Rancho Rear Bumper problems
06-18-2009, 08:41 PM
#41
Agreed, I have run their products in the past and been really happy with them. That is why this is so disapointing.
06-19-2009, 05:36 PM
#42
JK Freak
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Well, I had a long talk with Gary in Rancho Customer Service and Bill (?) in Rancho's engineering department. After listening to me for a few minutes, Gary contacted the manufacturer engineer and Rancho's engineer, said he would get back to me. Gary called back less than an hour later and said Engineering was going to look into my concerns (complaints?).
A few hours later, Bill from Rancho engineering called me and we spoke frankly for a few minutes. Told him again all the issues that I had experienced with putting the rear bumper and tire carrier together and on the JK, and what others had experienced. Bill mentioned he went to the JK forum to get some idea of how wide spread the issues were.
This is from memory so it may not be completely accurate. He spoke with the manufacturer and said it looked like some tolerances and quality control were not being maintained when it came to the heat issues and welding. He mentioned this accounted for the bushings, and inner sleeves being way to difficult to force into where they needed to go. (I told him tightness was okay but that beating them into place for 15 minutes each with a 5 pound hammer resulted in deformed bushings and sleeves and was a little much in my opinion.) As a result of this and what another forum person wrote, Rancho will now be installing the bushing and sleeves in the bumper before being sent out from the warehouse.
With regards to the tire carrier not being able to carry a larger tire (i.e. 35/12.5/17) on the OEM wheel; Bill mentioned that their design philosophy did not account for people using larger tires on OEM rims, thus needing wheel spacers. So, the products are engineered for after market tires with different backspacing that did not need wheel spacers (like Spydertrax) and for the OEM size tires. I mentioned that a large part of the forum community in fact used wheel spacers. He seeming a little surprised to see that though.
As a result he was having the carriers checked before leaving the warehouse to make sure things that did not appear to be in spec would be fixed before leaving the warehouse. And, that the manufacturers QA would do better to stay within specs for things like welding.
Finally he told me they were building a carrier to meet my needs of the 35/12.5/17 on OEM rim. He expected it would powder coated and shipped by end of next week, or I would receive it by next weekend....I forget which. But he certainly answered all my questions, and concerns over the multiple issues forum people were having and expressed great concern over them.
In the mean time to make the carrier work with me set up temporarily, I went to Lowes, got some 1/2 inch diameter by 4 inch Grade 8 bolts with the same thread pattern and some nuts and 2 inch metal sleeves 1/2 inch in diameter.
I held the tire in place loosely and fed the bolts in reverse, actually from the front with a crush sleeve over it. It threaded into the tire carrier until the sleeve took up the slack. Then put a grade 8 bolt on the threads from the back off the carrier. Did this twice and was very certainly not moving. Only did this since I had a long trip to take this weekend.
All in all I was happy with the issues being addressed that were experienced for all including some design and QA points. Was more than happy to have them send me an adapter to fix the mounting issue but Bill said they really wanted to make sure I was happy. I will report on the carrier when I get it.
Sorry for the length of the memo.
A few hours later, Bill from Rancho engineering called me and we spoke frankly for a few minutes. Told him again all the issues that I had experienced with putting the rear bumper and tire carrier together and on the JK, and what others had experienced. Bill mentioned he went to the JK forum to get some idea of how wide spread the issues were.
This is from memory so it may not be completely accurate. He spoke with the manufacturer and said it looked like some tolerances and quality control were not being maintained when it came to the heat issues and welding. He mentioned this accounted for the bushings, and inner sleeves being way to difficult to force into where they needed to go. (I told him tightness was okay but that beating them into place for 15 minutes each with a 5 pound hammer resulted in deformed bushings and sleeves and was a little much in my opinion.) As a result of this and what another forum person wrote, Rancho will now be installing the bushing and sleeves in the bumper before being sent out from the warehouse.
With regards to the tire carrier not being able to carry a larger tire (i.e. 35/12.5/17) on the OEM wheel; Bill mentioned that their design philosophy did not account for people using larger tires on OEM rims, thus needing wheel spacers. So, the products are engineered for after market tires with different backspacing that did not need wheel spacers (like Spydertrax) and for the OEM size tires. I mentioned that a large part of the forum community in fact used wheel spacers. He seeming a little surprised to see that though.
As a result he was having the carriers checked before leaving the warehouse to make sure things that did not appear to be in spec would be fixed before leaving the warehouse. And, that the manufacturers QA would do better to stay within specs for things like welding.
