ROAM JL Rock Rails (JL 2 Door, MK2) Install Guide - Revision 2.0

[obwahn]

Wow! How about a picture without the step installed. Would like to see just the brackets.

That sure is slanted! Here's my passenger side:

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[GClouser]

Off kilter. Lol

Mine were a little off when I first installed them too. Since there is a lot of play in the install locations until you torque it down, I loosened everything up and raised the front bracket until the bend at the bottom rested on the underside of the frame (I used a jack and a piece of wood to hold it up while I tightened all the bolts back down). The end bracket doesn't seem to have any vertical play, so with it on the frame and the bolts to the rail loose, I raised the center bracket until it met with the underside of the rail, and tightened the bolts on the center bracket while I held it in place. Afterwards I fully tightened everything else back up.

 

[MandKM]

Off kilter. Lol

You’re right. That is pretty severe. I have a slight angle down towards the front, but only about 1/4” over the length of the step when measured to the horizontal crease below the door. It’s hardly perceptible to me, so I’m ok with it.

Sounds like you might need to shim the front and middle brackets and use slightly longer bolts. I had to loosen all the brackets in order to get the bolts on the steps to engage. I then put a jack under the forward bracket under the frame rail to ensure it was as high as it would go. The rear bracket has no vertical adjustment. Definitely not as “adjustable” as Roam leads you to believe.

 

[ROAM]

I cant get these rails to sit level. The front bracket seems to sit to low and/or the back bracket is to high.

I've tried loosing and readjusting the brackets the front bracket is as high as it will go due to the lip on the bottom. When I set the rail on the brackets I have about 3 inches below the front fender and only 1 inch below the rear fender. Also I'm not making contact with the middle bracket.

Hi!

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing problems with your install of our JL Rock Rails.


Both the ROAM JL Rock Rails (JL frame mounted) and the ROAM JL Side Armor Steps (JL body mounted) are built to exact specifications and are constructed from precision laser cut high strength steel and are assembled on a precision jig. Multiple redundant QA steps are effected in the process and every set of side steps are checked for fitment via a precision jig before packing and shipping.

What we've found is that some JL frames are off spec, and sometimes by a significant margin. For example, a major weld can still exist on the frame but may be off by over an inch or so:

https://jalopnik.com/new-jeep-wrangler-frame-welds-are-failing-and-now-fca-i-1829551649

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/track-bar-bracket-weld-issue-recall-announced/

And although there is enough adjustability built into the brackets to account for almost everyone out there, occasionally there are instances where if the holes on the frame are deviated by a significant enough margin then a replacement production component from us will no longer help.

You're actually the 3rd person that we know of so far with this issue but this is probably the most extreme case of this happening that we've heard of thus far.

And since you have a 2-door JL and because we've incremented already to the MK2 revision of our JL Rock Rails (currently only the 2 door version of our JL Rock Rails have incremented to the MK2 revision, the 4 door versions of our JL Rocks are MK1, at least until Q3/Q4 2019), there are 3 solutions currently:

01. Modify the front bracket. The "lip" that you've described on the bracket can be cut off without detriment to the overall structural integrity or strength of the Rock Rails. The mounting holes can then be elongated downwards so that the bracket can be moved upwards until the correct gap vs the fenders is achieved. Some sort of Rust proofing should be applied to the bracket after cutting the lip and then elongating the holes. Tools required would be a dremel and some sort of rust proofing (such as POR-15 or similar).

02. Wait for a custom replacement bracket from us. What we've discovered is that even if another production bracket or even multiple replacement brackets are sent, what you're experiencing will still persist. All of our production spec brackets are made to the same specs so they're not going to help in this case. Effectively this would be the same solution as #1 but we'll be doing the work instead of you doing the mod yourself. There is an extended lead time with going this route however, and we'd still need to get some measurements from you of how much deviation vs the production spec is required (an exact measurement is required, ideally by modding your existing bracket and then measuring how much its been modded by, for a custom order with measurements ETA is around 10 weeks or so after EJS 2019).

03. Replacement body mounted brackets. This only applies to the MK2.X revision of our JL Rock Rails (currently this only applies to the 2 door JL; the 4 door version of our JL Rock Rails will increment to the MK2 revision Q3/Q4 2019). If you're not doing a lot of rock crawling and if you're looking for the smallest possible gap between the step structure inside surface vs the JL vehicle body, then this will probably be the best way to proceed. I'd be happy to send you a set right after everyone's back from EJS 2019, so maybe another 2-3 weeks from now?

Please let me know how you'd want to proceed and please let me know if you have any other questions as well,

Thanks!

Tara @ ROAM

 

[2k2wranglerx]

Do the body mounted ones require the body mount bolts that tend to snap to be removed?

I'd be fine with body mounted but I dont want to touch those bolts

 

[ogjeep]

Do the body mounted ones require the body mount bolts that tend to snap to be removed?

I'd be fine with body mounted but I dont want to touch those bolts

Body mounted do not require the body bolts to be removed nor do the frame mounted. They are actually the most simple install of anything I have worked with lately.

 

[AgentTML]

Thank you @ROAM for these instructions. I installed my JL 2-Door rock rails tonight...took me approximately 7 hours to remove the Rubicon rails and installed the ROAM's! Had some challenge trying to level out the rails. Not perfect, but close enough. Maybe a difference of 1-2 cm between the front and tail of rails with the front being lower (and that's after I inserted a washer in between the front bracket and the rail). There is also a larger gap between the body and the rails on the passenger side than the driver side. Maybe 1 cm difference. Still need to install the lights...another time. Overall I'm very pleased with the product. There were some marred/scratched/incomplete e-coating so I simply sprayed some black rubber liquid sealer on it.

 

[Cracker_Box]

anyone have some reviews for these?
trying to decided between them and these Deegan 38
https://www.extremeterrain.com/deegan-38-jeep-wrangler-jl-rock-sliders.html

2 Door specific, mainly for small back seat passengers entry/exit.

 

[GClouser]

anyone have some reviews for these?
trying to decided between them and these Deegan 38
https://www.extremeterrain.com/deegan-38-jeep-wrangler-jl-rock-sliders.html

2 Door specific, mainly for small back seat passengers entry/exit.

Love mine so far, though they’ve not gone through any real trail wear as of yet. Several rains and washes since I’ve installed, and no signs of the rust issues that were reported on the previous version.

I’d be cautious if you go the Deegan route. It looks like they mount to the body bolts and I’ve read several horror stories of people breaking the bolts off trying to loosen them.

 

[Fastmover]

Mine are doing great. Have taken some frame jarring rock hits, no damage other than cosmetic where the rock contacted. Haven't been through a winter with them yet, but they are the e-coated version so I expect they will do ok. I must say this JL body does twist a lot on the rocks. I have had body to rock slider contact even with a 1/2"+ gap between both. No body damage though.

 

[Cracker_Box]

Got em installed.

Gonna work on the lights this weekend.

 

[sgtkersh]

Before and after pics replacing the stock Rubi rails with the frame mounted steps/sliders.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Just installed a set of frame mount Rock Rails on my new 2019 Jeep Wrangler Sport S 2-Door, very straightforward, no surprises, just how I like it. Looks good and should give good protection against road salt, off road bumps and bruises, and parking lot doors.

Thanks to Anthony who was good to work with, answered all my questions, and shipped quickly.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Mar]

Anyone have any problems installing the screws on the middle bracket? There's quite a gap on mines that the screws seems to be just a bit short to screw them together.

 

[maxjlu]

Got em installed.

Gonna work on the lights this weekend.

Looks amazing!

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