I purchased a dirtbound offroad tire carrier in mid december for my XJ, received it and installed it in mid january no problems but it was missing the "lighted license plate bracket" that was supposed to be included. So I sent them an email asking about it to which I got a reply that they are on backorder and will be shipped out soon (ok no big deal)

As of a week ago I noticed a lot of noise coming from the rear of my jeep. Turns out the swingarm bushings for the carrier are already wearing and causing play and the hole in the bumper for the latch pin is "oblong" creating play as well. I messaged dirtbound about this issue as well as an update on my plate bracket. I got a reply asking if I greased it. I replied yes (I was not shy with the grease gun). Haven't heard back since.. I figure i'm probably SOL

Anyone else running this carrier and experienced this issue?? If need be I think I can fab up a plate bracket myself with a license plate light but I'm looking for idea's on how I can possibly fix it as I imagine its only going to get worse as time goes on. You can bet I wish I had saved a bit more cash and went with a JCR

 

most of the time its way easier to call him or send him an email thru the website. i have never had any problems with his products. but thats weird about the carrier because i know he tested it out for a few months with a 35in spare on.

 

I got a reply finally and my license plate bracket is in the mail. But he refuses to answer or acknowledge any questions regarding the very loose fitment of the swing arm.

For those of you looking to purchase dirtbound products, I'd keep this in mind. The price and looks are appealing, but the quality (of tire carrier) and customer service are not so much

 

thats weird because i have ordered from him many times and service and products were top notch and the fitment was perfect and never had issues

 

I couldn't find many reviews of their stuff, but what I did find was very positive. Unfortunately I didn't get so lucky this time.

But I'm pretty sure because the swing arm bushings failed is what caused the latch pin hole to wear out. So I'll have to get some idea's on how to fix it. Having it swing out on bearings rather than bushings would be nice, we'll see what I can come up with when the warmer weather comes. Once this issue is addressed I'm sure I'll be more than happy with the carrier

 

just weld a washer on the bumper where the hole is to make it a circle again.

 

That's the easy part. But it will do the same thing again unless the pivot point on the carrier is tightened up. The entire assembly moves back and forth putting stress on the latch pin/hole. Its hard to explain, I may have to get some video of what I'm talking about

 

Have you tried to call? I'm waiting for my extreme winch bumper to be shipped.

 

I haven't tried calling. With the "one sentence" reply's I got by email not answering my question at all, I assume I won't get much farther with a phone call.

I'm confident you won't have any issues with your winch bumper. The bumper itself that I got is perfecty fine, no complaints at all. But the brass bushings on the swing out are not in it for the long haul

 

I think I'd hit up a machine shop and get some SS bushings cut.

I actually prefer to call when I have issues. The dude may be to busy to email, but once you got him on the phone, unless he hangs up on you, he has to talk.

 

I am really considering getting a new set machined out of SS. Any idea's why he may have chose to use Brass rather than steel, or any other possibly stronger metals???

 

Who knows? Easier to cut and cheaper?

 

Took it apart tonight, and as I suspected there is a lot of slop in the bushings. Frustrating to spend 900$ and its worn out in a few weeks

 

call him up and see if he will replace them. most likely they werent installed correctly to tightened down enough and thats what caused them to go out so fast.

 

Well I am not sure why your carrier is rattling so much, we build each carrier to match the bumper and they are tested extensively before shipping. This would be the first tire carrier having this issue. The hole may appear oblong a little but that could also be due to the manufacturing method. Its very hard to believe the hole got out of shape by its self, 3/16" steel is pretty dang strong.

Normally we use thin foam padding to stop any minor rattling, I went ahead and sent some new bushings although I don't think that is the issue. Try to the foam and the new bushings when they arrive, and make sure the hinge pin is tight.

Also please make sure the hinge pin is tight, and I mean tight! Any bit of looseness can cause the thing to rattle.

The reason we use the brass bushings is because they are oil impregnated and will last longer then steel on steel bushings despiste the softer material.

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Just for anyone wondering, email and phone is the best way to reach us. We have 5 staff that access the facebook page and usually the messages don't get read or replied to as fast as a direct email.

The "one liner" replies where probably due to us relaying the response to someone else in the office.

- Max
Max@dirtboundoffroad.com
(909)599-4847