Finally he told me they were building a carrier to meet my needs of the 35/12.5/17 on OEM rim. He expected it would powder coated and shipped by end of next week, or I would receive it by next weekend....I forget which. But he certainly answered all my questions, and concerns over the multiple issues forum people were having and expressed great concern over them.
In the mean time to make the carrier work with me set up temporarily, I went to Lowes, got some 1/2 inch diameter by 4 inch Grade 8 bolts with the same thread pattern and some nuts and 2 inch metal sleeves 1/2 inch in diameter.
I held the tire in place loosely and fed the bolts in reverse, actually from the front with a crush sleeve over it. It threaded into the tire carrier until the sleeve took up the slack. Then put a grade 8 bolt on the threads from the back off the carrier. Did this twice and was very certainly not moving. Only did this since I had a long trip to take this weekend.
All in all I was happy with the issues being addressed that were experienced for all including some design and QA points. Was more than happy to have them send me an adapter to fix the mounting issue but Bill said they really wanted to make sure I was happy. I will report on the carrier when I get it.
Sorry for the length of the memo.
06-19-2009, 05:47 PM
#43
thanks for the update. I may buy one in a few months (to insure that I get one that went through the new QC) or I may just save more money and get something a little more bolt on. The sad thing is that the more money they put into quality control, and design changes, etc, the more money this bumper is going to cost. I bet in a few months when I would want to buy this bumper to ensure the new proceedures have takin place, that there will also be some new (higher) price in effect as well.
06-19-2009, 05:57 PM
#44
JK Freak
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I have the Rancho front stubby bumper and like it a lot. I like the no-frills, minimalist approach to their stuff but do want decent quality.....I hope we can get some changes from them as they did seem genuine too.
06-19-2009, 06:57 PM
#45
I hate to add injury to insult, especialy after my last post with all the issues, but here it goes. As some of you read I did in fact get my bumper installed (after replacing all the hardware). Well this evening I went out to install my highlift on it, as it was designed, and low and behold it doesnt fit. Now we are not talking about the Tractor Supply knock off or something but an actuall High-Lift. The welded studs (one of the few things doen correctly) are not spaced properly. YOu can get it thru one side but the other will land right in the middle of two holes on the jack. Now let me make this clear, we are not talking about snug and needing to place the jack squarely on there, it just doesn't fit. Another dissapointment from a formerly great company.
Pagoda, if you could please PM me the number to contact Rancho. I would like to address my issues with them. Maybe I just got a fugled up tire carrrier or something.
Pagoda, if you could please PM me the number to contact Rancho. I would like to address my issues with them. Maybe I just got a fugled up tire carrrier or something.
06-30-2009, 01:15 PM
#47
My wife called and mine is here! Gonna go into it with modest expectations and hope for the best. Thanks for all the tips guys, should make install alot easier!
So I installed my Rancho Rock Gear Rear Bumper with tire carrier. I have to say I am very Dissapointed. I am not going into all the details (pm if you want them) so I will just give a quick rundown of the issues I faced.
1. The packaging was horrible, The two main pieces were wrapped in plastic and thrown in oversized boxes. I assume these were the factory orriginals as they were labled Rancho.
2. The instructions were horrible. I am a pretty technical guy and used to working off written instructions, but these were just bad. I have seen 12 year olds that could write them better.
3. The powder coating on the pieces is questionable. There are bare spots on several seems and alot of edges. The powder coatin is also built up to heavily in some of the spots hardware is supposed to pass thru.
4. During install I found that the tubes on both side of the tire carrier meant to accept the bushings were out of round. This may have been due to the poor packaging or just poor construction, not sure. A large round breaker bar and a hammer rounded them back out.
5. The hardware. Now let me explain on this, I am not saying it was missing pieces or wrong sizes, it was straight up crap (i will be replacing it this weekend). The bolts were supposed to be grade 8 I believe, but I highly doubt that. I broke the head off a 3/4in bolt (shank was almost half inch thick!!) with 23 lb/ft of tourqe (craftsman digital 10-100 ft/lb, calibrated march 09). The same 3/4 nut cracked with less torque. I am almost of the belief this is not Rancho's fault and maybe they got a bad shipment of harware seeing as it was all CRAP.
6. As mentionedin a previous post this tire carrier will not accept anything wider than 10.50" on a stock wheel. I let all the air out of my spare, muscled it on and managed to get it back to 25psi.
7. This kit is not compatable with the tow hook on the 09 models, you have to remove it or drill mew holes (I will be doing that too later).
