Hey everyone,

I recently had some issues with the spot welds on my rear tailgate from my 35 inch tire. It was time to upgrade, and I went the cheap route, but who cares why. The main thing is I did my research and landed on the rancho bumper. I had some concerns going into it, but for the price, I thought I could make it work, and it seems I was right.


First off, before I go into the install and everything, heres the culprit, my 2010 Wrangler Sport.



So, after removing the front bumper and stock tire carrier, I found the bumper portion to go on very easily. (I failed to take pictures of the process, but it is idiot proof)

The bumper uses the four stock holes on the outside of the frame rails, and requires some drilling into the rear cross member. All in all it took about 20 minutes for the bumper portion. The bumper was well made and fit snug over the frame rails.

The tire carrier was not as easy or carefree to install. I pressed in the bushing and installed the carrier with supplied long bolt. The fit between the bolt and bushing was an interference fit, and I had to hammer the bolt through, resulting in the threads to deform, making it very difficult to get the nut on the end. The bushing on the latch side did not line up with the holes drilled for the latch pin to slide through, so I had to drill my own straight path for proper locking of the carrier. After those two problems were addressed, the remainder of the install went without a hitch, so overall I was happy.

After i installed the spare, which barely fit flush even with the provided spacer (I am using the stock rims with 35's) I proceeded to open and close the carrier. When I close the carrier, I have to lift up slightly due to the weight of the tire, but that does not bother me. Overall I am happy with the install.

After driving for a few days with this set up, it became ever so apparent that in rain, 6 foot rooster tails resulted from the lack of a bumper or anything for that matter behind the rear wheels.

As we all know, stock rear bumpers are a dime a dozen, so I dug out the sawzall and went to work.

What I came up with were essentially endcaps, and kept the bottom inch of the bumper for added support. I thought it turned out great, and it will definately keep the police off my back.

Here are the pics and the rims were painted black before this install so the jeep looks a little different.









Andrew

 

Ha-ha, that looks great. I've been mulling over about getting that carrier but haven't pulled the trigger. I was going to weld end caps to make a mid width bumper. Does it become a hassle having to lift the carrier every time you have to access the back? Oh, is there room for gerry cans between the gate and carrier?

 

I havent actually placed my jerrys to test the width, but I think the metal ones may actually fit.

I have the plastic scepter cans, so I am hoping they will fit. In any case, it looks as if it will be tight.

And as far as lifting the gate, its only less than half an inch I have to lift it, so I am thinking I can shave that off the bottom of the plastic caps that house the latching pin.

Its not really a pain at all, and doesnt require much effort

For the money, it really is a nice bumper, and makes no sound whatsoever.

Andrew

 

I did the exact same thing, and I think it looks great. After 3 months, I sold it.

You will learn to hate the hitch/cotter pin setup on the carrier; if you use the rear gate much.

My spare (35" at the time), seemed to move around a lot. Every bump and I could see the spare wiggling around through the rearview.

Don't get me wrong, it's cheap and does the job. Just wasn't for me.

 

I have the same bumper....and the only reason I have it is because I got it for free brand new....I had to drill out every hole and I have already had to touch up paint it twice.

I am getting a local fab shop to rebuild the swingout so its almost flush with the tailgate ASAP

ps go to tractors supply and get a hitch pin with a handle and throw the dumb thing that came with it in the garbage....best 5 dollars I ever spent

 

The addition of the stock bumper ends looks great. Someone else on here did that a while back and you both did a great job with it. I'm considering doing that as well with mine, but at the same time, I kind of like not having anything there to catch rocks. However, I really just need to get around to fabricating some tube corners or something like that to protect the corners but maintain clearance...maybe something similar to the corners on the Smittybuilt SRC bumper.

I bought mine used and already put together. Therefore, I didn't run into any assembly or install problems. But, mine rattles like crazy so I've got to squish a rubber bushing between the swing out and the frame-mounted portion and push pretty hard on the swing out to keep it from rattling. Like the corners, I've got to get around to making a different latching mechanism that holds it tight as well as something that's more convenient to open and close...I avoid opening my carrier unless I absolutely have to. Oh well, the price was right and it serves it's purpose.

 

Bump how are they holdin up?

 

Mine's been on for over a year and it's holding up fine. And I had no install issues. Mine closes with no up or down wiggling and there are no squeaks or rattles. The only corrosion noted is inside the Rancho logo cutout on the top. I guess they didn't get the powder coat in there good.

 

this is brilliant!!!! great job!