I'm looking to buy a roof rack, frame stiffeners and a rear tire carrier. Any recommendations on what to get for these 3 items? Keep in mind i have a rock hard rear bumper already so I don't know if there's anything that will work with it as far as a tire carrier goes. May have to buy an entire new bumper and carrier. Thanks in advance for your comments. Anyone selling these items?
Need Parts.....Need opinions
- Thread starter ctxj99
- Start date
- Location
- Garden Grove/Santa Ana
JohnX
Sarge
- Location
- Williams AZ
As for the rear bumper, if you do need to replace the whole thing, talk to Robert (rwkhaus) He got me the smittybilt rear tire carrier bumper for a great price, and I'm very happy with the bumper too.
JohnX
Sarge
- Location
- Williams AZ
I think it's the only tire carrier they make for an xj, the XRC. Part number 76851
I completely disagree on the Smittybuilt rear bumper. Unless something recently has changed, the way that the bumper mounts is problematic where it is hard to attach and torque the bolts down. The holes are slotted and every attempt to get the bolts tight enough to prevent the bumper from shifting up and down while off road has failed. It comes up high enough to break both tail lights and bend the tailgate where a normal bumper should not do that.
JohnX
Sarge
- Location
- Williams AZ
Maybe they changed it? I had no issues mounting it, doesn't seem to be coming loose, and I have over 1/2" between the bumper and lights, and about 3/4" between the bumper and gate. It uses 4 bolts down each side, plus the original 4 bumper bolts on each side. Seems solid, but I don't wheel. :roflmao:
Maybe they did.....we also had to plasma cut clearances so the shackles don't hit the bumper.....which actually gave us some more room to try to tighten the main bolts.
Ronbo
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- San Marcos, CA
Opinions? Skip the rear bumper/tire carrier combo and carry the spare inside, upright, and as far back as possible.
Every off the shelf carrier I've seen on a desert trail looks like it's trying to tear the XJ in half. XJ's are soup cans, awesome soup cans, but I always keep that in mind.
Every off the shelf carrier I've seen on a desert trail looks like it's trying to tear the XJ in half. XJ's are soup cans, awesome soup cans, but I always keep that in mind.
JohnX
Sarge
- Location
- Williams AZ
That's a great idea...if you have small tires. A 32 will not fit comfortably inside.
And another thought on Crackers point....my rear quarters are all cut and folded and welded...so maybe that's why I had room to get at the bolts?
- Location
- Torrance, CA
the issue with the smittybilt XRC bumpers is these brackets, you can see the slotted holes Cracker is talking about.
This is where they bolt to, now imaging you have a leaf spring and the back of the jeep in the way, you're going to have a really hard time trying to get any sort of tool in there to tighten those. I ended up having to use an air ratchet to tighten the far back one because I had no there to swing a wrench.
the issue that I had is everytime I would tap the rear bumper on a rock, it would push the bumper up and nick the corners of the hatch. Eventually I came off of a rock waterfall and clipped trailer hitch receiver on the rear bumper which shoved the bumper up and completely folded over the corners of my hatch and broke both tail lights. :bs:
If you're building a rig that is never going off-road (Mall crawler) then the smittybilt rear bumper is an awesome bumper at an awesome price. But if you plan to go play in the rocks I'd find another bumper.
This is where they bolt to, now imaging you have a leaf spring and the back of the jeep in the way, you're going to have a really hard time trying to get any sort of tool in there to tighten those. I ended up having to use an air ratchet to tighten the far back one because I had no there to swing a wrench.
the issue that I had is everytime I would tap the rear bumper on a rock, it would push the bumper up and nick the corners of the hatch. Eventually I came off of a rock waterfall and clipped trailer hitch receiver on the rear bumper which shoved the bumper up and completely folded over the corners of my hatch and broke both tail lights. :bs:
If you're building a rig that is never going off-road (Mall crawler) then the smittybilt rear bumper is an awesome bumper at an awesome price. But if you plan to go play in the rocks I'd find another bumper.
Ronbo
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- San Marcos, CA
My fully aired up 35 fits with no problem. :dunno:
I may not have much interior left, but it still beats a tire carrier IMHO.
JohnX
Sarge
- Location
- Williams AZ
1904-96xj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- San Diego County
JCR bumpers and roof racks are nice, I have a few of JCR's products and I have no complaints. You can buy light with both of these items and build them up as you go if budget is a concern. I've called them regarding an issue and they've always been easy to talk to. I run the RuffStuff stiffeners and happy with 'em. Both of these companies are 
supporters. Just my $0.02
supporters. Just my $0.02My problem with the tire inside is the room. I have to be able to put alot inside. When i go camping i have alot to bring and room is an issue and the tire kills that.
the issue with the smittybilt XRC bumpers is these brackets, you can see the slotted holes Cracker is talking about.
This is where they bolt to, now imaging you have a leaf spring and the back of the jeep in the way, you're going to have a really hard time trying to get any sort of tool in there to tighten those. I ended up having to use an air ratchet to tighten the far back one because I had no there to swing a wrench.
the issue that I had is everytime I would tap the rear bumper on a rock, it would push the bumper up and nick the corners of the hatch. Eventually I came off of a rock waterfall and clipped trailer hitch receiver on the rear bumper which shoved the bumper up and completely folded over the corners of my hatch and broke both tail lights. :bs:
If you're building a rig that is never going off-road (Mall crawler) then the smittybilt rear bumper is an awesome bumper at an awesome price. But if you plan to go play in the rocks I'd find another bumper.
I strictly use the xj for off-road, camping etc. So any suggestions on other bumpers?
Any suggestions for alternatives?
Ronbo
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- San Marcos, CA
Would you consider a small camping trailer, ex-military perhaps? I've been using a Jumping Jack trailer and it has advantages - I can drop it off at camp and wheel without all the crap in a matter of minutes. It carries way more than the XJ, including lots of firewood and other crap I don't want piled inside. And no matter how nicely you pack the XJ, digging through it at camp always sucks.
Stepsride
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Palm Harbor Fl
What about RockHard 4x4 and the bump and Tire carrier?
souske
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- The land of competition
I got a 33x12.50 in the stockish location. Just pull the black foot the tire rests on, and get creative with the j bolt
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