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Westin Bumpers

surferbandit

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I bought a set of Westin bumpers and finally got around to putting them on this past week. I’ve put Jeep bumpers on before but this was seriously a pain in the ass. The instructions were kind of like Ikea instructions if you’ve ever bought anything there… very brief instructions and the picture doesn't show you everything you need to know. I liked how it turned out though. Thought I’d share…

What I bought:
WJ2 Stubby Front Bumper - 59-80075
WJ2 Rear Bumper w/ Tire Carrier - 59-82035
Skid plate
Westin Synthetic winch
Lights for rear bumper
KC 6 inch fog lights
Mopar light relocation kit
Shackles

Taking off the stock bumpers off was pretty easy. Getting the rear bumper on was pretty easy as well.
20180812_135127.jpg


The tire carrier however was a pain… I made several attempts at install only to take it off and try something different. When I finally got it on, level and attached to the tailgate I realized it wasn't tight enough against the tailgate and the tire bounced a little too much. I collapsed the turnbuckle assemblies as far as they went and it put the rubber pad against the tailgate… just not tight. Not sure if you can see it in this picture but this was before we fixed it.
IMG_20180814_191301790.jpg


I took it over to Oconee Offroad and had them take a look at it… realizing i might be out of my depth here. Come to find out it wasn't how I installed it… the pad just isn't thick enough. They put 5 washers behind the pads to make them stick out a lot more, and that made it tight enough. Here is a picture of the washers.
imagejpeg_0_02.jpg


I have been in contact with Westin about a few things on this install and they’ve been very helpful. I figured I’d send them these pics and some feedback and hope that they make a bracket that looks better than these washers.

The other area that I had an issue was the camera wire. It didn’t seem to be long enough… and that was totally my mistake. I was putting the wire through the wrong hole. I’ve attached the pic they sent me in the event that it helps someone else trying to install this. BTW, you can still see the rim in the back up camera but not nearly as bad as it was on the stock carrier.
JL Tire Carrier Wire Hole.jpg

IMG_20180814_061948703.jpg


IMG_20180817_163404619.jpg

IMG_20180818_085126653.jpg


I had spent a lot of time looking for a license plate solution because none of the pictures or descriptions on westin’s site say anything about a plate holder (and the JL’s plate is on the stock bumper). I was just about to buy one but when I opened the box it had a plate holder that mounts to the top of the bumper and two LED lights. It does stick out from the side of the bumper but it’s not not wider than the fender. Maybe one day i’ll move to a tire mounted one but I’m happy with this one for now.

IMG_20180818_085138742.jpg


The front bumper should have been easy… it’s 8 bolts. But… I could not get the holes to line up right. One bolt would just not go in so I took the bumper off again only to realize there was a drip from the welding in the opening. I dremeled it out and swapped the bolts to one that had a tapered tip and finally got it on.
IMG_20180818_085023122.jpg


When I bought this I originally committed to the full size bumper which has fog light holes. At the last minute I realized the front full size bumper was wider than the rear bumper (the rear does not go to the edge of the fenders). Call it OCD but that would bug me to no end so I did a last minute swap for the stubby. I didn’t realize there were no fog light holes until I went to install. Dumb, I know… So I bought 6 inch KC fog lights and spliced it into the wires from the OEM lights. It worked great and my stock fog light switch turns them on.

20180823_071243.jpg


Here’s the final product. I also swapped out my RC spacer lift for a Rubicon express full lift kit. I still need to wire the rear lights and install the auxiliary buttons (bought the mopar kit) and then I’m done. At least for a little while :)

Screenshot_20180823-083018_Gallery.jpg
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Karl_in_Chicago

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Thanks for posting the detailed experience! Very helpful. Looks great, too. Plan on ordering in 2019 and if I really can't get Mojito! it reinforces my like for the Ocean Blue.
 

Namib

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I bought a set of Westin bumpers and finally got around to putting them on this past week. I’ve put Jeep bumpers on before but this was seriously a pain in the ass. The instructions were kind of like Ikea instructions if you’ve ever bought anything there… very brief instructions and the picture doesn't show you everything you need to know. I liked how it turned out though. Thought I’d share…
It looks like you have 35's. Is there enough room on the rear for 37's? Does it feel rigid enough for 37's?
 

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surferbandit

surferbandit

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It looks like you have 35's. Is there enough room on the rear for 37's? Does it feel rigid enough for 37's?
It could fit 37’s... the tire mount is adjustable and I believe I have it on the lowest set of holes. It’s pretty strong and stays tight against the Jeep now that we adjusted the pads.
 
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surferbandit

surferbandit

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Out of curiousity, shouldn't the tire be resting on the westin swingarm and not on the factory rubber stop? Also do i see backup sensor holes in the bumper?
So the tire does rest on the swing arm... the rubber pad just holds it tight against the car when the rear gate is closed. When it wasn’t tight against the gate the tire bounced on the arm too much... I think it was putting too much stress on it. After I added the washers there is no movement at all.

