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I just ordered a rear tire carrier bumper. I'm already having buyers remorse. It hurts to spend so much money.
So I bought the Smittybilt XRC Rear Tire Carrier from Morris 4x4. It was shipped in 2 packages. According to the shipping/tracking info, they were both shipped at the exact same time with the exact same ETA.
The first arrived at my house Friday. I opened the box and the tire carrier was inside. Everything looked to be in order. For whatever reason they other package got hung up in Florida and didn't arrive. I kept checking the tracking all weekend and finally it was updated that it would arrive today. I got home from lunch and found this:
Are you kidding me? That's how you deliver a package? The rips & tears in the bubble wrap were there when I walked up. That's exactly how it sat when I got to my back porch. Ignore the plastic bag behind the bumper, that's an owners manual from a lawnmower I just bought. There was nothing included with the bumper at all.
It was beat to hell. I called Morris and talked to them. They were awesome. He assured me that they didn't ship their products the way my bumper arrived. They were shipped in boxes and wrapped well to prevent any damage. They shipped me another bumper while I was on the phone and arranged for FedEx to come pick up the package while I was at work. They'd bring the return slip & everything.
I wouldn't have even minded the scrapes, scratches & chips so much considering it's going to get that way anyway and these were pretty minimal considering the subpar packaging. What ticked me off was that there was supposed to be so much more included.
Where were the tie in brackets? Where were the nut strips? Where were the rear fender armor? Where were the instructions? Hardware? ANYTHING? Are you kidding me FedEx? How many hands did this pass through like this and no one thought to themselves, "hmmm this doesn't seem right."
Again, all praise to Morris who did everything they could to help me out. They were perfect.
So I bought the Smittybilt XRC Rear Tire Carrier from Morris 4x4. It was shipped in 2 packages. According to the shipping/tracking info, they were both shipped at the exact same time with the exact same ETA.
The first arrived at my house Friday. I opened the box and the tire carrier was inside. Everything looked to be in order. For whatever reason they other package got hung up in Florida and didn't arrive. I kept checking the tracking all weekend and finally it was updated that it would arrive today. I got home from lunch and found this:
Are you kidding me? That's how you deliver a package? The rips & tears in the bubble wrap were there when I walked up. That's exactly how it sat when I got to my back porch. Ignore the plastic bag behind the bumper, that's an owners manual from a lawnmower I just bought. There was nothing included with the bumper at all.
.
Dude that sucks major. Crazy cause I just bought and received the same exact bumper today. I ordered mine from 4wheelparts. I was very impressed with the packaging on their/UPS's end. Feel bad or the guy who had to wheel it to my door, this thing is heavy!
Packages laying against my doorway
Dude that sucks major. Crazy cause I just bought and received the same exact bumper today. I ordered mine from 4wheelparts. I was very impressed with the packaging on their/UPS's end. Feel bad or the guy who had to wheel it to my door, this thing is heavy!
Packages laying against my doorway
unboxed and waiting to be installed
Post some pics when you get it installed, there aren't nearly enough pictures out there of XRC's on XJ's. Trust me, I googled it a ton of different ways haha.
This was definitely on FedEx and not Morris. Morris went above and beyond what I would have expected. The new bumper should be here today and you're right, this thing is way heavier than I had anticipated.
Looks really good. That bronze color is one of my favorite XJ colors. Hard to come across them in good condition. You have a build page?
I've made progress but I had a hell of a time getting my passenger side bracket on. That nutstrip isn't designed very well at all, or at least mine wasn't, but I got it to work. Now I've just got to find someone who's free one afternoon to finish. Problem is it's football season haha.
I love the tire carrier itself, but the rear end sits a little lower now. I've gotta solve that problem pretty quickly. More later, but I've got a lot of work on my plate.
So the install. Let me first say that this was all made much easier by reading the writeup I found here: http://gunscarstech.com/2015/01/03/s...-installation/ 10 times better than the instructions Smittybilt sent.
