Tailgate reinforcement do we really need it?

[Cwelroy]

I am running 37’s and installed the MOPAR tailgate reinforcement prior to the tires to be safe. I am trusting the engineers knew what they were doing here, and if I have any issues I will take it up with Jeep for sure. At first I liked the idea of not having to open a carrier and then the tailgate, but distributing all that weight to the bumper is way better than risking extra weight on those hinges, reinforced or not. Coming down on a rock one time wrong and catching the tire will be seriously problematic. Long term it’s aftermatket bumper with carrier for me.

I went with the LOD rear bumper/tire carrier. Operation is easy, you don’t have to open the carrier and the tailgate separately. You just open the tailgate and the carrier swings right along with it. You can separate them very easily if you’d like to. I don’t have any tailgate concerns anymore.

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[American Jeeper]

Looks like a nice setup. I’ll have to check it out when the Jeep funds replenish a bit. Thank you!

 

[Bearded_Dragon]

I went with the LOD rear bumper/tire carrier. Operation is easy, you don’t have to open the carrier and the tailgate separately. You just open the tailgate and the carrier swings right along with it. You can separate them very easily if you’d like to. I don’t have any tailgate concerns anymore.

Is the license plate a part of the bumper, or does it screw into the body?

 

[RichD]

A bit newbie & off track here, but are the OE hinges on the Rubicon same as Sport? I'll be upgrading my Sport to Rubicon take offs soon (285/70/17).

 

[Cwelroy]

Is the license plate a part of the bumper, or does it screw into the body?

It attaches to the bumper. No new/extra holes are drilled in either. The bolts are the LED bolts, so it is legal when it comes to lighting up the plate.

 

[RubenZ]

If these kids do nothing to the actual hinges they are a waste of money. The fact that all they do is bolt over the existing tailgate tells you its a bunch of BS that adds no benefit.

 

[Goin2drt]

My dilemma is I haven’t found a rear bumper/tire solution yet that I like but ready to get the 35’s mounted and ready to go. I hate the thought of buying the Mopar reinforcement for an outrageous price to have it only be a temporary fix. I am having the toughest time finding a bumper solution I like.

 

[Martindfletcher]

If these kids do nothing to the actual hinges they are a waste of money. The fact that all they do is bolt over the existing tailgate tells you its a bunch of BS that adds no benefit.

You mean it won’t improve the torsional strength of the magnesium door?

 

[richk225]

I have had a lot to say about this issue, to the point of even showing the service manager how much torsional flex there is on a stock Rubicon. Parked mine right next to it with my BFG KM3 35” AND Mopar hinge reinforcement bracket on it and the flex was nearly identical.
I removed my tire and then removed the bracket, mounted the spare back on and had the service manager look at it again, still the same amount of flex is what he said, and then I pointed out that I had removed the Mopar reinforcement bracket. His response was” that’s not good” and offered no other suggestions as what to do. Like I said, my JK with the Smittybilt support was able to support someone sitting on it. Look at the factory JK hinge pictures I posted and then look at your JL hinges. In my opinion there is a design flaw with the JL and it can not be rectified as easily as the JK, by replacing the entire hinge assembly with a much sturdier design. My thoughts are that the stock hinge mounting location on the JL will be the first location to fail since the Mopar reinforcement bracket does not reinforce this in any way.
I am still supporting my spare with the hitch made support that I made, and there is zero flex, zero rattling, zero extra weight being put on the factory hinges. I don’t know if Skyjacker has come out with their “ Tailgate saver/Spare tire support “ as of yet.

 

[jlsahara]

I don’t have the reinforcement kit but I do have the spare relocation kit. I do get a flex and my sensors have been falsely going off. I stopped the rattle by applying felt tape on the top edge of the rear door. I don’t like that solution but better than hearing the rattle all the time.

I can’t seem to fix the rear sensors from going off so I just shut off the rear parking sensors from the dashboard button. Sucks to pay for the package and not use it.

 

[HotKarlTheJL]

Regarding the parking sensors, do the lights in the mirrors still work if you remove the sensors with an aftermarket bumper or turn them off in the dash?

 

[richk225]

Anenoso, What size spare tire are you running? There have been reports of people using less spacers on their spart tire relocation bracket, then some running less tire pressure in the spare. Thankfully this isn’t a problem that I have encountered yet

 

[Cwelroy]

Regarding the parking sensors, do the lights in the mirrors still work if you remove the sensors with an aftermarket bumper or turn them off in the dash?

So I still have the sensors installed. And even when I turn off park sense on the dash, I still get beeps when a car or person walks behind. I also still get lights in the mirrors. I just don’t get the constant “there’s a solid object right behind you” beep. So it works for me.

 

[Jumpinn Jeep]

Here in Southern California most of the freeways are poured concrete, of course some are smother than others but the expansion gaps between slabs can cause a bit of vibration at speed. I was driving behind a paper plate JLUR recently with a 37” on the tailgate and watched it bouncing a lot. As most of us here know aluminum and magnesium is strong for its weight however it also gets stress fractures when excessively pulled and flexed. I’m waiting for my bumper mount tire carrier to arrive before putting on my 37” spare, I’m ok looking like a dork with my stock spare till then.

 

[Birdman]

Question if I use stock 18” rims and I’m putting 285/75 R18 nitto on I shouldn’t need longer bumpstops should I? If anything with the larger width of the tire and stock offset wouldn’t it be snugger to the bump stop? May be a stupid question but I’m putting these on next week and not getting the tailgate kit so don’t want to f this up.

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