We've run a ton of trails with 2 inches of lift and 30-inch tires in our '98 Cherokee. Our belly skid and gas tank skid tell the tale of numerous encounters with rocks. Our stock trailer hitch got us caught up more than anything else. But by and large we were sick of picking up plastic pieces after knocking them off on some obstacle or another. Add to that all the sheetmetal hanging out behind the rear axle that we hadn't cut off and it was time to do something to protect our Cherokee's soft butt.
We contacted JCR Offroad for a set of corner guards. The corner guards are available in three configurations. They can be optioned to work with the stock tail lights, to extend over and protect the stock tail lights, or with built-in tail light boxes to eliminate the stock lights altogether. Since we were on our second set of hard-to-find late-model lights, and one of them was barely hanging on, we went with the stock light replacement option. The LEDs that JCR offers with the kit should be the last set of tail lights this Jeep needs.
At the same time, we contacted M.O.R.E. for the company's new rear bumper and tire carrier combination. We like how the bumper is designed to work with the stock lines of the Jeep body, the two-stage bear claw latch, and how the swing arm is recessed into the bumper. It also includes a trailer hitch, and while it is not rated for towing, the design of the supporting brackets is stouter than the stock trailer hitch ever was.
Here are the ins and outs of how the armor installed and how we actually gained ground clearance at the same time.
As of press time, this complete,...
As of press time, this complete, top-of-the-line kit with LED lights and built-in light boxes ran $364. The corners are made from 3/16-inch-thick steel, while the light closeouts are 1/8-inch steel. The flange-mounted LEDs get bolted to the inside so that they are very protected from rocks and trees. We initially opted for the backup lights which would have required a trailer light converter (Reese Towpower P/N 74209) to change our separate turn and brake lights to run on the same wire like a Wrangler.
While you could put the corners...
While you could put the corners on by yourself, we recommend inviting a friend or two over to help. The corners index off the top-most tail light bolt. It really helps to have someone hold it in place so you can step back and make sure that they are level before marking where to drill. In total there are 10 holes total to drill, so if you are off, the side of your Jeep will look like Swiss cheese very quickly.
Even if you have cut-and-folded...
Even if you have cut-and-folded your fenders, these corners will still work: They go down to the stamping for the original fender opening. We've had our tires so hard into the fenders that we needed to bend the fender opening back down so that the corners would fit correctly.
The included tail light close...
The included tail light close outs hide all the wiring, and while they aren't weatherproof, with the LEDs that we selected they don't have to be. The UPS gorillas did manage to somehow bend one of them, but the corners themselves fit perfectly even though the box they came in was in tatters when we got it. A quick tap with a hammer straightened out the close out and it fit fine, too. We swapped the factory flasher with a Tridon EP-27 to get around the fast-flashing burnt-out-bulb/LED issues.
One of the things that sold...
One of the things that sold us on the M.O.R.E. rear bumper was how much thought the company put into the parts that you don't see, as well as those that you do. In a Unitbody vehicle, there is no thick-gauge steel frame to attach to, so multiple bolts that run down the Unitbody are needed. These brackets bolt to the body using 14 bolts and the bumper then bolts to these brackets with ten 1/2-inch bolts. We actually gained just over an inch of ground clearance over the stock bumper/trailer hitch setup we were running.
The bear-claw latch is just...
The bear-claw latch is just like a door latch. It has two positions and is easy to open and close. The latch itself is adjustable, as is the striker pin mounted in the swing arm. Make your adjustments after your tire and Hi-Lift are mounted. The opening in the bumper for the latch is precise enough that pulling the Hi- Lift off the bumper can affect the ease of closing. Adjusted properly, you can just slam the swing-arm closed like any other door on your Jeep.
We were concerned with rattles...
We were concerned with rattles and vibrations transmitting through the Unitbody, so we loaded the built-in Hi-Lift mount up with our Hi-Lift Extreme. The Extreme features a heavy-duty clamp and easy-to-remove foot, making it the most versatile Hi-Lift available. We keep the clamp in the Jeep for normal day-to-day operation, but for vibration testing we left it on.
We didn't want to end up constantly...
We didn't want to end up constantly readjusting the latch, so we opted to leave the Hi-Lift mounted to the bumper all the time. Living in Los Angeles, we were worried about theft, so we bent a piece of 11/2-by-3/16-inch strap up to match the M.O.R.E. mount, made a hinge, and put a rubberized Master Lock through the whole thing.
The hinge isn't parallel to...
The hinge isn't parallel to the bumper, and while we were fitting the bumper up prior to paint, we wondered about it. It turns out that the non-parallelism is designed into the bumper to make the swing-arm easy to open and keep it from smacking you in the butt while rummaging in the rear of the Jeep. Make sure to grease the bearings before assembly; there is no zerk fitting on the hinge and it would be difficult to add one due to how tight the recessed hinge is to the bumper.
The smaller reverse lights...
The smaller reverse lights delivered with the JCR armor just didn't do it for us, so we added this 4-inch round light that we bought at a local truck stop to the swing arm and swapped amber turn signals into the armor in place of the reverse lights. The 3/16-thick swing arm was simply drilled and tapped to mount the light with some stainless cap-head bolts to match the stainless steel M.O.R.E. logo.
We still had rattles from...
We still had rattles from the Hi-Lift that could be heard in the Jeep, but this Daystar handle isolator took care of it. Now even on the worst freeways the fully-loaded swing-arm is noise-free.
When we originally ordered...
When we originally ordered the bumper, we were planning on affixing the license plate back in the stock location. We thought that with the tire offset the license plate would work fine there, but it didn't. We were unable to come up with a home-brew solution that wasn't totally butch, so we went back to M.O.R.E. for this two-piece license plate mount. The license plate light from Gen Right Off Road keeps us legal, but if you are doing this at home, make sure to include some kind of disconnect for easy access to the spare.