so i read some pretty through 101's on the or-fab carrier install--they seem rather lengthy..

how much of a PITA is it to install?

i do a fair amunt of wrenching on my jeep..

is it difficult to install? or just ALOT to install?

thanks
steve

 

Mainly just a lot to do. It is fairly involved but not overly difficult. Working inside the tailight holes can be a pita if you have big hands like me though. But its definitely worth it. I've had it over a year and I'm still 100% happy with it.

 

The write up posted on it is pretty detailed. It's not so much that it's HARD to do as there's a lot of steps to do. Not too hard. Just need some weird tools like the angled drill... Take your time doing it, and keep a friend handy - having an extra set of hands will make things a LOT easier, especially when you get ready to actually hook up the carrier to the hinge!!!

The biggest PITA is the drilling/cutting part. Once you get that down, it's easy going. A couple of the brackets you gotta install goes in through the tail light area - makes for some tight working spots. Other than that, it's pretty good. It's absolutely SOLID once you have it all together.

 

It's not hard, just technical. You want to be precise. After that, the actual stuff isn't any different from anything else we do to the Jeeps.
Having a friend is pretty much a requirement to put the hinge bolts through. I couldn't hold the carrier up and do that at the same time, trust me I tried.

 

the drilling is what i'm curious about--do they give you a templet or "measure twice, drill once"

 

No template when I put mine in. Just keep your fingers crossed that you measured perfect.

 

i did mine im no rocket scientist or am i?

 

As mentioned above, no template came with mine either. One did come with my sport cage though, so they may have changed some practices, but you would have to bring it up with Yates.
Measured about 4 times before I drilled personally.

 

definitely a good solid carrier once installed. I don't have any notes from when mine went on other than what's been said. You'll definitely be happy with this carrier though, it's tough.

 

You drill the pilot hole for the latch mount from the inside out. The bracket is already firmly mounted to the inside of the fender well so the bolt hole is there as a guide. Once you have the pilot hole drilled, you can use a hole saw or Unibit to make the bigger hole. Really, it's not hard at all.