I need to supplement my response to you about the rattling and the difficult of opening the back gate. I sent Smittybilt photographs of my tire and complaining about the rattling and difficulty in opening back gate. They were able to determine from the photos that I had the wrong part -- the 'heim' joint was not the correct part. They immediately sent me another heim joint (a much shorter one), and that totally solved the issue with the rattling. As far as the difficulty in opening the back gate, the installer told me that someone installed too many spacers on the tire carrier making it extremely tight. He removed the extra spacer(s), and now the gate is pretty easy to open, especially considering I have a 37 inch tire on the back of it. So I am extremely pleased with the outcome and now love my Smittybilt bumper and tire carrier. And thank you to Smittybilt for getting it right for me!!
Kris Carver - Now that you've got everything fixed correctly, would you recommend the tire carrier? I'm looking for one now and came across this one. After reading your post I just wanted to make sure you're still happy with it before I put this one at the top of my wish list. Thanks for the info!
Since my last response a week ago, everything seems to be good. Be careful who you have install the tire carrier/bumper. I honestly don't know who is responsible for putting in the wrong sized heim joint, but that seems to be the whole issue to the noise. IF it was the installer's fault, then it' difficult for me to give a bad rating on the bumper/carrier. You may want to check with Olivia Moreno. She has comment on a few posts here. Last I spoke with her, her problems had not been resolved. But again, if it's the mechanic's mess up, then it's hard to give a bad review on the product, itself. Hope this helps some.
Thank you for the feedback. I heard the first generation tire carriers from Smittybilt were noisy and I was hoping they redesigned it and fixed all the problems because I really like the idea of the tire carrier being attached and operating with the tailgate. Keep us updated if you have any problems or even better if you don't!
Looks like the LED lights were a after thought, they don't even fit the opening correctly, They should have included a rubber gasket that fits in the opening and seals the lights in the bumper.
Bumper is cool, stay away from the tire carrier. it doesn't line up properly an rattles to no end. If you're good with modifications, you can reduce the noise.
Can I take the rubber panels off? I’d like to add more lights. Is there a way to go through the bumper without drilling if I take those rubber panels off?
Where can I get all the parts for the tire carrier shaft. Stupid dealer didn't do their job right and i lost all the washers and nut while driving..I looked back and tire carrier was just barely holding on..its a smittybilt gen2 xrc.
How rough is the opening/closing of the rear door with the tire carrier? How loud does it rattle on flat roads? What noises can I expect after a year of rough terrain? How ridiculous are the install instructions? Not trying to be a dick, but I've been really disappointed with my atlas rear bumper and was too impatient at the time of purchase to wait (has it been a year?) for the gen2 xrc. If this bumper turns out to be a hit I'm dumping my atlas in a heartbeat.
szchicken don't even bother. the bumper is great! the tire carrier is not, directions are terrible, I have like 100 extra pieces with no explination, and it rattles endlessly.
+szchicken The rattle -- I can't stand the rattle of the tire carrier ever time I hit a bump. It's one of the noises that when someone is in the Jeep with you and they hear it, they say, "What's that noise?" And so far I've not gotten use to it. Other than that, the gate is extremely difficult to open and close - you physically have to lean in to it to pull open and close. I can live with that, though, because I do have a 37 inch tire. But that rattle is a deal breaker. I wish I could return it and get something else.
+Sean Tinnish, I need to supplement my response to you about the rattling and the difficult of opening the back gate. I sent Smittybilt photographs of my tire and complaining about the rattling and difficulty in opening back gate. They were able to determine from the photos that I had the wrong part -- the 'heim' joint was not the correct part. They immediately sent me another heim joint (a much shorter one), and that totally solved the issue with the rattling. As far as the difficulty in opening the back gate, the installer told me that someone installed too many spacers on the tire carrier making it extremely tight. He removed the extra spacer(s), and now the gate is pretty easy to open, especially considering I have a 37 inch tire on the back of it. So I am extremely pleased with the outcome and now love my Smittybilt bumper and tire carrier. And thank you to Smittybilt for getting it right for me!!
The tire carrier rattles every time I hit a bump and nothing anyone does can fix it. So I spent a lot of money and I'm NOT happy with it at all. Apparently I'm stuck with it. If that's the case, I would not recommend it at all.
+Olivia Moreno Oh, yes, the back gate -- extremely hard to close. But I can live with that. I've been in touch with warranty, who are saying they are going to make things right, but they never call me back. I'm persistent, though. They're going to trade out the tire carrier with an X.D. Pivot Mount. Hopefully that will be better. Next step is to just remove tire. That's how bad it is!