Anyway, we had company in town last weekend for the start of football season and my wife had cleaned the entire house top to bottom. The only thing left was the bumper & tire carrier taking up space inside the entry way. I decided to take off the entire day Friday to finish the install so the house would be clean. If I'd done this on a Saturday I would have had someone there to help me with everything. As it was, everyone else was at work and I was alone, underneath my Jeep on a hot as hell Friday afternoon.
Getting the old bumper off was a pain in the ***. I was cursing everyone I everything I ever knew. But, in the end, it came off. If you have enough time, you can accomplish anything.
The next step was getting the passenger side nutstrip on, which was also a pain in the ***. Before I bought this bumper I read TONS of reviews online, they all said the same thing, the fit can sometimes be a little off. And they were right. The nutstrip needs to be bent from the factory so that it will fit inside the frame and into the bolts. I almost went to the store and got longer bolts, and I probably should have, but I just didn't feel like it. I worked with what I had.
The entire time to take the bumper off and insert the new nutstrips/bumper brackets was around 3 hours. The entire install should only take 2-3 hours according to the instructions. I'm a novice when it comes to all things mechanical, but I'm not sure anyone would have done the entire install in only 2-3 hours. Not unless they had several sets of hands helping them.
The instructions say to place the brackets "a little under 34 inches," that should be enough to tell you about the fitment issues everyone runs into. "A little under 34" isn't much of an exact measurement. It also didn't mention whether under 34 was from the insides or outsides of the bracket. Regardless. I had to loosen the brackets on both sides several times to get the bumper to slide on properly. Again, this would have taken a lot less time if I had an extra set of hands to help me.
Those were the hardest things about the install. Everything after was a breeze. As you can see below, I did have to use some creative methods to hold my bumper at the correct height while I bolted everything in. Yes those are pieces of scrap wood on fold out chairs. I've had them laying around from when I made the shutters on our house. Yes this could have been a stupid thing to do. I realize it could have fallen on me and crushed my skull into oblivion. BUT it's probably not as unsafe as you imagine. I slid the bumper into the correct position, and kept it place with one hand while I hand tightened several bolts before I ever crawled under the Jeep. I didn't plan on dying.
The one thing that gave me a little trouble after everything was bolted on was the alignment of the swing arm. Again this would have taken 5-10 minutes if someone had been there to help me. Instead it took closer to 2. I also still don't love the way the tire sits at a slightly reversed angle from the hatch's, but I think some further adjusting will help get it into place a little better.
As you can see the bumper weighs a ton. My entire rear has dropped about .75". My leaf packs are only about 2 years old. I've ordered some JKS boomerang's that should help get the height back and help with ride quality. Hopefully I can get those in fairly soon.
A lot of people are down on this product because of fitment issues. To me, that's not a problem. It takes some adjusting and a little bit of extra time, but in the end, you can get it to fit perfectly. The price and quality are right. I got mine for $650 shipped to my door. That's almost $1000 less than similar tire carriers. The powdercoating is a bit thin, but that's what Rustoleum is for. It's not a perfect product by any means, but it's a perfect product for the price. The price lets you put more money into more important areas, because let's be honest, a rear tire carrier is one of the least important investments you can make on your XJ. Even with all the headaches I had during installation, I highly recommend this carrier.
Looks good!! I've been wondering about the weight change in the rear so it's good to see someone else's opinion.
Thanks!
Here's a better picture to show just how much the rear has come down. Hopefully putting on my JKS boomerang shackles today or tomorrow if I can find time.
Here's a better picture to show just how much the rear has come down. Hopefully putting on my JKS boomerang shackles today or tomorrow if I can find time.
JKS shackles are on, I'll snap a few pictures later. Got a full inch out of them so now I'm sitting at 3.25" of lift in the front and 4" of lift in the rear. Looks great though and the ride quality has VASTLY improved even pre-bumper. This thing isn't as comfortable as my wife's Volvo yet, but it's getting there.
My next step is to find a good used set of 32" tires. I think I can clear them since I've got a front bumper with plenty of clearance and 4" of lift in the back. Add some extra bumpstopping and I should be good. I really didn't expect to do as much as I've done this summer, but it just sort of happened. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
08-31-2015, 03:21 PM