About the holes in the bumper (both front and rear have them)... I thought it was for parking sensors but the instructions say they are for rock lights. I found some on amazon but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
 

Carlton

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Can this hold a 40?

Do the LED lights wire up to the wires for the OEM plate light?
 
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surferbandit

surferbandit

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I had to splice into the wiring but it was easy. I think I just cut the connector off and connected the wires (It came with the connectors).

As for a 40, I’m not sure... I’ll look to see how many holes there ate to adjust the tire upward.
 

LLANERO

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I bought a set of Westin bumpers and finally got around to putting them on this past week. I’ve put Jeep bumpers on before but this was seriously a pain in the ass. The instructions were kind of like Ikea instructions if you’ve ever bought anything there… very brief instructions and the picture doesn't show you everything you need to know. I liked how it turned out though. Thought I’d share…

What I bought:
WJ2 Stubby Front Bumper - 59-80075
WJ2 Rear Bumper w/ Tire Carrier - 59-82035
Skid plate
Westin Synthetic winch
Lights for rear bumper
KC 6 inch fog lights
Mopar light relocation kit
Shackles

Taking off the stock bumpers off was pretty easy. Getting the rear bumper on was pretty easy as well.
20180812_135127.jpg


The tire carrier however was a pain… I made several attempts at install only to take it off and try something different. When I finally got it on, level and attached to the tailgate I realized it wasn't tight enough against the tailgate and the tire bounced a little too much. I collapsed the turnbuckle assemblies as far as they went and it put the rubber pad against the tailgate… just not tight. Not sure if you can see it in this picture but this was before we fixed it.
IMG_20180814_191301790.jpg


I took it over to Oconee Offroad and had them take a look at it… realizing i might be out of my depth here. Come to find out it wasn't how I installed it… the pad just isn't thick enough. They put 5 washers behind the pads to make them stick out a lot more, and that made it tight enough. Here is a picture of the washers.
imagejpeg_0_02.jpg


I have been in contact with Westin about a few things on this install and they’ve been very helpful. I figured I’d send them these pics and some feedback and hope that they make a bracket that looks better than these washers.

The other area that I had an issue was the camera wire. It didn’t seem to be long enough… and that was totally my mistake. I was putting the wire through the wrong hole. I’ve attached the pic they sent me in the event that it helps someone else trying to install this. BTW, you can still see the rim in the back up camera but not nearly as bad as it was on the stock carrier.
JL Tire Carrier Wire Hole.jpg

IMG_20180814_061948703.jpg


IMG_20180817_163404619.jpg

IMG_20180818_085126653.jpg


I had spent a lot of time looking for a license plate solution because none of the pictures or descriptions on westin’s site say anything about a plate holder (and the JL’s plate is on the stock bumper). I was just about to buy one but when I opened the box it had a plate holder that mounts to the top of the bumper and two LED lights. It does stick out from the side of the bumper but it’s not not wider than the fender. Maybe one day i’ll move to a tire mounted one but I’m happy with this one for now.

IMG_20180818_085138742.jpg


The front bumper should have been easy… it’s 8 bolts. But… I could not get the holes to line up right. One bolt would just not go in so I took the bumper off again only to realize there was a drip from the welding in the opening. I dremeled it out and swapped the bolts to one that had a tapered tip and finally got it on.
IMG_20180818_085023122.jpg


When I bought this I originally committed to the full size bumper which has fog light holes. At the last minute I realized the front full size bumper was wider than the rear bumper (the rear does not go to the edge of the fenders). Call it OCD but that would bug me to no end so I did a last minute swap for the stubby. I didn’t realize there were no fog light holes until I went to install. Dumb, I know… So I bought 6 inch KC fog lights and spliced it into the wires from the OEM lights. It worked great and my stock fog light switch turns them on.

20180823_071243.jpg


Here’s the final product. I also swapped out my RC spacer lift for a Rubicon express full lift kit. I still need to wire the rear lights and install the auxiliary buttons (bought the mopar kit) and then I’m done. At least for a little while :)

Screenshot_20180823-083018_Gallery.jpg
Nice looking Jeep :like:

I really like their rear bumper. Has all I'm looking for in a rear bumper: cube LED mounts, d-ring mounts and hi-lift points. All at a price that won't brake the bank.

But I'm not interested in a tire carrier. I had a JCR Off-road rear bumper w/tire carrier on my '14 JK, with an AEV lift, and had to add a .75" spacer to the rear passenger coil spring to keep the Jeep leveled.

Could you post a side pic of the rear bumper? I'd like to see how much it protects the rear quarter panel.
 

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surferbandit

surferbandit

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Sorry for the delayed response... we were on vacation! Here some pics. Let me know if you want different angles...
20181011_172105.jpg
20181011_172121.jpg
 
 



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