Smitty Built Stryker Bumper install with XRC Gen 3 Winch issues

[Bobbys]

So i really like this bumper. I thought it looked nice and was a good option for the money.
I read some reviews a head of time and saw how everyone said this thing was a pain in the ass to install. Mostly the complaints were about bad instructions and missing hardware. So i thought to myself ok, i can handle that with a little patience.

I picked up the matching 9.5k winch for it and set off on my mission.

After taking the winch plate off and on about 6 times trying to figure out what hardware went where and cursing a few times i laughed and said to myself "you signed up for this" and on i went

So i finally got the winch plate in and figured i was home free.

Then the real horror started and is continuing.

So apparently , smittybuilt gives you some sapcers to go between the winch plate and the frame horns to move the winch plate away from the front grill. Apparently it was suppose to be used on gladiatiors only but i put it in anyway thinking it might be nice to have some extra room.


There is NO WAY in hell you can use this thing without the spacers and further more even with the spacers i dont have a chance in hell at getting mine to fight.
I expected bad instructions and questionable hardware but what i didnt sign up for was a bumper that is just piss poor designed and doesnt fit.

Problem #1

The damn winch just butts hard right up against my grill. If i push it against the grill really hard i can just barley get the wholes to line up.
I thought to myself , well, that sucks but atleast i can get it mounted.

Problem #2

I go to install the power box and here is the real pain.

There is no way in hell this is going on. It pushed the winch 3 more inches forward. I tried the mounting the power box with the optional motor mount bracket to see if that helped.
But alas, the optional motor mount bracket then causes the damn thing to not line up on the winch plate.

Then i thought to myself, What if i drilled new holes in the winch plate and moved the winch forward a few inches....
NOPE cant do that either because the winch plate is not deep enough

So now instead of working on the jeep in the garage im on the couch on the JL forums.

sigh.... Not like Smittybuilt cares but they should really be embarassed about the production of this product.
Im an engineer by profession and this is the most grossly negligent bit of piss poor engineering i have ever seen in my life. I have seen freshmen college students with more engineering skill then this.

I should of bought a different bumper but hate the look of everything else.
I digress......
So now What?

I thought about a remote mount for the box but i need acess to plug the controller in and also the handy power port

Anyone have any ideas or been through this and have some pictures. It seems there are 3 youtube videos of installs and i have watched them all several times. Using those , that is how i even got the winch plate installed.

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[Bobbys]

So i talked to Smittybuilt today. Here is what i got told.

IT DOES NOT FIT!!

They market and sell this thing for a JL and it DOES NOT FIT
They flat out told me today they know it doesnt work and i should return it.
They are blatantly selling garbage saying its for a certain Jeep and its not even close.

then smitty built tells me, o you can buy a different winch , maybe a WARN will fit.

WOW!!
First and LAST Smittybuilt product i ever buy.

 

[MCJA]

I just installed the same bumper this weekend. Like you, I read the reviews about poor instructions and missing or mystery hardware. And, like you, I took the chance anyway because I like the bumper features and appearance. I also think it has a lot of thoughtful design features, such as the over-rider bar with provisions for a 12" light bar, the shackle tabs with Hi-Lift jack points, and the removable wings. I think the design concepts are great, but the execution really detracts from the product.

Like you said, the reviews are 100% accurate. Terrible instructions, mystery hardware, perhaps some missing hardware (not really sure), and a lot of trial and error.

Once it's installed, it looks and fits great. But it really shouldn't be so frustrating for the installer. I guess as long as people keep buying it, SB will keep selling it the way it is. I also haven't installed a winch yet. Kind of dreading it based on all of these reviews. I plan on using a Warn winch, but it really shouldn't matter. Plenty of other manufacturers out there are able to make bumpers that work with any or almost any winch.

Sorry to hear you had such a miserable experience with getting your winch installed. Can't blame you for writing off SB. They need to bolster their quality standards.

Smittybilt, are you reading these reviews and write-ups?

 

[Bobbys]

I just installed the same bumper this weekend. Like you, I read the reviews about poor instructions and missing or mystery hardware. And, like you, I took the chance anyway because I like the bumper features and appearance. I also think it has a lot of thoughtful design features, such as the over-rider bar with provisions for a 12" light bar, the shackle tabs with Hi-Lift jack points, and the removable wings. I think the design concepts are great, but the execution really detracts from the product.

