Please Explain... Mopar Swing Gate Reinforcement

[word302]

Give us a break. You clearly have no clue what you are talking about. Hundreds of owners?? That is total baloney. Show us 20 or 30 of them. The JL and Mopar kit have not been around that long. Pretty obvious you don't even have the Mopar kit on a JL so how could you know diddle? At best you are repeating inaccurate info posted by other biased, misinformed people who don't what they are talking about either. Pretty lame.

Dude. I'm referring to the experience of JK, TJ, and CJ owners. Do you really think this new tailgate it's that much stronger? You are the one making claims that it will be fine "forever". What are you basing this on? How about a 37"? 40"? What is the limit? At what point will it not be ok "forever". Do you understand metal fatigue?

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[ebelp]

Dude. I'm referring to the experience of JK, TJ, and CJ owners. Do you really think this new tailgate it's that much stronger? You are the one making claims that it will be fine "forever". What are you basing this on? How about a 37"? 40"? What is the limit? At what point will it not be ok "forever". Do you understand metal fatigue?

Not sure why we're getting worked up over this...

The fact is that everything we're talking about is speculation. The JL is too new so a lot more time is needed to draw a definitive conclusion. The argument based on the "experience of JK, TJ and CJ owners" is moot because we're talking about the JL. It's a fact that the tailgate and hinges are more rigid than ever before, the only question is how much more rigid.

We're all guinea pigs in this tailgate debate, but I've yet to see anyone with irreversible damage caused by an oversized spare and the Mopar reinforcement kit, but it's premature to say it's definitely useless or that it'll last forever.

For what it's worth, I've been running a 37" STT Pro with a -12 offset wheel on the STOCK NON-reinforced tailgate and have zero sagging, bending, etc. I do experience some vibrations on the trail when my tires start to slip in the snow. My tailgate shuts the same as it did with the stock K02 spare. But again...I haven't been running this setup long enough to know what'll happen down the road.

 

[w.wood]

Dude. I'm referring to the experience of JK, TJ, and CJ owners. Do you really think this new tailgate it's that much stronger? You are the one making claims that it will be fine "forever". What are you basing this on? How about a 37"? 40"? What is the limit? At what point will it not be ok "forever". Do you understand metal fatigue?

I can't talk with you because you are a "know it all" who has zero direct experience with the Mopar kit and you have provided zero facts to back up your baseless comments. You throw around fancy terms like "metal fatigue" as if you actually tested these parts and know more about metal fatigue and weight bearing capacity than Mopar engineers. And yes the JL tailgate is definitely stronger than the JK, check it out on YouTube and compare them side by side as I have since we had a 2013 JK for 5 years and now have a 2018 JL and the difference is very obvious. And I have a 37" spare on our Mopar kit and that tire size is specifically approved by Mopar for this kit. Your negative rant continues to be pretty lame and getting lamer!

 

[plex]

I like the look of Mopar tailgate kit, the black accent and Jeep performance parts badge totally kick ass! Now my Jeep is better than your stock one!

(Disclaimer: totally sarcastic)

 

[w.wood]

Not sure why we're getting worked up over this...

The fact is that everything we're talking about is speculation. The JL is too new so a lot more time is needed to draw a definitive conclusion. The argument based on the "experience of JK, TJ and CJ owners" is moot because we're talking about the JL. It's a fact that the tailgate and hinges are more rigid than ever before, the only question is how much more rigid.

We're all guinea pigs in this tailgate debate, but I've yet to see anyone with irreversible damage caused by an oversized spare and the Mopar reinforcement kit, but it's premature to say it's definitely useless or that it'll last forever.

For what it's worth, I've been running a 37" STT Pro with a -12 offset wheel on the STOCK NON-reinforced tailgate and have zero sagging, bending, etc. I do experience some vibrations on the trail when my tires start to slip in the snow. My tailgate shuts the same as it did with the stock K02 spare. But again...I haven't been running this setup long enough to know what'll happen down the road.

Disagree that the long term capability of the Mopar kit is speculative. The only thing speculative is how much "abuse" the kit can handle. With reasonable use I am positive it will last forever. Dropping the Jeep off big obstacles, running at high speed over rough ground as in desert racing, hitting the spare on ledges, smashing it into trees or rocks, etc is an unknown. But if you watch a bunch of the [Banned Site] videos on YouTube you will see Eddie's JL running a Cooper 37x13.50 spare with KMC beadlock wheel on his JLUR with only the LOD riser bracket (no tailgate reinforcement) and he has zero problems.

Since I do not intend to abuse our $50k JL I am certain that the Mopar kit will last forever because I have it on our Jeep and see and feel how solid it is. We have zero wiggle or vibration over 5 months of daily driving.

Would I guarantee the Mopar kit for a desert racer or hard core rock climber? No, because major hard hits and accidents are always possible. But then again I would not guarantee anybody's spare tire carrier for a desert racer or hard core rock climber.

