mikster
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I just installed the Smittybilt XRC Gen 2 rear bumper on my 2019 jeep wrangler unlimited 4-door. If anyone plans on doing the same, I have some advice – especially if you have backup sensors in a plastic bumper and planning on transferring them to the steel bumper and if you are planning on wiring the backup lights that come with the bumper to the aux switch and have them light up when in reverse.
The instructions Smittybilt provides are not that great. To uninstall and install the bumper I recommend watching:
https://www.extremeterrain.com/smittybilt-xrc-gen2-rear-bumper-2018-jl.html
This video is good for the general removal of the plastic bumper and installation of the XRC Gen 2 bumper. What it does not show is how to remove and reinstall the OEM backup sensors from the plastic OEM bumper to the steel Smittybilt bumper. For the removal and installation of the backup sensors I recommend watching:
Although the video above does show problems with the backup sensor housing/bezel due to angling and sensor direction being interfered with by the spare tire – I have a 35” nitto mudgrappler tire and had no problems with the backup sensors being triggered.
After removing the plastic OEM bumper, where my next step was to remove the backup sensor wiring harness and backup sensors – I made a critical error. The backup sensor wiring harness and sensors are housed between a two layers of plastic – an inner layer of plastic bumper closest to the rear frame of the jeep and an outler layer of plastic, which is the actual OEM bumper you see when looking at the rear of your jeep. I missed a couple screws that separate the inner and outer bumper and I missed a couple Christmas tree retaining plugs attached to the backup sensor wiring harness and inner OEM bumper. In my “haste” (yes we will call it haste and not frustration lol) I tried forcing the inner and outer bumper apart. This resulted in ripping the wires from the wiring plug attached to one of the backup sensors out of the wiring plug. This cost me $90 CDN for a new backup sensor wiring harness.
I watched the youtube video on removing and installing backup sensors multiple times before trying it myself. I recommend doing the sameto get the order you need to unclasp and attach insert the backup bazel and bracket. Speaking of which, here are the parts I used, since if you have a plastic bumper the bazel’s and brackets are not transferrable. Removing them from the plastic bumper destroys them – they are not transferrable. You will need to purchase the Rubicon bezels and brackets for your aftermarket bumper:
6MH84RXFAB Bezel, RIGHT $2.42
6MH85RXFAB Bezel, LEFT $2.42
6MH82RXFAB Bezel, RIGHT $2.42
6MH83RXFAB Bezel, LEFT $2.42
68295601AB Bracket, LEFT $1.61
68295600AB Bracket, RIGHT $1.61
68295602AB Bracket, RIGHT $1.61
68295603AB Bracket, LEFT $1.61
Note: when you remove your backup sensors make sure to put them back in, in the same location on your steel bumper that they came from. It matters.
When you are ready to install your Smittybilt XRC Gen 2 bumper, where you have watched the ExtremeTerrain video I’ve put a link to up above, here is what I learned. The video does not accurately describe the weight and awkwardness of the XRC bumper. You will need two additional helpers. Each helper will have to take a side of the bumper and hold/align it while you tighten the 4 bolts to the rear frame and 4 bolts (two on the left and right) to the lateral sides of the rear frame area. Make sure all 8 bolts are fully torqued before your helpers release the bumper.
Now for the license plate relocation bracket. If you have an aftermarket tire carrier like I do, then relocation of the license plate is a tricky thing. I could not relocate my plate to the center of my spare tire because that would block my 3rd brake light. I could not bolt the relocation bracket using one of the top surface bolts on the metal plate that says XRC because the license plate relocation bracket light interfered with the backup sensor – it continually set it off. What I did was unscrew one of the bolts on the back left plate that says “XRC”, found a longer bolt with the same thread (Home Depot M6 bolt), bought some stainless steel nuts and washers and a lock washer and bolted the relocation license plate bracket to the top of my XRC bumper. The picture is not all that clear – if anyone wants a better picture of what I did, let me know. However, between the wide washers to reduce shearing stress, the lock washer, and using the negative pressure of the relocation bracket license plate light pressed tight against the top surface of the bumper itself against the screw direction of the bolt, the license plate setup is solid.
Wiring – used a DPST relay to wire the lights that came with the XRC bumper, in addition to a roadmaster diode from amazon, and a 15a fuze. I wired the lights to come on when I press AUX 2 (my 15A aux switches are both use already and that is where the 15A fuse comes into play) and I wired them to the trailer hitch backup light wire so the XRC backup lights come on when I am in reverse. I spent a lot of time researching a handful of wiring schematics before I came up with a wiring harness that works for what I wanted.
