep in place. Looks much better.

I have added the fitting instructions below if anyone is interested in seeing what is involved with the install of the bar.

Overall though I am really happy with this part of the Land Cruiser build and fitting the Uneek 4×4 rear bar. It looks great and will serve us well for the hundred of thousands of kms we plan to do around this beautiful country of ours. Send us a message on Instagram if you have any questions or comment below.

Here is the rear bar on Uneek 4×4’s website if you would like more information.

More to come…

The thoughts of Peter.