Disappointed with Shrockworks Rear Bumper Tire Carrier
10-19-2010, 09:10 AM
#21
JK Enthusiast
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 318
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dude, that really sucks to hear. I remember talking to ya at the pizza place about your wait. I like Shrock's stuff (I have their sliders but only because SLC had them in stock, I wanted their front bumper but went with Rock Hard because I didn't want to wait) so I'm surprised the fit is that bad.
I know that with my LoD it was a pain to get on and align, but in the end it worked. I was convinced the bolts weren't going to line up but my friend kept pushing me to wiggle and prod and bump until it all came together somehow (I still don't understand how, but it did). However there's enough clearance that there's no WAY my tailgate would come within an inch of hitting the bumper. I can't believe Shrock's is THAT close! But seriously dude, I was just like you..."Seven holes, if 5 are in, and the other 2 don't line up, they're NEVER going to" - but in the end, somehow, it did. so maybe with enough loosening and pushing down on the bumper you'd get it to slide down? Loosen bolts (leave in place) and STAND on the bumper to see if it moves down?
And my pin is so sturdy that with a 35 it doesn't even need to be lifted when closing, it stays perfectly horizontal. The handle looks cheap (and it is) but it works just fine and does the job well. The fit of the trail rack was fine. You shouldn't be having those sort of problems. My only problem with mine is that the tire rests up against the bolt heads for the bolts that attach the trail rack to the tire carrier. It seems like a bad thing but when I posted up about it, no one else replied or seemed to care.
I know that with my LoD it was a pain to get on and align, but in the end it worked. I was convinced the bolts weren't going to line up but my friend kept pushing me to wiggle and prod and bump until it all came together somehow (I still don't understand how, but it did). However there's enough clearance that there's no WAY my tailgate would come within an inch of hitting the bumper. I can't believe Shrock's is THAT close! But seriously dude, I was just like you..."Seven holes, if 5 are in, and the other 2 don't line up, they're NEVER going to" - but in the end, somehow, it did. so maybe with enough loosening and pushing down on the bumper you'd get it to slide down? Loosen bolts (leave in place) and STAND on the bumper to see if it moves down?
And my pin is so sturdy that with a 35 it doesn't even need to be lifted when closing, it stays perfectly horizontal. The handle looks cheap (and it is) but it works just fine and does the job well. The fit of the trail rack was fine. You shouldn't be having those sort of problems. My only problem with mine is that the tire rests up against the bolt heads for the bolts that attach the trail rack to the tire carrier. It seems like a bad thing but when I posted up about it, no one else replied or seemed to care.
10-19-2010, 09:25 AM
#22
JK Freak
Sorry to hear you had problems, but I know that part about emails is not true. I have e-mailed them quite a few times. The longest wait happened in July about a production time and I got a reply in less than 24 hours. My message went out at 8:27pm CST and they replied the next morning at 9:39am CST. Can't ask for much better than that.
My question is why did you modify the bumper to make things work? If its not right, you should have made them make it right. Not to flame, but chances are some problems you're experiencing might be from your own attempts at fixing things. You said it yourself, you not only filed the latch but you also "had to hammer the stop pin in." That leads me to believe user error during installation might be a factor on some things on your list. The problem with the tailgate scraping the bumper and the hitch also leads one to believe that the base may not be installed right.
Maybe you should have a qualified 4wd shop or fabricator look over everything and see if its something simple that's causing the problems. Sometimes when you get frustrated you get tunnel-vision and forget the simplest of things, like drilling out that hole of powder-coat so that the pin will go in correctly. Granted they probably should have done that before shipping, but things do get missed sometimes. You could also try taking everything off and install without the hitch. See if the other things work/align correctly after doing that. Then worry about getting the hitch back on there. It really sounds like the main portion is skewed somehow based on your descriptions and what I've seen of that bumper. The tailgate should be at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch higher than the bumper.
My question is why did you modify the bumper to make things work? If its not right, you should have made them make it right. Not to flame, but chances are some problems you're experiencing might be from your own attempts at fixing things. You said it yourself, you not only filed the latch but you also "had to hammer the stop pin in." That leads me to believe user error during installation might be a factor on some things on your list. The problem with the tailgate scraping the bumper and the hitch also leads one to believe that the base may not be installed right.
Maybe you should have a qualified 4wd shop or fabricator look over everything and see if its something simple that's causing the problems. Sometimes when you get frustrated you get tunnel-vision and forget the simplest of things, like drilling out that hole of powder-coat so that the pin will go in correctly. Granted they probably should have done that before shipping, but things do get missed sometimes. You could also try taking everything off and install without the hitch. See if the other things work/align correctly after doing that. Then worry about getting the hitch back on there. It really sounds like the main portion is skewed somehow based on your descriptions and what I've seen of that bumper. The tailgate should be at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch higher than the bumper.
He has the right to post a review about a product he bought. He isn't "bashing" Jim..he is giving an honest opinion about a product Jim makes, and quite frankly from what I read, they did do a crappy job at making the bumper.
Now, he is not to the point yet where they may or may not make it right, and in my opinion that makes or brakes a company. Customer service after the sale is what keeps you customers coming back for more. However, bottom line this guy is telling you he got a crappy product and your getting mad at him for telling the truth, then what is the point of sharing information in an open forum if a guy can't speak whats on his mind. Sometimes products suck and it sounds like this one did.
10-19-2010, 10:24 AM
#24
JK Enthusiast
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Lakewood, WA
Posts: 253
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
First of all this is my review of the product. Secondly when someone spends this much money on a product designed specifically for their vehicle (regardless of the wait), you should expect the parts should fit. One or two problems, eh, not good but not a big deal, but this many, there's no excuse for that. I contacted Shrockworks. They offerred one suggestion that's not too painful to try (which I haven't yet) and a couple of suggestions that would require me partially or fully reinstalling the bumper. That's ridiculous that the customer should have to do this. They offered no solution for my biggest problem which is the tire carrier hitting the bumper. This stuff should just work. I don't get why you guys don't see that and it's simply amazing how you people act like Shrockworks couldn't possibly be at fault. What color pill did you guys swallow anyway?
All manufactuering companies experience this, no matter how tight their quality control is, occassionaly a bad product makes it out the door. I find that you can judge a lot about a business not only by the quality of the products, but also how they deal with the inevitable "oopps".
"Your: review was very thorough about what was wrong, but your initial post said nothing about what if anything Shrockworks was doing to remedy the situation.
Today is my "blue" pill day, the rest of the week I will be on "reds" (really
)
10-19-2010, 10:57 AM
#25
JK Freak
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Burbank, CA
Posts: 829
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I know that part about emails is not true. I have e-mailed them quite a few times. The longest wait happened in July about a production time and I got a reply in less than 24 hours. My message went out at 8:27pm CST and they replied the next morning at 9:39am CST. Can't ask for much better than that.
Don't completely write them off just yet. They make great stuff. I just think I got a lemon due to the fact that they're using a new laser cutting company that may need to make adjustments in their specs. Hopefully they can identify the cause of the problems and make corrections so that others won't have the same problems. Maybe before you order you can call them and reference these problems and see if they've fixed them.
10-19-2010, 11:33 AM
#27
JK Newbie
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I really like my Shrockworks rear bumper and tire carrier, took about 3 hours for me to install, works fine. I also have the front bumper and sliders.
If I had to build another JK, I would with out a doubt buy from Shrockworks again.
If I had to build another JK, I would with out a doubt buy from Shrockworks again.
10-19-2010, 11:39 PM
#29
JK Freak
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Burbank, CA
Posts: 829
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
