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Rough Country Brand

amiii

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Amir
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How are products from Rough Country? I purchased a front and rear bumper from them for my JL which I'm to receive in couple of weeks. I have seen a lot of negative reviews about RC and their products and have gotten a bit worried. I gotta be honest the pricing for the front and rear bumper was great. Anyone have any experience with their bumpers? I know their lift kit is not the most popular but how about their bumpers and exteriors mods?
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Sting_NC_USA

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Michael
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How are products from Rough Country? I purchased a front and rear bumper from them for my JL which I'm to receive in couple of weeks. I have seen a lot of negative reviews about RC and their products and have gotten a bit worried. I gotta be honest the pricing for the front and rear bumper was great. Anyone have any experience with their bumpers? I know their lift kit is not the most popular but how about their bumpers and exteriors mods?
Sometimes we have to go beyond the "you get what you pay for" mentality and focus more on the cost/benefit viewpoint. You are correct, RC is not what many consider to be a top of the line product series. In fact, I think you'll see this reflected in some of the product bashing comments that will likely follow. It's why I'm going into a bit more detail here. It simply boils down to whether or not RC's, or any vendor's for that matter, product meets the needs of what you're trying to accomplish.

Great example: Helped a younger Jeeper install an RC Track Bar yesterday afternoon. He bought it before we talked about it, but I understood his perspective and his goals. He's a college-aged, hard working young man, and a novice Jeeper. He bought one of the cheapest track bars he could find that was adjustable, because he just put on an entry level lift. And, the most aggressive off-roading he'll engage in (for the next few years) will be limited to the light/intermediate trails accessible at one of our local off-road parks.

For him, that track bar will be just fine, and it's substantially stronger than the stock one we replaced. If he were getting into heavier crawling type activities, or anything more serious than basic trails, the joints and bushings on that bar likely will flex, bend and snap their way to a quick replacement. That is, much faster than a product from SteerSmarts, Synergy, Rusty's, etc. Each costing at least two times what he paid for the RC.

RC, in general, is primarily entry level stuff, and that may be just fine based on the application. In the case of the bumpers you purchased, apply that same theory here. Rhetorically speaking, is the bumper upgrade you're considering a cosmetic thing, or is there a specific need you're trying to address (rock clearance, tire carrier options, etc.)?

What I personally try to recommend is that you look down the road to what you will be doing with your Jeep vs what you're doing with it now. Many here have said it before: Buy once, cry once.

If your long-term goals are to get into more serious off-road trails, consider the quality of the products you are buying with a long-term perspective. Simply try to avoid buying something that's lower cost, light use, when you're going to need to re-purchase parts to get you where you really wanted/needed to be in the first place.

Hope that helps in your decision...

Mike
 
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amiii

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Amir
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Sometimes we have to go beyond the "you get what you pay for" mentality and focus more on the cost/benefit viewpoint. You are correct, RC is not what many consider to be a top of the line product series. In fact, I think you'll see this reflected in some of the product bashing comments that will likely follow. It's why I'm going into a bit more detail here. It simply boils down to whether or not RC's, or any vendor's for that matter, product meets the needs of what you're trying to accomplish.

Great example: Helped a younger Jeeper install an RC Track Bar yesterday afternoon. He bought it before we talked about it, but I understood his perspective and his goals. He's a college-aged, hard working young man, and a novice Jeeper. He bought one of the cheapest track bars he could find that was adjustable, because he just put on an entry level lift. And, the most aggressive off-roading he'll engage in (for the next few years) will be limited to the light/intermediate trails accessible at one of our local off-road parks.

For him, that track bar will be just fine, and it's substantially stronger than the stock one we replaced. If he were getting into heavier crawling type activities, or anything more serious than basic trails, the joints and bushings on that bar likely will flex, bend and snap their way to a quick replacement. That is, much faster than a product from SteerSmarts, Synergy, Rusty's, etc. Each costing at least two times what he paid for the RC.

RC, in general, is primarily entry level stuff, and that may be just fine based on the application. In the case of the bumpers you purchased, apply that same theory here. Rhetorically speaking, is the bumper upgrade you're considering a cosmetic thing, or is there a specific need you're trying to address (rock clearance, tire carrier options, etc.)?

What I personally try to recommend is that you look down the road to what you will be doing with your Jeep vs what you're doing with it now. Many here have said it before: Buy once, cry once.

If your long-term goals are to get into more serious off-road trails, consider the quality of the products you are buying with a long-term perspective. Simply try to avoid buying something that's lower cost, light use, when you're going to need to re-purchase parts to get you where you really wanted/needed to be in the first place.

Hope that helps in your decision...

Mike
Thanks Mike. I totally get what you saying. The front bumper cost me around $1000 CAD which is not too cheap for a front bumper but their rear bumper and tire carrier came to $720 CAD which I thought was a great deal. I'm on a budget and wanted to spend more on upgrading tires and save for a lift down the road. Not really a serious off-roader. I just do some easy trails once in a while. I have just read so much negative reviews about RC that I kinda got worried that maybe the $1720 I spent could have been used to buy something of a better quality. But again for my JK I bought a bunch of stuff from JCR for double the price and it rusted during the first year of use. I would never go cheap on a lift or other major things. Again I can't find any bad review on RC's exteriors mods, most of the negative review I read mentioned their lack of quality in lift kits.
 

fitzi6_7

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I have used and applied RC items on numerous trucks, jeeps etc over the years. Where I see (and you can read in my first post today) is that they typically are minimalists in helping novice - intermediate folks install and do it yourself. I consider myself pretty decent with a wrench and can figure out things for the most part. Was highly disappointed that their lighting that comes in their bumper doesn't plug and play, rather I have to cut into the factory harness to have fog lights work. My bad for not realizing it until I got the bumper. Other companies have thought through this and make it a bit easier to diy.
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