Actually I think the question about the JL hinges and tailgate is: are they strong enough to handle a 37" spare with the Mopar kit or equivalent. I would not run a 40" spare on our JL under any circumstances, nor would I run a 37" spare on our JL without the Mopar kit or something equivalent. But the actual facts are that you and others are running 37s on the JL tailgate without the Mopar kit or equivalent and you have no problems except some vibration in the snow. Pretty convincing evidence that the JL hinges and tailgate are, in fact, strong enough. I agree that you are taking some risk running a 37" spare on a non-reinforced tailgate but based on the videos I have seen you may be fine forever. But Mopar definitely does not recommend running a 37" spare on the non-reinforced tailgate.

Hope you have good luck and that nobody has problems with their tailgate.

 

[ebelp]

Disagree that the long term capability of the Mopar kit is speculative. The only thing speculative is how much "abuse" the kit can handle.

You realize how conflicting these 2 sentences are, right?

Given how new our JL's are, I think it's safe to say that every argument in this thread is speculative. You've made valid points, but so have others in this thread. Just because we don't agree with others' points doesn't make them wrong.

 

[w.wood]

You realize how conflicting these 2 sentences are, right?

Given how new our JL's are, I think it's safe to say that every argument in this thread is speculative. You've made valid points, but so have others in this thread. Just because we don't agree with others' points doesn't make them wrong.

Not fighting with you, I agree with your posts except for the way you used the term speculative. My sentences are not conflicting at all. The Mopar kit is more than capable of handling a 37" spare under all reasonable use. That is not speculative and I don't need years to reach that conclusion. I have the kit and can see that it is solid and plenty capable of long term reasonable use without problems.

Abuse is a different animal. Aggressive off road use is not normal, reasonable use, it's risky. Some people choose to run their Jeeps that way and that is fine. Jeeps are very capable and can handle aggressive off road use but there are likely to be damage issues. I would imagine that all of us have seen very well built up Jeeps that have been used aggressively off road but some of them get beat up. Things get scratched, dented, bent, etc. That does not mean the parts are defective, it just means that virtually any part can get mangled if you hit it hard enough.

But in this thread I am talking about ordinary Jeep usage which includes daily driving and occasional mild-moderate off road fun. There is no doubt that the Mopar kit can handle that type of use for the life of the Jeep.

 

[ebelp]

But in this thread I am talking about ordinary Jeep usage which includes daily driving and occasional mild-moderate off road fun. There is no doubt that the Mopar kit can handle that type of use for the life of the Jeep.

I'm in full agreement since my tailgate hasn't fallen off yet from some moderate abuse and zero reinforcement! Every time I open/close the tailgate I watch to see if it latches "clunky" or unevenly. So far so good. Probably just jinxed myself.

 

[mwilk012]

Has anyone actually seen a JK’s tailgate fail at the hinges? I have seen plenty where the sheet metal got all bent to hell but never a broken hinge.

Also note that I am biased toward the Mopar reinforcement because I like the look. I am the worst.

 

[w.wood]

I'm in full agreement since my tailgate hasn't fallen off yet from some moderate abuse and zero reinforcement! Every time I open/close the tailgate I watch to see if it latches "clunky" or unevenly. So far so good. Probably just jinxed myself.

Cool videos, beautiful Jeep!!
Yeah, I watched that open/close thing for several months very carefully. We use the tailgate many times every day getting stuff in/out of the Jeep cargo area and the tailgate closes perfect and solid every time. I don't worry about it anymore, really happy with the JL, even the tailgate!

 

[DravenGSX]

Here’s a new offering from RedRock... on extreme terrain parts. $80 seems very reasonable... and that might even give a good mounting place for a jerry can.

I saw this the other day... this seems far too good to be true, but other RedRock products have solid reviews. Anybody have any reasonable thoughts on this? I might give it a shot just for the price, I guess.

 

[Juliancobian]

Here’s a new offering from RedRock... on extreme terrain parts. $80 seems very reasonable... and that might even give a good mounting place for a jerry can.

Anyone buy this?

 

[DrBasham]

Does anyone have or know someone that has installed the ACE Stand Alone Tire Carrier? It bolts directly to the frame, takes all the weight off the tailgate, has a place for CB antenna and Hi-lift mount... seems like a great option for someone that wants to keep factory bumper and accomplish all these issues. I'm trying to decide.

 

[Onward4x4]

Wow... I see the debate still rages on this thread - I enjoyed reading everyone's point of view. It turns out, I decided to keep the Mopar reinforcement and the relocation kit and will be installing them both shortly.

 

[Monarch490]

Would a 35 inch tire be fine on the stock tailgate system? I've heard on youtube from jeep reps it would be but I just want to make sure

It’s not, I have a 35 with aftermarket rims and on big bumps I can hear the tire moving the tale gate making a clacking sound. I think the Mopar tailgate reinforcement basically lengthens the hinges and braces then in relation to each other keeping the tale gate from buckling when it wants to twist as the tire goes back and forth

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