Tailgate reinforcement

[JeepNewb9]

How necessary is the tailgate reinforcement? I’m about to have a 35x12.5r20 mounted and I’m just trying to see if it truly is necessary? It doesn’t look like it does anything for the actual hinge point. My wheel/tire combo I’m guessing with weigh about 110-120#.

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[IndustrialAction]

I have the MOPAR reinforcement installed with the relocation stuff and I'm not happy with it (running 35s as well). It creaks and swings wildly. I purchased the Spartacus hinge replacement from RR and the Alpha HD carrier from Teraflex. Planning on installing them soon to (hopefully) fix things.

I would not put a 35 on the stock gate with nothing to support it

 

[Chad1433]

I've seen a few tailgate issues on our fleet with 35" tires on the back. Some have the Mopar kit and some do not. I was noticing that one of our vehicles w/o the Mopar kit had some rattling at the tailgate on-trail. We've seen some other little things like creaking, catching, non-fluid closing/opening. On my personal Jeep, I have a 33" tire and no reinforcement and it's smooth, no rattling.

I think Jeep is going to need to address this at some point because it is a problem. It's a lot of weight on long lever arm.

 

[jawest12]

You need it. I did not do it initially when I went to 35's on my first JL. It ended up tweaking the tailgate pretty quickly. I was able to adjust it to stop the rattle after adding a Rusty's tailgate. But definitely was necessary.

 

[Frezski]

I have the Mopar/Jeep Tailgate Reinforcement on my Jeep that I added as an option. My thoughts overall is its more/less a band aid to stall the inevitable change out to something more sturdier. Being new to Jeep ownership, I figured that it would be a smart add on knowing that modifications would come. After adding 35" on beadlocks, you can definitely feel the added stress on the hinge when it comes to opening and closing. It doesn't instill confidence for the long haul, especially when adding more weight to the tailgate area. Unfortunately, my end goal is larger tires and at some point it will need to go. If I could do it all over, I would have not ordered it as a factory option and saved my money. The cost of it could have covered a significant amount of the cost of an aftermarket system whether it would be a bumper mounted tire carrier or a system which it reinforces the hinge while adding the lateral strength to the tailgate. Anyways, sorry If I went off topic here. I guess I can say, yes you should, but don't go with the Mopar/Jeep version.

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