Bushwacker Hyperform Trash?

[XtremeRetard]

My BushWanker flares came in a RR box with RR part number on them. So yeah, Im pretty sure they are the same.

They look good and have tons of clearance, but are not robust in any way whatsoever. My were destroyed in weeks. I think if you hang out at the mall with Street or mild AT tires, then they will be fine. But any travel near gravel etc and its game over.

I kept the lights and brackets as I can probably gut my OEM stuff and use them if I want. But you are WAY better off going metal fenders for many reasons. Or alloy..

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[CptFloridaMan]

So this weekend, I installed my new fenders and fender liners and had a buddy of mine come help who runs the Max Terrains. Here’s the end result and a good comparison for everyone that is either deciding or worries about quality….

today, we went off roading on a fire trail then a back woods that was full of rocks, water crossings, deep mud and a tremendous amount of gravel that shot up and broke his mirror.We laughed only bc he had bought the new Oracle mirror mounted light bars and hadn’t installed them yet so he just damaged his factory mirror not the expensive new ones. (Thank God.)

Anyways, Friday and Saturday morning, we installed my fenders and wired up the new DRLs… took us roughly 3 hours to pull fenders, install the liners, mount up the BW fenders(front and rear) then wire up the lights as well as clear the codes via TazerJL so no hyper flash or “bulb out” warnings.

as we were doing this, we both noticed some particular, yet interesting “finds”. Yes, the RR are about $100 more versus the $600 for BW… he still has his full instructions incl the LED DRLs wiring info. Stamped on the fenders and various brackets on both our Jeeps was “Bushwacker” and part numbers matched except his had “RR” and mine had “BW” at the end. Both directions were the exact same except for the header and footnotes. But what really stuck out was even though his DRL mounts had the “Rugged Ridge” stamp and mine has “Bushwacker”,the only difference was that my DRLs are tinted and his aren’t but both had “Rugged Ridge” embossed on the light housings. At first, my fenders, once the engine got to temp and idled, were flimsy right at the grille when we went to dinner Friday but once we mounted the DRLs, they were very sturdy and rigid. So as far as the price discrepancy, that was the only difference, other than that, they are the same down to part numbers and even the customer service chat forum used the same interface (we ran into a small hiccup when it came to directions for the mount closest to the door in front since the part and holes didn’t exactly line up per the directions included). Basically, after some extensive research, we found that it’s the same parent company.

Not to change the topic, how you liking those mickeys? i’m beginning to get into the rabbit hole of searching for different tires, looking at ridge grapps or those baja boss at. And they look aggressive like an RT so it’s appealing compared to my klever rt.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

How often do they get holes in them? And are they good about replacing it?

I’m not sure if they’d replace cause of holes and whatnot. Before I noticed the hole in them I began having issues with condensation in the DRL. So I started a warranty claim cause of that. New one i’m having more condensation and it’s only a matter of time before LEDs start failing like the last set.

 

[CrossTx]

Not to change the topic, how you liking those mickeys? i’m beginning to get into the rabbit hole of searching for different tires, looking at ridge grapps or those baja boss at. And they look aggressive like an RT so it’s appealing compared to my klever rt.

Im pretty happy w/ my ridge grapps, they handle dirt rds better than my RT’s and wet pavement pretty great too and miles anove the bfg km2 it had

 

[Old Jeeper]

I have read through the threads discussing Bushwacker Hyperforms and everyone is generally happy besides the floppy fitment and gaps. I worked hard making everything as tight and aligned as possible and was really happy with them. 3rd week i had them it rained one morning and I was driving down a county rd i travel often and naturally mud and small rocks stick to tires and sling off. I was happy to have the extra coverage to keep the mud and debris from slinging all over my jeep like before with stock fenders. When I got to my destination I noticed holes in every fender from rocks slinging through them like they were shot out a gun???! I never went over 30mph and I feel like common expectations is for these to do their one job and deflect debris and stuff from hitting the paint or other vehicles.
has anyone else experienced this and did bushwacker do anything to help? I reached out to customer service 2 times and sent pics with zero response. Its been another 3 weeks since I contacted them and nothing.
anyone else get bushwacked by these weak floppy fenders??

First they are FENDERS, their job is to PREVENT mud, rocks, gravel etc from hitting the sides of your vehicle. So Job 1 they failed at it. The fenders did not perform as sold.

Here is an old trick I have used:

Write letter, be nice but be firm in what you want. At the bottom the letter type this:

Courtesy Copy

Bruiseum and Breakum
Attorney At Consumer & Criminal Law
123 Dead End Street
State Pen, Texas

Suggest you use an actual law office. If they are any kind of an outfit then will contact you FIRST, not going to call a Law Office and of course you never a CC to the law firm


The plastic they used was substandard and did not meet even their low specs. I bought into Bushwackers, ONCE and they did not last but a few months and the plastic was failing. Then driving down the highway one broke off and the other began to follow, so I pulled over and with my hands the came right off. Guess it was that Texas sun that did it.

 

[DarkhorseJL]

I’m not sure if they’d replace cause of holes and whatnot. Before I noticed the hole in them I began having issues with condensation in the DRL. So I started a warranty claim cause of that. New one i’m having more condensation and it’s only a matter of time before LEDs start failing like the last set.

