Purejeep Rear Bumper w/Tire Carrier Installed!
03-07-2008, 07:08 PM
#1
JK Super Freak
Thread Starter
Purejeep Rear Bumper w/Tire Carrier Installed!
Just put on my Purejeep Rear Bumper w/Tire Carrier. Here are some observations.
Took a while (ordered 11/1/07, arrived 3/6/08), but the wait was worth it.
Couldn't believe how cheap the factory bumper is. I stood on it to wash the top of the Jeep and almost fell through it! Felt like it anyways. That was the reason I ordered the Purejeep bumper to begin with. Very easy to remove, and it's l-i-g-h-t! Glad to ditch the plastic.
Didn't weigh the new bumper, but it is no where near the 120+ lbs I've seen elsewhere on the web. In fact, the install involved taking off the hard top and putting on the bumper + tire carrier. The JK went UP 1/2"! Besides, I'm not exactly a he-man (confessions hurt) but I had no problem mounting the bumper myself.
There were a few scratches in the bumper from shipping. Nothing I'm too concerned about, but it wasn't as perfect as the Shrockworks front bumper.
The instructions seemed OK, but there were a couple of steps missing. Nothing that wasn't obvious, but if you were rushing along you might need to back track a bit.
The mounts are very solid - much more so than the factory bumper.
The instructions say to torque the factor bolts being re-used to 85 ft-lbs. I was thinking to myself as I was bearing down on the torque wrench it seemed a bit much for the size of the bolts. Sure enough, a bolt snapped off! Had to drill it out. CAUTION - 85 ft lbs on the factory bolts IS a bit much!
Be aware there is no center stop light options short of finding something that fits on top of the carrier. I'm OK with no light, but I did need to disconnect and remove the wiring from the factory center stop light. The good news is it's a snap to get out (literally).
The tire carrier sits a bit high with just the stock Rubi wheel on it. Someday I plan to upgrade to 35" tires, but for now the stock Rubi's will need to do. It is obvious that the bumper is pre-stressed for bigger tires. It rides high on the latch with the tire on, and won't close at all without a lot of downward pressure if the tire is off.
Speaking of tires, the tire mount didn't fit at all. I needed to Dremel the bolt hole openings a bit to get the mount to fit. It is 1/4" gusseted steel, so bending to fit was out of the question.
The first washboard I went on set up a pretty good rattle in the latch. Some electrical tape really helped, but that certainly isn't a long-term solution. The latch is very secure. Except for the rattle, I won't be worrying about the latch!
Overall the installation was very easy and the bumper looks and works great!
Pics to come later.
Took a while (ordered 11/1/07, arrived 3/6/08), but the wait was worth it.
Couldn't believe how cheap the factory bumper is. I stood on it to wash the top of the Jeep and almost fell through it! Felt like it anyways. That was the reason I ordered the Purejeep bumper to begin with. Very easy to remove, and it's l-i-g-h-t! Glad to ditch the plastic.
Didn't weigh the new bumper, but it is no where near the 120+ lbs I've seen elsewhere on the web. In fact, the install involved taking off the hard top and putting on the bumper + tire carrier. The JK went UP 1/2"! Besides, I'm not exactly a he-man (confessions hurt) but I had no problem mounting the bumper myself.
There were a few scratches in the bumper from shipping. Nothing I'm too concerned about, but it wasn't as perfect as the Shrockworks front bumper.
The instructions seemed OK, but there were a couple of steps missing. Nothing that wasn't obvious, but if you were rushing along you might need to back track a bit.
The mounts are very solid - much more so than the factory bumper.
The instructions say to torque the factor bolts being re-used to 85 ft-lbs. I was thinking to myself as I was bearing down on the torque wrench it seemed a bit much for the size of the bolts. Sure enough, a bolt snapped off! Had to drill it out. CAUTION - 85 ft lbs on the factory bolts IS a bit much!
Be aware there is no center stop light options short of finding something that fits on top of the carrier. I'm OK with no light, but I did need to disconnect and remove the wiring from the factory center stop light. The good news is it's a snap to get out (literally).
The tire carrier sits a bit high with just the stock Rubi wheel on it. Someday I plan to upgrade to 35" tires, but for now the stock Rubi's will need to do. It is obvious that the bumper is pre-stressed for bigger tires. It rides high on the latch with the tire on, and won't close at all without a lot of downward pressure if the tire is off.
Speaking of tires, the tire mount didn't fit at all. I needed to Dremel the bolt hole openings a bit to get the mount to fit. It is 1/4" gusseted steel, so bending to fit was out of the question.
The first washboard I went on set up a pretty good rattle in the latch. Some electrical tape really helped, but that certainly isn't a long-term solution. The latch is very secure. Except for the rattle, I won't be worrying about the latch!
Overall the installation was very easy and the bumper looks and works great!
Pics to come later.