Like you said, the reviews are 100% accurate. Terrible instructions, mystery hardware, perhaps some missing hardware (not really sure), and a lot of trial and error.

Once it's installed, it looks and fits great. But it really shouldn't be so frustrating for the installer. I guess as long as people keep buying it, SB will keep selling it the way it is. I also haven't installed a winch yet. Kind of dreading it based on all of these reviews. I plan on using a Warn winch, but it really shouldn't matter. Plenty of other manufacturers out there are able to make bumpers that work with any or almost any winch.

Sorry to hear you had such a miserable experience with getting your winch installed. Can't blame you for writing off SB. They need to bolster their quality standards.

Smittybilt, are you reading these reviews and write-ups?

Thanks
There comment to me was, o well we dont sell these as a combo so you shouldnt assumed our two products work together.
WOW!

Good luck when you try and install the winch. I got the bumper to sort of fit but forget about trying to put a XRC Gen3 winch on it.

I might try a warn because i literally have no other option. Either that or throw the whole thing in the trash.

Not to mention i got my jeep back the other day after the lift kit install and they did an "alignment" and gave me back a car that pulls to the right bad and has a cocked steering wheel now.

Unreal. Almost no one can do anything in this country anymore. So many people take no pride in their work , its sad

 

[rshawn3908]

So i talked to Smittybuilt today. Here is what i got told.

IT DOES NOT FIT!!

They market and sell this thing for a JL and it DOES NOT FIT
They flat out told me today they know it doesnt work and i should return it.
They are blatantly selling garbage saying its for a certain Jeep and its not even close.

then smitty built tells me, o you can buy a different winch , maybe a WARN will fit.

WOW!!
First and LAST Smittybuilt product i ever buy.

"Shittybuilt"

I just installed (attempted to install) one my self. My story is exactly identical to yours. The frustration, the instructions, the fitment, etc...and I'm also an engineer as well. I bought the Warn 12Klb winch to mount on it and the mounting holes were are about 1" off from the holes in the plate. There is no well in hell this winch is going to fit. It took me 3hrs trying to figure out how to mount the winch plate. So frustrating. Even the hardware inventory page wasn't even close. I had to figure out what bolt where, where the brackets went, and what brackets were being reused. Even the online videos weren't exact. Never-the-less, I'm sending it back to Amazon which will cost me freight plus a 50% restocking fee for mounting it if I don't get my money back.

I will never, ever, fricking ever buy another product from Shittybuilt again. Waisted my whole Sunday.

 

[rshawn3908]

I just installed the same bumper this weekend. Like you, I read the reviews about poor instructions and missing or mystery hardware. And, like you, I took the chance anyway because I like the bumper features and appearance. I also think it has a lot of thoughtful design features, such as the over-rider bar with provisions for a 12" light bar, the shackle tabs with Hi-Lift jack points, and the removable wings. I think the design concepts are great, but the execution really detracts from the product.

Like you said, the reviews are 100% accurate. Terrible instructions, mystery hardware, perhaps some missing hardware (not really sure), and a lot of trial and error.

Once it's installed, it looks and fits great. But it really shouldn't be so frustrating for the installer. I guess as long as people keep buying it, SB will keep selling it the way it is. I also haven't installed a winch yet. Kind of dreading it based on all of these reviews. I plan on using a Warn winch, but it really shouldn't matter. Plenty of other manufacturers out there are able to make bumpers that work with any or almost any winch.

Sorry to hear you had such a miserable experience with getting your winch installed. Can't blame you for writing off SB. They need to bolster their quality standards.

Smittybilt, are you reading these reviews and write-ups?

I just tried a brand new Warn VR EVO Winch and its not even close to fitting. Good luck installing a winch

 

[Herson]

I have the same bumper and had 0 problems installing it. They come with extra parts because it also fits the JK. In terms of the coating, it is already bubbling. I really like this bumper and I will eventually re-coat it. In my opinion, this is one of the best looking bumpers for the JL.

 

[rshawn3908]

is your wiring crammed tight against your grill? Which winch is that? What part number is your bumper?

 

[Herson]

is your wiring crammed tight against your grill? Which winch is that? What part number is your bumper?

I bought it on extreme terrain for a JL Wrangler. The winch is an XRC 9500 with steel cable. The cables are close to the grill but not rubbing.