If you have any questions about the wiring harness I created, let me know and i'll post it.
The instructions Smittybilt provides are not that great. To uninstall and install the bumper I recommend watching:
https://www.extremeterrain.com/smittybilt-xrc-gen2-rear-bumper-2018-jl.html
This video is good for the general removal of the plastic bumper and installation of the XRC Gen 2 bumper. What it does not show is how to remove and reinstall the OEM backup sensors from the plastic OEM bumper to the steel Smittybilt bumper. For the removal and installation of the backup sensors I recommend watching:
Although the video above does show problems with the backup sensor housing/bezel due to angling and sensor direction being interfered with by the spare tire – I have a 35” nitto mudgrappler tire and had no problems with the backup sensors being triggered.
After removing the plastic OEM bumper, where my next step was to remove the backup sensor wiring harness and backup sensors – I made a critical error. The backup sensor wiring harness and sensors are housed between a two layers of plastic – an inner layer of plastic bumper closest to the rear frame of the jeep and an outler layer of plastic, which is the actual OEM bumper you see when looking at the rear of your jeep. I missed a couple screws that separate the inner and outer bumper and I missed a couple Christmas tree retaining plugs attached to the backup sensor wiring harness and inner OEM bumper. In my “haste” (yes we will call it haste and not frustration lol) I tried forcing the inner and outer bumper apart. This resulted in ripping the wires from the wiring plug attached to one of the backup sensors out of the wiring plug. This cost me $90 CDN for a new backup sensor wiring harness.
I watched the youtube video on removing and installing backup sensors multiple times before trying it myself. I recommend doing the sameto get the order you need to unclasp and attach insert the backup bazel and bracket. Speaking of which, here are the parts I used, since if you have a plastic bumper the bazel’s and brackets are not transferrable. Removing them from the plastic bumper destroys them – they are not transferrable. You will need to purchase the Rubicon bezels and brackets for your aftermarket bumper:
6MH84RXFAB Bezel, RIGHT $2.42
6MH85RXFAB Bezel, LEFT $2.42
6MH82RXFAB Bezel, RIGHT $2.42
6MH83RXFAB Bezel, LEFT $2.42
68295601AB Bracket, LEFT $1.61
68295600AB Bracket, RIGHT $1.61
68295602AB Bracket, RIGHT $1.61
68295603AB Bracket, LEFT $1.61
Note: when you remove your backup sensors make sure to put them back in, in the same location on your steel bumper that they came from. It matters.
When you are ready to install your Smittybilt XRC Gen 2 bumper, where you have watched the ExtremeTerrain video I’ve put a link to up above, here is what I learned. The video does not accurately describe the weight and awkwardness of the XRC bumper. You will need two additional helpers. Each helper will have to take a side of the bumper and hold/align it while you tighten the 4 bolts to the rear frame and 4 bolts (two on the left and right) to the lateral sides of the rear frame area. Make sure all 8 bolts are fully torqued before your helpers release the bumper.
Now for the license plate relocation bracket. If you have an aftermarket tire carrier like I do, then relocation of the license plate is a tricky thing. I could not relocate my plate to the center of my spare tire because that would block my 3rd brake light. I could not bolt the relocation bracket using one of the top surface bolts on the metal plate that says XRC because the license plate relocation bracket light interfered with the backup sensor – it continually set it off. What I did was unscrew one of the bolts on the back left plate that says “XRC”, found a longer bolt with the same thread (Home Depot M6 bolt), bought some stainless steel nuts and washers and a lock washer and bolted the relocation license plate bracket to the top of my XRC bumper. The picture is not all that clear – if anyone wants a better picture of what I did, let me know. However, between the wide washers to reduce shearing stress, the lock washer, and using the negative pressure of the relocation bracket license plate light pressed tight against the top surface of the bumper itself against the screw direction of the bolt, the license plate setup is solid.
Wiring – used a DPST relay to wire the lights that came with the XRC bumper, in addition to a roadmaster diode from amazon, and a 15a fuze. I wired the lights to come on when I press AUX 2 (my 15A aux switches are both use already and that is where the 15A fuse comes into play) and I wired them to the trailer hitch backup light wire so the XRC backup lights come on when I am in reverse. I spent a lot of time researching a handful of wiring schematics before I came up with a wiring harness that works for what I wanted.
If you have any questions about the wiring harness I created, let me know and i'll post it.
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