Now for the good. With some quality hardware and a little creativity this has the ability to be a great kit for the money. Keep your expectations reasonable and be prepared to due some modifications and you can have yourself a decent tire carrier. It would also work well as a temporary solution until you can get a higher quality product. I will be upgrading eventually, but this may hold out for the rest of the year with some good hardware.
So I installed my Rancho Rock Gear Rear Bumper with tire carrier. I have to say I am very Dissapointed. I am not going into all the details (pm if you want them) so I will just give a quick rundown of the issues I faced.
1. The packaging was horrible, The two main pieces were wrapped in plastic and thrown in oversized boxes. I assume these were the factory orriginals as they were labled Rancho.
2. The instructions were horrible. I am a pretty technical guy and used to working off written instructions, but these were just bad. I have seen 12 year olds that could write them better.
3. The powder coating on the pieces is questionable. There are bare spots on several seems and alot of edges. The powder coatin is also built up to heavily in some of the spots hardware is supposed to pass thru.
4. During install I found that the tubes on both side of the tire carrier meant to accept the bushings were out of round. This may have been due to the poor packaging or just poor construction, not sure. A large round breaker bar and a hammer rounded them back out.
5. The hardware. Now let me explain on this, I am not saying it was missing pieces or wrong sizes, it was straight up crap (i will be replacing it this weekend). The bolts were supposed to be grade 8 I believe, but I highly doubt that. I broke the head off a 3/4in bolt (shank was almost half inch thick!!) with 23 lb/ft of tourqe (craftsman digital 10-100 ft/lb, calibrated march 09). The same 3/4 nut cracked with less torque. I am almost of the belief this is not Rancho's fault and maybe they got a bad shipment of harware seeing as it was all CRAP.
6. As mentionedin a previous post this tire carrier will not accept anything wider than 10.50" on a stock wheel. I let all the air out of my spare, muscled it on and managed to get it back to 25psi.
7. This kit is not compatable with the tow hook on the 09 models, you have to remove it or drill mew holes (I will be doing that too later).
Now for the good. With some quality hardware and a little creativity this has the ability to be a great kit for the money. Keep your expectations reasonable and be prepared to due some modifications and you can have yourself a decent tire carrier. It would also work well as a temporary solution until you can get a higher quality product. I will be upgrading eventually, but this may hold out for the rest of the year with some good hardware.
Though I was dissapointed with this product it seems so was Rancho and they are making this right. Chris is a great customer service rep and stands by his products and fixing things that need it. Alot of companies will apologise when things aren't right, but few will step up to the plate, contact the customer and make it right. I assure all of you readers out there that Rancho is standing by there word and fixing this situation for me and is ensuring that the rest of you will be getting a quality product.
07-08-2009, 09:27 AM
#48
JK Freak
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I received my Rancho Rear Bumper Tire Carrier assembly from Rancho that was suppose to fix a number of concerns. I had taken a number of photos to outline the areas that were 'fixed' and my thoughts on it. My concerns were posted in a post a few pages back, see that for the details.
This is the new carrier in the box. It looked like there was a much better job of powder coating, which was a concern I had initially with the first carrier.
[IMG]
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This is the carrier with the tire mount assembly. One area of discord originally was that the carrier was not capable of supporting an OEM rim with after market, larger tires, i.e. my 35" BFG KM2
[IMG]
[/IMG]
I thought they were going to adjust the neck of the carrier to allow for accommodating a larger tire, but instead they included three thick spacers and long bolts. This is what I had done my self to the original carrier. So I am not sure this was much of an improvement.
[IMG]
[/IMG]
I am concerned that there the spacers, although will probably work okay, there is not way to lock the spacers on the bolt. You could potentially loose them if you are changing a tire on the road or trail. So that is not really an acceptable fix in my opinion, but certainly cures the problem for now.
[IMG]
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The bashing of the bushings and inserts that make up the hinge and lock mechanism are now supposed to be done at the factory prior to shipping. This is a great idea and will allow new customers less aggravation in pressing or hammering them in.
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Tire on the carrier and mounted.
[IMG]
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A few forum members and myself had issues with the improper spacing of the bolts for mounting a hi-lift jack. A few folks had to hit it with a BFH to move the bolt and allow it to slide through the holes in the jack stem. Mine slid on perfectly with the new bumper. Hopefully now for all new customers, this will be the standard. Also included is a few sleeves/spacers to prevent the jack from being pushed up against the carrier frame and knocking off the powder coating. Again the sleeves can be lost if are not careful when taking on and off the hi-lift jack. I think I will just use 3/4 inch nuts in place of the spacer, that way the won't get lost.
