willypapooh

i have the one with the new handle and i have never had a problem with it unlatching, and i ts rattle free. i think it is a great bumper.

JPTwinz

My latch has a pretty slim tollerance of play so with a 40" tire it does tip the latching end down a bit. But I just raise it up a semi-fraction of an inch to latch it. Defintiely doesn't require any muscle to make it latch.

JPTwinz

If the 1/2" is what the directions said to use then I definitely have 1/2" because I don't remember having any install road bumps with the bolt size.

dadgummit

**Update**


I just got back from Transamerican auto parts (they own 4-wheel parts, 4wd.com, procomp and Smittybilt) and spoke with Ray @ Smittybilt

He and a R&D guy came out to look at my jeep and I can say without a doubt they were extremely concerned. They are going to have me drop the jeep off tomorrow at 7:00 am so the R&D guy can look at it in depth and see if there is anything he can do with the spare parts he has on hand to fix the problem. Heck he is even going to drive me to work and pick me up when he is done.

I am not going to start organizing a parade yet but I have to say, customer service wise, it went about as well as I could have hoped. I also spoke with Raul at the parts counter and he said that if it couldn't be fixed to my satisfaction there is no problem with trading it for a Fab Fours or any other bumper they carry.

sm_rubi

That's good to hear. Hopefully they didn't see something they think might be a time bomb with the product...still haven't installed mine...might hold off until we get your update tomorrow. But it is good to hear they have good customer service!

dadgummit

I will update as soon as I have one, I let them know that I am very picky and if I am not confident with their fix I would not accept it. they said ok to that.


Hey, I just realized I am now a JK Freak! Cool!!

backwoodjk

Good to hear they are helping you out. I just spoke to them and they said my issue of the latch not lining up can be fixed by tightening the bolts on the hinge pivot sleeve.

Unfortunately I can't go try this until the wife gets home from work. She didn't want to drive it last week, but now that the new bumpers are on my jeep is MIA!

ROKN JK

We were quite impressed with the build quality of the bumper, so I hope they can make it right... Will be keeping my fingers crossed for ya John...

dadgummit

** 2nd Update**

I just got the jeep back from Smittybilt today and it is much much better but still not correct. The carrier closes well, you don't have to lift it up to close it and it actually clicks when turn the handle home. During normal driving the carrier stays closed so right there it is miles ahead of yesterday. In the 5 mile drive from Smitty to my office there is one of those dips in the road where a gutter crosses the street. I hit that at about 35 miles per hour and I heard a loud thunk. when I stopped and looked it was unlatched... The carrier did not open but the handle was almost 90 degrees from latched and probably after a few more bumps it would have opened.....

I called Matt at Smitty again and he sounded pretty bummed. He is going out of town tomorrow not returning until Monday morning he offered to look at it again then.

I am really at an impasse.... Can I confidently keep this thing? I would rather spend 1200 for something that works than 650 for something that doesn't.

What would you do?

ShawnJ

Sorry to hear you are having all these problems. That is why I love forums like these so we all don't have to learn the hard way that some products don"t perform as well as intended.

I was considering this bumper obviously because of the price however, the last thing I want to happen is to take a left turn and have it swing open and hit a pedestrian in the face with a 35" spare.

Guess I'll have to drop the 1200 clams. They close tight!