G3N3RAL

Ok I am not sure if this has been a thread yet but here we go. As many may know the Smittybilt xrc bumper and tire carrier have some issues. The latch comes loos over time and does not stay latched which is a safety issue. Mine has been fine for about a year now with no issues up until recently. I had my tire swing out to the side and almost hit the car in the other lane going around a turn on the freeway the other day. It happened once again this morning, I was wondering if anyone has a good fix for this. I did go pick up some 24" hood pin lanyards that I plan on trying to rig something up as a safety catch cable or something in-case the latch opens up again. I like the bumper and do not plan on replacing it so for those smitybilt haters out there its not going to happen anytime soon.

mdash

Is the latch worn out where it twists into the bumper bracket? I know the handle is aluminum and I think the whole latch assembly is replaceable if I'm not mistaken. I don't have one of these bumpers but my buddy does and he's yet to have any issues. I do know that he modified his wheel mount on the swing out so the tire is snug in the bumper notch when closed to help support the weight since its a huge tire. (He's running 42's)

MTMxRubi

Is it the Allen head bolt in the latch that loosens? When I got mine recently it came with the old style handle and the new style handle. I had an incredibly hard time getting the bolt out to put the new style handle on. The bolt was installed with red threadlocker. They included some red thread locker with the kit to put on the bolt if you decide to change the handle. If it is the Allen bolt that is backing out I would bet that putting some red threadlocker on the bolt and reinstalling should solve the problem.

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BuckLisa

A few years back that sent me a new part that made the handle more snug in the hole of the welded on bumper section. What wears out is the "T" where the notch wears out. I put a Military grade strap with press in clamps around the a frame and wrapped around the rear door handle. I also got a short bingo cord with hooks and wrapped one hook around the handle on a groove and the other hook around the shackle D ring. White trash fix!

G3N3RAL

I have the same setup mine did come with two handles and thread lock. I will check it to see if it is loose or not.

G3N3RAL

I know some one that put a wire tie down around the handle on his to keep it from coming loose but I was looking for another possible answer.

G3N3RAL

I am running 35s I may be able to lower it to get it to fit snugger and maybe avoid as much vibration. I will look into that and see if it helps.

Wet Willy

I recently disassembled the handle assembly to remove the rust that was seeping out. After that it works smoothly, but almost too smoothly. Since then i have been running a short bungee through the handle hole and clevis mount for piece of mind.

G3N3RAL

I am finding that this seems to be the answer for this issue. I was hoping to have a better solution but oh well cant win them all.

JKcity

Just get a Teraflex tailgate mounted option, smooth it out and be done.