 

[moparcruiser]

I have the same bumper and had 0 problems installing it. They come with extra parts because it also fits the JK. In terms of the coating, it is already bubbling. I really like this bumper and I will eventually re-coat it. In my opinion, this is one of the best looking bumpers for the JL.

What 13" light bar did you use?

And did the winch go in like butter or did you have to drill new holes, etc???

 

[Herson]

What 13" light bar did you use?

And did the winch go in like butter or did you have to drill new holes, etc???

12” rough country black series light bar.

Not sure what you mean about drilling holes for the winch but I didn’t had to drill anything. The bumper looks great but the coating is crap. I have to take it off and remove the coating and paint it since it started rusting. The winch plate is great and is well coated.

 

[moparcruiser]

12” rough country black series light bar.

Not sure what you mean about drilling holes for the winch but I didn’t had to drill anything. The bumper looks great but the coating is crap. I have to take it off and remove the coating and paint it since it started rusting. The winch plate is great and is well coated.

I ended up ordering a Quake LED 12" bar....havent gotten it yet.

How long was your Stryker installed before it started bubbling???

I am wondering why so many have had issues with this winch and bumper combo?

Im considering a Rough Country Pro Series 12k as it seems to have the wiring box on top of the unit which may help as far as clearance??

https://www.roughcountry.com/pro-se...ind=2021-jeep-wrangler-jl--2-door--4wd-756570

 

[Herson]

I ended up ordering a Quake LED 12" bar....havent gotten it yet.

How long was your Stryker installed before it started bubbling???

I am wondering why so many have had issues with this winch and bumper combo?

Im considering a Rough Country Pro Series 12k as it seems to have the wiring box on top of the unit which may help as far as clearance??

https://www.roughcountry.com/pro-se...ind=2021-jeep-wrangler-jl--2-door--4wd-756570

I would say within a year it started bubbling. I live in Michigan so the salt helped. Other than that, I think the winch plate is beefy and I didn’t had any problems with my winch. The winch plate hasn’t bubble. The winch sits very close to the grille and if some day you have to remove the grille, you will have to remove the bumper and winch. I will remove it this spring and strip it and re-coat it myself.

What winch are you planning to install?

 

[moparcruiser]

I would say within a year it started bubbling. I live in Michigan so the salt helped. Other than that, I think the winch plate is beefy and I didn’t had any problems with my winch. The winch plate hasn’t bubble. The winch sits very close to the grille and if some day you have to remove the grille, you will have to remove the bumper and winch. I will remove it this spring and strip it and re-coat it myself.

What winch are you planning to install?

I havent figured that out yet...I dont want it hitting the grill......

Its disappointing that it bubbled so quickly. Hoping mine doesnt.....I guess if it does, getting it repowdercoated better would be the fix .....

Seems like nothing is made well anymore. Chinese crap.

Looks great on the Jeep though.

I got the Quake LED bar --- seems like good quality but they advertised it asa "super spot"......yeah, um...I dont think so......not as brightt or as long distance as I had hoped.....but its a single row so I guess thats why.....and the thing is agood 2 inches shorter than the advertised 13". luckily the Stryker can still use it.....for the money its ok.

 

[Herson]

I havent figured that out yet...I dont want it hitting the grill......

Its disappointing that it bubbled so quickly. Hoping mine doesnt.....I guess if it does, getting it repowdercoated better would be the fix .....

Seems like nothing is made well anymore. Chinese crap.

Looks great on the Jeep though.

I got the Quake LED bar --- seems like good quality but they advertised it asa "super spot"......yeah, um...I dont think so......not as brightt or as long distance as I had hoped.....but its a single row so I guess thats why.....and the thing is agood 2 inches shorter than the advertised 13". luckily the Stryker can still use it.....for the money its ok.

I’m glad you like how it looks. I think this is one of the best looking ones out there. The coating is really bad. Mine is pealing everywhere. I paid just $475 when I bought mine and I’m debating if I should blast it and powder coat it again. Just the powder coating for the bumper, skid and bar is as expensive as the bumper was, and not including the blasting. I either work on it myself and coat it with some bed liner spray or a thought paint, or buy the Rival aluminum one. I really like the rival but it doesn’t have the cut to install the light bar and no fog light mounting holes.

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