mefly2

OK ... Man ...

chuck45

I have to agree with you on RockHard; they make the stoutest stuff available. A lot of people may not get the reference to Dillon Precision but as a long time shooter and reloader and owner of a Dillon 1050 I can say that they are THE standard for exemplary, over the top, customer service. Comparing somebody favorably to Dillon is praise indeed.

As to the rear bumper I also have one (in addition to their full width front bumper, rocker gaurds, and tow of the three skids) and it a good unit. The fact that it woeks so well wih a simple car door type latch is a tribute to it's good design. I do agree with you in that it takes more care to adjust than those with over center style latches.

I have two of the swing away tire carriers. One is the stock one and the other is one I built myself (Lewis sold me just the bottom arm and pivot) to be able to carry four fuel cans on extended trips. The RH is the ONLY one I found with a stout enough pivot point (solid 1.25") that went thru the bumper and was braced bellow that I thought could carry the weight of four full gas cans and the tire and HiLift. Lewis said there was no market for an item like that but that the bumper and carrier could hold the weight - so I did it. I'd include a pic of what I did but I just cut part of it up as I came up with a better way to mount two of the cans.

There is enough difference that the number of shims needed for each is different but that is no big deal. For the person that had problems in that area you could also rasie the block by putting a spacer under it if needed.

As to customer service I was having an issue installing the TC/trans skid and called RH (I was misunderstanding something). Lewis was in CA but had calls forwarded to his cell. He expained what I needed to do but then he asked where I was. It turns out he was leaving CA, going to stop in Moab for a few days and then head back to Nebraska, but that he's pass within a few miles of where I lived. He said if I had any further probelems to give him a call back and he'd stop by my house and help me install it.

One further thing. All RH stuff is made in the USA, in St Paul Nebraska. When I spoke to him at EJS he said he was one of the largest employers in town. Quite frankly, when I have a choice, I'd rather give my money to a company that employees AMERICANS rather than have stuff built in China.

And no, they didn't pay me to write that either.

Biff Malibu

I think the quality of the bumper is fantastic, but I don't like the latch system. It doesn't matter how you shim it, there is nothing keeping the carrier from traveling upward over bumps and rattling on plastic block.

I believe a striker with a replaceable delrin cover, and a buckle type latch that would go from top to bottom, would make this bumper rattle free.

That being said, their customer service is excellent! They definitely are standing behind their products, and I wouldn't hesitate to do business with them again.
(I wrote this for free)

chuck45

It must be in the adjustment of it because mine doesn't rattle at all. I have a little positve tension down just as it closes so it is held against the plastic block. The system is the same double catch as as car doors but does take a littlemore effort to dial in. I like that I only have to trip one latch to open it. I would like to see them include more directions on getting it right as it is something that can't be dialed in at the factory but has to be done as part of he install.

Northridge4x4

I agree most people dont realize that it is a double latch and dont have it closed all the way.

If there was one bad thing about rockhard it would have to be the instructions. or lack there of.

David

bobzinger

I think this thread has helped me in my decision for a RockHard bumper/carrier. Thanks everyone for your feedback and opinions. I will be referring to these posts should I run into any install issues.

Thanks!

Rubidonn

I've had my RockHard for 2.5 yrs now and initially it rattled just a hair... I put a little piece of rubber (bicycle tube) between the tire carrier and the plastic piece... Works great. The only complaint I would really have about the bumper is the powder coat finish (or the prep work prior). After about 14 mos of having it, the coating started to peel. Nothing impacted the bumper, it did this in many places. Never tried to call RockHard as I figured I was out of term on the warranty plus the hassle of trying to remedy the situation would be problematic I'm sure. I ended up taking it down to a local powder coater and they did a fine job. He said that they should have really tried to knock down the sharp edges all around the bumper because that is where the powder coat would have a hard time bonding. He said his powder coating would do the same thing if the edges weren't knocked down. So I had him go through and grind all the edges slightly to take off the sharpness. So far so good. Overall I do like the bumper and if given the chance to decide again on a rear bumper, I'd go with the same one - RockHard... Maybe the prep them better these days, but the initial ones didn't do so well... or maybe mine was an exception

Castalone

Mine rattles. I adjusted the rubber bump stops out as far as I could and still close it. Haven't messed with shims though... Mine does rest on the plastic block... Any ideas would be great!

mefly2

So ... what did you do and how did it work out ...? My positive pressure / pre-load has lessened; so, I just glued a piece of plastic from a ski/boot plate onto the bottom of the tire swing arm ... still works rattle-free and now there is no wear on the powder coating from rubbing against the plastic block.

CM5280

Hello All,

I have to tell you about my experience installing this bumper/tire carrier....

The bumper went on very easily, then I started putting on the tire carrier. I followed the directions carefully and installed the spacer and three shims on the bottom and installed the rest on top. The aluminum cap was not easy to install, and I resorted to using a large pipe wrench (using Velcro to protect the hex top the best I could) to wrench it down so that the carrier didn't move up and down on the spindle.

The other issue I ran up against was installing the wheel lugs - I didn't know I was going to have to hammer them in! That took a while to accomplish between hammering and torquing them down so the splines went all the way through. My suggestion to others is to cut out some of the cardboard from the box and tape it around the carrier to minimize errant hammer blows onto the powder coating.

Well, I immediately noticed that the bottom of the carrier did not sit on the plastic block as it should even when I applied a lot of downward pressure. I then removed the cap and removed all the bottom shims. It still didn't sit on the plastic block. I continued on and installed my 35" spare hoping that it would help - it did not... The whole thing rattled like crazy and I was very concerned about wear and tear.

I called Rock Hard 4x4 last Friday and explained my problem that the carrier was at least 1/16" off from the plastic block with no shims on bottom with my 35" spare installed. Louie stated that he'd send me some parts so I gave him my home address.

I received a whole new tire carrier assembly today!!! I was surprised to say the least as I was expected a smaller spacer or larger plastic block. I immediately put the new assembly on and wouldn't ya know, it fits perfectly. It sits about 1/16" below the plastic block when open and sits right on it when closed. I took my Jeep out for a spin looking for big bumps - no rattles!

I called Rock Hard back and explained that the new carrier fits perfectly and praised them for their excellent customer service. I asked them if I should send back the original carrier and James (I think) explained that he thought when it was welded together, it must not have been clamped down properly, which caused is to be out-of-spec. He told me to destroy it so that it doesn't get back on the market.

I'm a very satisfied Rock Hard 4x4 customer as of today and will provide follow-up posts as to the potential powder coating/rust issue in a few months.