Something else that you may want to think of, is a "Daystar handle Isolator":

(click for info)


It's a little cheesy (and pricey), and you can do "fine" with some hard foam (like from old knee pads) and a zip tie, but it's reusable, has a dedicated purpose and does it really well.

 

When I go offroad I mount mine in the front, but for highway driving, I keep it inside.

 

I keep mine on the 4x4 brackets that are secured to my custom cargo box I made. I like having it twords the seats, not the back. It also makes a good light-duty tiedown. It would be easier to get to in another place, but I have only needed it twice in 1 year.

Lamm

 

They work well (and come in black, i think) my brother has an isolater on his and I've never heard a peep out of it. Speaking from personal experience the isolater work with the Wilderness Roof Rack brackets. However with the wilderness brackets you don't really need it, they do a good job of keeping it from rattling. I did secure the handle with a velcro wrap and used a small bungee to keep the base from rattling (see my pic back at the begining of the thread). Not sure about the Surco or Confer brackets.

 

Cut off about 1" and strapped it in the back behind the rear seat. At full length it pushed the tail gate out a bitBUt it lays pretty flat next to the spare, 31 10.5 tire strapped standing up in the rear by the two hooks in the bed. Try to rember, a highlift is great, but it should be protected from the Elements if you want it to last a long time.