Best quality Locking hood latch ??

[2nd 392]

Al

Nope dealer parts guy has no clue. No surprise there. The Mopar lock allows you to remove the key.

We had ours put in way before the Bolt knock-off was fully designed for the JL and available for sale.

Shame Jeep was not smart enough to design the front cam to be placed below the hood lock. We would always choose this safety item first. Both this and the Mopar gas ignition lock work without issue. So that is positive.

Also a shame neither Mopar or Bolt offer the wide slot insert, as if there aren’t enough Gladiators, diesels, and 392’s for there to be a market.

Sponsored

 

[Dyolfknip74]

Here’s a new option from Rugged Ridge, their gen 2 locking latch. Apparently made in USA, looks good on the jeep imho. I just ordered, hoping the lock is more dependable than everything else on market (of course the bolt and Mopar locks are excellent, but not compatible with the front cam.)

https://ruggedridge.com/p/locking-h...zPe5VG0HMSzJId4dYF-H966a3q0qhQBRoCPpoQAvD_BwE

I can circle back with an opinion once I get these shipped and mounted.

Pretty sure that would be the first Rugged Ridge product made in the USA ever. A quick look at AliExpress and you can find 100s of this type of hood tiedown/lock a lot cheaper.

 

[Bocephus]

Pretty sure that would be the first Rugged Ridge product made in the USA ever. A quick look at AliExpress and you can find 100s of this type of hood tiedown/lock a lot cheaper.

help me out here please..
I have seen some hoodlock designs that are identical and sold under various brand names on sites like Amazon. They are obviously carbon copies, just branded differently.
Is that what you’re seeing for this lock? Or are you saying that the general hood latch design is a common one? I think you’re saying the latter.

If so, Is it a flawed design to begin with, so much so that there cannot likely be high quality implementations and low quality implementations?

onto rugged ridge. I don’t know much about them. Are they known to be low quality junk? I have no experience with their product.

these are sincere questions, bc I’d sooner return gear if it’s high probability low quality, or from a company known to produce garbage. I’m not a brand snob, but I steer toward made in USA and high quality.

I thought this looked like an original design, and I thought it was cool that someone had finally motivated enough to build an original and (perhaps) high quality latch. I have been hunting for a quality locking latch for a couple years and not pleased with anything I’ve seen (Mopar and bolt won’t work for me).

Thanks

 

[Dyolfknip74]

help me out here please..
I have seen some hoodlock designs that are identical and sold under various brand names on sites like Amazon. They are obviously carbon copies, just branded differently.
Is that what you’re seeing for this lock? Or are you saying that the general hood latch design is a common one? I think you’re saying the latter.

If so, Is it a flawed design to begin with, so much so that there cannot likely be high quality implementations and low quality implementations?

onto rugged ridge. I don’t know much about them. Are they known to be low quality junk? I have no experience with their product.

these are sincere questions, bc I’d sooner return gear if it’s high probability low quality, or from a company known to produce garbage. I’m not a brand snob, but I steer toward made in USA and high quality.

I thought this looked like an original design, and I thought it was cool that someone had finally motivated enough to build an original and (perhaps) high quality latch. I have been hunting for a quality locking latch for a couple years and not pleased with anything I’ve seen (Mopar and bolt won’t work for me).

Thanks

There is really only so many ways to make the tie down. Rugged Ridge isn't junk but it is all pretty much Chinese made AFAIK. In saying that, I have ordered a few things Jeep related from AliExpress and they have all been made pretty good, especially the machined aluminum stuff.

 

[Bocephus]

There is really only so many ways to make the tie down. Rugged Ridge isn't junk but it is all pretty much Chinese made AFAIK. In saying that, I have ordered a few things Jeep related from AliExpress and they have all been made pretty good, especially the machined aluminum stuff.

Thanks. Here’s a look at their locking mechanism. Image 1 has the lock in what would be the engaged position. The arrows indicate where a sort of peg protrudes from a cylinder to engage a shelf. Image 2 is with the peg retracted, ie lock is disengaged. The lock action is very smooth.

 

[Dyolfknip74]

Thanks. Here’s a look at their locking mechanism. Image 1 has the lock engaged and the arrows indicate where a sort of peg protrudes from a cylinder to engage a shelf. Image 2 is with the peg retracted.

Definitely a bit different than most I guess but I have never looks too closely at any of the offerings to be honest. I'm kind of hoping someone will steal the whole motor and save me the time of pulling it to replace it in the distant future. Lol.

I kid, I actually love my 2.0.

 

[Hpc3]

I had the Rampage latch locks. They were the best of the cheap locking latches. The pins are solid and not hollow like some are. Unfortunately the locks are kind of cheap and the latch and locks started rusting after 2.5 years. That was on my 2019.

