Aftermarket JK bumper (RockHard) swap to new JL

[JLRanger]

Here is my write up for swapping my RockHard bumper from my JKU to my JLU.
I flat tow my JKU Rubicon with a RockHard stubby front bumper. Been very happy with the bumper over the last two years of towing so I knew I was going to go with RockHard for towing my new JLU Rubicon. So thanks to the folks on the forum, I learned that measurements for the frame horns are the same. But I first confirmed that and took some pics.

Pics of the distance between frame horns mounting holes.

So with all the mounting holes the same, my issue became what to do about the longer frame horn stilts. The stilt is the attachment point for the JL's crash bar. From what I have read, the crash bar is in place in the event you hit another car. The crash bar assists in aligning the Jeep to the rear bumper of the car you are hitting.
On the JL's this bar is lower than the JK's.

Pic of JL's Frame Stilt (Crash bar removed but you can see mounting hole)

Here is where I assume most aftermarket bumpers will have issues with swapping between JK's and JL's.
Options are to cut off the stilts or to mod the HardRock Bumper. I did find one aftermarket manufacturer who says you have to cut the stilts off. https://www.addictivedesertdesigns....gler-jl-aftermarket-front-bumper-installation

Not wanting to cut my new jeep up, I chose the option to notch out the bumper to accommodate the Frame horns.
In retrospect, I probably would have cut the stilt off as they are not needed in my opinion since the RockHard bumper is big enough to cover the crash bar anyway.

With the notching complete and installing the Led fog lights done, the bumper mounted up just fine. Didn't turn out too bad and saved me the expense of buying a new bumper.

Side view

View from behind

Sponsored

 

[AOBE]

Here is my write up for swapping my RockHard bumper from my JKU to my JLU.
I flat tow my JKU Rubicon with a RockHard stubby front bumper. Been very happy with the bumper over the last two years of towing so I knew I was going to go with RockHard for towing my new JLU Rubicon. So thanks to the folks on the forum, I learned that measurements for the frame horns are the same. But I first confirmed that and took some pics.

Pics of the distance between frame horns mounting holes.

So with all the mounting holes the same, my issue became what to do about the longer frame horn stilts. The stilt is the attachment point for the JL's crash bar. From what I have read, the crash bar is in place in the event you hit another car. The crash bar assists in aligning the Jeep to the rear bumper of the car you are hitting.
On the JL's this bar is lower than the JK's.

Pic of JL's Frame Stilt (Crash bar removed but you can see mounting hole)

Here is where I assume most aftermarket bumpers will have issues with swapping between JK's and JL's.
Options are to cut off the stilts or to mod the HardRock Bumper. I did find one aftermarket manufacturer who says you have to cut the stilts off. https://www.addictivedesertdesigns....gler-jl-aftermarket-front-bumper-installation

Not wanting to cut my new jeep up, I chose the option to notch out the bumper to accommodate the Frame horns.
In retrospect, I probably would have cut the stilt off as they are not needed in my opinion since the RockHard bumper is big enough to cover the crash bar anyway.

With the notching complete and installing the Led fog lights done, the bumper mounted up just fine. Didn't turn out too bad and saved me the expense of buying a new bumper.

Side view

View from behind

I appreciate your write up as I prefer the look and set up of the Rockhard JKU stubby vs JLU stubby.