Body Armor rear bumper and Garage Pro roof rack base install issue
03-04-2014, 03:42 AM
#1
JK Freak
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Has anyone installed a Body Armor rear high clearance bumper (and tire carrier) along with a Body Armor or other brand roof rack? I recently purchased a Body Armor rear bumper and it installed easily. However, I purchased a Garage Pro roof rack from JCWhitney, and it looks like the passenger side rear mounting leg/bracket will not mount up with the Body Armor rear bumper at the frame due to a support gusset welded on the back side of the bumper to reinforce the pivot for the tire carrier.
The Garage Pro is supposedly made the same as Body Armor, Smittybilt, Barricade, N-dure and other racks as others have said. See attached pic of my JK: You can see the rear mounts in the third pic, lower right, where the two large holes mate with the bumper mounting bolts and the smaller holes towards the front of the bracket align with the smaller holes on the frame.
I do not want to drill holes in my quarter panels using the alternate method used for stock bumpers, since it wont be as strong and may lead to damage later on. I'm still waiting on arrival of the rack so I haven't actually sized things up so I may be able to use a cutoff wheel and trim the gusset, assuming the tongue on the rear leg mount will fit under it, just wondering what others have experienced.
The Garage Pro is supposedly made the same as Body Armor, Smittybilt, Barricade, N-dure and other racks as others have said. See attached pic of my JK: You can see the rear mounts in the third pic, lower right, where the two large holes mate with the bumper mounting bolts and the smaller holes towards the front of the bracket align with the smaller holes on the frame.
I do not want to drill holes in my quarter panels using the alternate method used for stock bumpers, since it wont be as strong and may lead to damage later on. I'm still waiting on arrival of the rack so I haven't actually sized things up so I may be able to use a cutoff wheel and trim the gusset, assuming the tongue on the rear leg mount will fit under it, just wondering what others have experienced.
Last edited by vulcan classic; 03-05-2014 at 03:21 AM.
03-04-2014, 04:04 AM
#2
JK Junkie
I have that rear bumper in the non-tire carrier version and that gusset is definitely not there.
Below is link to instructions from Body Armor for their roof rack and it does appear to be the same kit as the Garage Pro.
I wonder if you could clearance the gusset or possibly cut it out and have it re-attached (weld) after you install the roof rack bracket?
Body Armor has pictures all over the Internet showing that rear bumper and roof rack combo but I cannot find any that have a detail of the rear bracket.
http://bodyarmor4x4.com/ba/wp-conten...24-6125-ii.pdf
Below is link to instructions from Body Armor for their roof rack and it does appear to be the same kit as the Garage Pro.
I wonder if you could clearance the gusset or possibly cut it out and have it re-attached (weld) after you install the roof rack bracket?
Body Armor has pictures all over the Internet showing that rear bumper and roof rack combo but I cannot find any that have a detail of the rear bracket.
http://bodyarmor4x4.com/ba/wp-conten...24-6125-ii.pdf
03-04-2014, 04:53 AM
#3
JK Freak
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Yup Same exact instructions as Smittybilt. I purchased the Garage Pro for $252 shipped from JCW, and it includes the crossbars, which the Body Armor does not, plus their price is considerably higher. I did try calling Body Armor but they weren't much help, only said their rack is designed to work with their bumper.
http://1.cdn.lib.extremeterrain.com/...5154_Guide.pdf
http://1.cdn.lib.extremeterrain.com/...5154_Guide.pdf
Last edited by vulcan classic; 03-05-2014 at 08:47 AM.
03-05-2014, 02:59 PM
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JK Freak
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Well I received half the rack, missing all the vertical pieces and hardware, JCW has horrible customer service. I received one long box with only the front and rear lightbars and the side rails and crossbars, no front or rear uprights or frame brackets or hardware :(
03-05-2014, 03:31 PM
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JK Freak
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03-07-2014, 08:44 AM
#8
JK Freak
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Well so much for this cargo rack...I finally gave up and sent it back for a refund, thanks to the morons at JCW, clueless :((
Spoke with 5 different customer service reps trying to figure out where the rest of the parts were, all could barely speak English, this country is doomed, I'll make my own rack, LOL!
Guess I wont half to hack my bumper after all!
Spoke with 5 different customer service reps trying to figure out where the rest of the parts were, all could barely speak English, this country is doomed, I'll make my own rack, LOL!
Guess I wont half to hack my bumper after all!
Last edited by vulcan classic; 03-07-2014 at 08:46 AM.
03-12-2014, 08:55 AM
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JK Freak
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This gets crazier by the day. After I just returned the box with half the parts and requested a refund, FEDEX shows up with another box with the rest of parts for the rack. Now I still have half the parts and no refund yet!!
JCW sucks!
JCW sucks!