Fast forward to today. I have a 2022 now and installed the BOLT hood lock. I believe BOLT makes the Mopar hood lock. The BOLT is better and cheaper than the Mopar lock. You need to have a locksmith re-key the Mopar hood lock also. Not with the Bolt. The BOLT has a automatic re-key feature. It is excellent. No locksmith needed so you save more money. You put your key in and turn it a few times and the lock is re-keyed to the same key as your fob. It is a great product and very reasonably priced for what you get. Very high quality. It comes with a replacement center grill so it looks factory. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Mopar's is an auto-key lock as well, have one on my JK. If they made a replacement grill for the JL (392 here) I'd have the Bolt lock on it too. Then again the 392 hood is so d@mn heavy I don't think many could open it lol. Plus with the Tazer in use its now covered with the alarm if tampered with.

 

[Bocephus]

Definitely a bit different than most I guess but I have never looks too closely at any of the offerings to be honest. I'm kind of hoping someone will steal the whole motor and save me the time of pulling it to replace it in the distant future. Lol.

I kid, I actually love my 2.0.

ha! Dont jinx yourself! Engine replacements are no fun, unless you’re Hemi or LS swapping I guess.

 

[Dyolfknip74]

ha! Dont jinx yourself! Engine replacements are no fun, unless you’re Hemi or LS swapping I guess.

Way out of my wheelhouse although I would love to be a helper on a project like that. Lol

 

[Bocephus]

Mopar's is an auto-key lock as well, have one on my JK. If they made a replacement grill for the JL (392 here) I'd have the Bolt lock on it too. Then again the 392 hood is so d@mn heavy I don't think many could open it lol. Plus with the Tazer in use its now covered with the alarm if tampered with.

you can swap in normal JL / JT grills easy peasy. I bought a matte black grill for the JT (gladiator) and put it in my 392.
I did have to swap around some of the grill trim / internals. But it’s mostly plug and play. I have the tazer and haven’t bothered to turn on the alarm yet, I probably should.

 

[Hpc3]

you can swap in normal JL / JT grills easy peasy. I bought a matte black grill for the JT (gladiator) and put it in my 392.
I did have to swap around some of the grill trim / internals. But it’s mostly plug and play. I have the tazer and haven’t bothered to turn on the alarm yet, I probably should.

Ok thanks for that... the JT has the same pattern but didn't know they did the lock cut out. I'd want the key hole moulded in like on the bolt kit vs cut out manually.

On the Tazer I think the hood switch is on by default so you're probably covered. Easy to test.

 

[Moses212]

Bolt.
Bolt is great and seems to get the best reviews. As a few people pointed out, it comes with grill inserts, but the grill insert in the 4Xe, Gladiator and 392 are a different size. In which case you have to trim the insert (which looks like it can be done cleanly).
Anyhow, the fact that it uses the door key is fantastic, I've rifled around looking for the hitch lock key enough times to not want another key (Bolt makes a hitch lock as well).

 

[rkwfxd]

Here’s a new option from Rugged Ridge, their gen 2 locking latch. Apparently made in USA, looks good on the jeep imho. I just ordered, hoping the lock is more dependable than everything else on market (of course the bolt and Mopar locks are excellent, but not compatible with the front cam.)

https://ruggedridge.com/p/locking-h...zPe5VG0HMSzJId4dYF-H966a3q0qhQBRoCPpoQAvD_BwE

I can circle back with an opinion once I get these shipped and mounted.

Please do.

I'd already have the Bolt but I have the trail camera so that is not an option. I have two questions for these (aside from are they a quality product. 1) Can they be left in the unlocked position and still hold the hood down? 2) Does one key open both sides?

 

[viper88]

Mopar's is an auto-key lock as well, have one on my JK. If they made a replacement grill for the JL (392 here) I'd have the Bolt lock on it too. Then again the 392 hood is so d@mn heavy I don't think many could open it lol. Plus with the Tazer in use its now covered with the alarm if tampered with.

I herd the 392 hood is pretty hefty and heavy. Check out the Redline Hood struts if you don't have them already. They are one of those products you don't think about really needing until you install them. Then you smack yourself in the head and wonder why you did not get them sooner. Very high quality too.

https://www.redlinetuning.com/product-p/21-20007-02.htm

 

[Hpc3]

I herd the 392 hood is pretty hefty and heavy. Check out the Redline Hood struts if you don't have them already. They are one of those products you don't think about really needing until you install them. Then you smack yourself in the head and wonder why you did not get them sooner. Very high quality too.

https://www.redlinetuning.com/product-p/21-20007-02.htm

Yep they are on the list... still playing with the TerraAcoustic speaker mod. I'll get to the hood struts soon probably.


Thanks.

Sponsored