[IMG]
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[IMG]
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[IMG][/IMG]
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My only remaining issue is the holes for where the lock pin goes in does not allow the pin to drop all the way in and let me put the lock piece on it. I had to drill it out on the previous carrier to let it drop all the way down. I will have to do that again unfortunately.
Overall the if the quality control stays at the same level as this newer carrier and the bushing installs continue prior to the product leaving the manufacturer, then a great deal has been fixed. I remain less than thrilled about the use of the spacers for accommodating my larger tire on OEM rims.
The Rancho crew including customer service and engineering was very responsive to my concerns and sent me numerous emails and calls to keep me appraised of the progress. So hats off to Rancho for stepping up to fill voids promptly and professionally.
Please don't hesitate to try this bumper now. It is efficient and now works as advertised.
This is the new carrier in the box. It looked like there was a much better job of powder coating, which was a concern I had initially with the first carrier.
[IMG]
[/IMG]This is the carrier with the tire mount assembly. One area of discord originally was that the carrier was not capable of supporting an OEM rim with after market, larger tires, i.e. my 35" BFG KM2
[IMG]
[/IMG]I thought they were going to adjust the neck of the carrier to allow for accommodating a larger tire, but instead they included three thick spacers and long bolts. This is what I had done my self to the original carrier. So I am not sure this was much of an improvement.
[IMG]
[/IMG]I am concerned that there the spacers, although will probably work okay, there is not way to lock the spacers on the bolt. You could potentially loose them if you are changing a tire on the road or trail. So that is not really an acceptable fix in my opinion, but certainly cures the problem for now.
[IMG]
[/IMG][IMG]
[/IMG]The bashing of the bushings and inserts that make up the hinge and lock mechanism are now supposed to be done at the factory prior to shipping. This is a great idea and will allow new customers less aggravation in pressing or hammering them in.
[IMG]
[/IMG]Tire on the carrier and mounted.
[IMG]
[/IMG][IMG]
[/IMG][IMG]
[/IMG]A few forum members and myself had issues with the improper spacing of the bolts for mounting a hi-lift jack. A few folks had to hit it with a BFH to move the bolt and allow it to slide through the holes in the jack stem. Mine slid on perfectly with the new bumper. Hopefully now for all new customers, this will be the standard. Also included is a few sleeves/spacers to prevent the jack from being pushed up against the carrier frame and knocking off the powder coating. Again the sleeves can be lost if are not careful when taking on and off the hi-lift jack. I think I will just use 3/4 inch nuts in place of the spacer, that way the won't get lost.
[IMG]
[/IMG][IMG]
[/IMG][IMG]
[/IMG][IMG]
[/IMG][IMG]
[/IMG]My only remaining issue is the holes for where the lock pin goes in does not allow the pin to drop all the way in and let me put the lock piece on it. I had to drill it out on the previous carrier to let it drop all the way down. I will have to do that again unfortunately.
Overall the if the quality control stays at the same level as this newer carrier and the bushing installs continue prior to the product leaving the manufacturer, then a great deal has been fixed. I remain less than thrilled about the use of the spacers for accommodating my larger tire on OEM rims.
The Rancho crew including customer service and engineering was very responsive to my concerns and sent me numerous emails and calls to keep me appraised of the progress. So hats off to Rancho for stepping up to fill voids promptly and professionally.
Please don't hesitate to try this bumper now. It is efficient and now works as advertised.
Last edited by pagoda; 07-08-2009 at 09:30 AM.
07-08-2009, 09:50 AM
#49
x2 I echo all of Pagoda's comments.
I would like to add my High-Lift (actual high-lift, not a knock off) still does not fit. Even with the adapter bracket. This is ok though as I am going to keep my high-lift on my tough-stuff mount and have used some spare hardware to mount my shovel to the back of the tire carrier.
On another note, after some rough mesurements there should be room for a Gerry Can and carrier on the backside of the tire carrier without interference with the tailgate........possibly my next project!?!
I would like to add my High-Lift (actual high-lift, not a knock off) still does not fit. Even with the adapter bracket. This is ok though as I am going to keep my high-lift on my tough-stuff mount and have used some spare hardware to mount my shovel to the back of the tire carrier.
On another note, after some rough mesurements there should be room for a Gerry Can and carrier on the backside of the tire carrier without interference with the tailgate........possibly my next project!?!
08-04-2009, 12:51 PM
#50
JK Freak
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How has everything been holding up? Did you ever do the gas can mod? Can I get a side shot of your carrier/bumper? I'd like to see how the corners look.
Thanks
Thanks
Last edited by jeepersjeep; 08-04-2009 at 12:53 PM.