TruckHero itself has a great warranty program. Depending on how long you’ve had yours, they will most likely refer you to the supplier (Quadratec, 4WD, Off Road Elements, etc - XT stopped carrying them completely but do still sell Rugged Ridge chop / DRLs still), so they may require you to go straight through Bushwacker for a warranty claim. Now as far as your DRLs, I know it may seem “underhanded” but I will suggest something that depending on both your moral compass as well as your finances, since RR and BW are the same suppliers for the DRLs, but yourself a new set of just the fender lights through whatever supplier you choose… install the new ones and restart your warranty. Then let the supplier worry about filing a warranty claim with BW/RR so they essentially can recoup the losses and refurbish their stock. The condensation is a rather simple fix… much like headlights on anything but Jeeps, you just drill a small hole like a “tear duct” in the lower corner, use a heat gun or let it sit in the sun for a few hours and the water will seep out… then cover the hole with either a grommet cap (Lowes, HomeDepot, ACE, etc) or cover it completely with RTV/gasket sealer. Now if you’re shorting out, there’s no real fix other than full replacement.

 

[DarkhorseJL]

Not to change the topic, how you liking those mickeys? i’m beginning to get into the rabbit hole of searching for different tires, looking at ridge grapps or those baja boss at. And they look aggressive like an RT so it’s appealing compared to my klever rt.

Congrats on the rabbit hole or red/blue pill journey… it’s a long and deep one. ? I’ll be absolutely honest with you… like many other things I put on my Jeep (#13), I did months of research, comparisons, talking to off road shops and endless YouTubes. I will say this… 1) don’t watch any Australian YouTubers, most don’t drive Jeeps and don’t have the various terrains like we do in the US, 2) don’t watch new YouTubers with a handful of followers, most are jaded and compare old tires that barely have tread to the new tire… it’s like comparing a Jeep with 200k mi to a 2023 JL… it’s not a true comparison, 3) don’t listen/watch YouTubers who either drive stock vehicles with no lift, armor or gear, they won’t have a good understanding on geometry and ride quality, 4) don’t listen/watch YouTubers comparing mud terrains versus all terrains versus passenger tires, they will almost always say ATs run smoother than MTs or MTs are loud and chunky driving on pavement, they most often have never been in anything but 2HI or driven in anything but loose gravel and 5) don’ttake advice from YouTubers who not only are comparing tires on an IFS to solid axle (Toyota, Bronco, etc to Jeep… they have no substantial idea on how different terrains will react with treads and being able to drive through each… as a “bonus”: comparing a 31x10 to a 35x12.5, it will most often ride and perform differently than the other.

now that I have summed all that up ?… in my research, I have ran every kind of MT and AT previously and each has its own benefit and downfall. When I was starting to build my Jeep, I was dead set that I would never run anything but an MT but quickly realized that not only are you paying more for an MT with extra rubber but they are usually more popular so companies market those more and sell more to the masses. Two great benefits to ATs are the warranty and the drivability so you’re not just isolated to off road versus on road driving. The great part about the AT is you can air down and get even more of a footprint than just an MT. In my ventures, I went to DiscountTire and they have a great policy… for 30 days, as much as you have the time to spare, you can try Nitto, Toyo, Falken, Mickey, etc and even if you choose to drive to the other side of the country, ,if you’re not happy, they will happily swap out your tires given you pay the difference or get reimbursed in price. So I tested that. Lol. I tried the Recon Grapplers and Mickey EXPs (too soft and while that’s good for hugging the rocks, there’s a high potential for less tread life), I tried the Wildpeaks (good solid brand but felt every bump and started making my suspension shake), tried the KM3 and Mickey Baja Boss MTs (but the lack of warranty was a big deterrence)… by this time, I started to enjoy the feel the reason why Mickey’s have such a profound reputation. I chose the Baja Boss AT and driving (on pavement) felt less taxing and like I was able to take on any terrain. After a month and a half, I absolutely enjoyed these over any Grappler that I was trying to choose between versus Mickey. I have taken these to Hurricane Trail here in NC, Nemo’s Trailhead, Uwharrie and just came back from Florida for Jeep Beach… whatever I threw at them,they’ve done wonderfully. And very quiet on the pavement and when I go off road, I’ve gone down to 12psi and never worried if they would hold up under low psi.

in the end, even though I was contemplating between running 35x11 and 35x12.5 (EXP versus Baja Boss),you can’t go wrong with a tire that can compete in Baja truck races, rock crawling, drag strips and other surfaces in various Motorsports.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

Sorry to bump,

but i’ve got a local guy selling stock rubi flares, might jump shit and do the AAL chop, anyone know how the LEDs compare to rugged ridge? For now my leds don’t have condensation like my first set also.

 

[vaJLUR]

You do have to consider the amount of material you're working with, entire point of these things is near factory coverage with max clearance and a similiar look.

If you're looking for durability, not metal, and are willing to sacrifice coverage:
https://www.kbdbodykits.com/jeep-wr...t-rear-4-piece-polyurethane-fender-flares-kit

Man I wish this were available a little wider - saved regardless lol

 

[CrossTx]

Same! I would try these out if they had more coverage but i have cracked 2 windshields myself with rocks and mud slinging off tires when i get back on pavement. Definitely need most coverage i can get.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

Whoever is still running these check your rear quarter panels
The flares vibrated enough I guess to get down to bare metal. You would think the fenders wouldn’t mess with the body. Thought I used enough of that tape they include in the packaging, but I don’t think it’s thick enough.

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