-
Article PF
Dadarria
-
Photos by Jim Bacon
When you're hauling around a heavy spare, it can put a lot
of stress on your tailgate. It may not ever show any
wear, but you don't want it to pop off the tailgate on the
trail. There are many brands out there when it comes to
the bumper tire swing combo, but few come close to the
price and quality of this one. The folks at LoD sent us
out a rear bumper and swing away tire carrier to install
and evaluate. First of all, the packaging was excellent!
Shrink wrapped, newspaper and Styrofoam packed in good
size boxes. All the hardware was taped to the spare tire
mount. Everything you need in a tire carrier bumper is
right here. The installation took about 2 hours, but we
took our time. You will need to reuse the bolts that you
hold on your current bumper or replace them all together.
We used the ones that I had used previously.
First thing we did was remove the old bumper, on our test
vehicle, there were only two bolts on each side of the
aftermarket bumper that was on there. They came off
pretty easy, but if you live in an area that has a lot of
salty roads/ or snow, you may want to spray the bolts with
some PB Blaster a day in advance to let it soak in and
help with removing the old bolts. Remove the spare, the
third brake light, CB antenna, and finally the spare tire
mount from the tailgate. Rather than leave the holes open
where the spare tire rack were, we replaced the original
bolts back in the holes and snugged them up a little bit.
That will keep the water and mud from getting into those
wholes and causing problems. We then cleaned and prepped
the area we would be working on.
You'll next need to mark and drill the mounting holes for
the bumper in the cross member. You could make a template
from the bumper, but we held the bumper in place while
marking the cross member where the supports were. Under
the bumper there are two brackets that tie the bumper into
the frame. With these lined up with the original bumper's
mounting holes in the frame, we were able to easily mark
the location of the supports and then with a little
measuring, mark where the holes need to be drilled.
Included with the hardware, is the backing plates for the
mounting bolts. These served as the template when
measuring and marking the holes.
After the holes were marked, we used a center punch to
mark the center of the holes to be drilled. You'll need a
½” drill bit to make your holes.
Carefully drill your holes. The gas tank is right behind
you, you may want to put a piece of wood behind the cross
member so that you don't accidentally pierce it. It's
better to be safe than sorry!
The old bumper had worn a little paint away on the cross
member, so we got out the old rattle can and touched it up
a bit to prevent any rust from beginning.
After the
holes are drilled, It's just a matter of bolting
everything up. (This is an easier task with more than one
person). Feed the provided bolts through the supports on
the back of the bumper, through the cross member and
secure it using the backing plates. We got the 4 bolts
started, then snugged them up. Starting the bolts in the
backing plates is probably the hardest part of the whole
job, but when you get them all tight, this bumper is
secured! Next are the two bolts that tie the bumper into
the frame from the bottom. they will use the existing
holes from the factory rear bumper. This set up makes it
a little more secure for towing.
Now you have the bottom half of the bumper installed, it's
time to get the swing/carrier installed. The next chore
is to get some grease and lube up the mounting post for
the carrier. (TIP: use a latex glove. When you are
finished, simply peel off the glove and toss it in the
trash. No mess!) I also put a little grease in the
carrier side of this mounting location. Once it's been
greased, hold the swing portion over the post. It will
set on the post, but doesn't slide on easily. You'll need
to gently tap the carrier onto the post with a rubber
mallet, or a heavy hammer. Be sure to protect the carrier
by using a piece of wood when striking it. Two or three
taps and it will slowly slide down the post. You'll need
to make sure to keep the carrier straight as you're
knocking it into place. You don't want to damage this
piece. It will sit down close to the bumper when it's in
place. Check to make sure the latch mechanism is lined up
properly.
Next, you'll need to attach the tire carrier bracket to
the swing using the bolt provided. You'll need to also
figure out which setting works best with your rim
backspacing. You don't want slack there or the wheel with
rattle around. Tighten the wheel down against the carrier
bracket so that it's snug against the swing, which will
keep it from moving around at all. We tightened it up
until we felt it was secure, then a half turn past that.
;)
That's it. Pretty easy install. Check the latch
mechanism, and make sure it's secure before going for a
test drive. We've had the bumper mounted for a little
over a week and haven't heard a squeak or rattle out of it
yet. I would definitely recommend this product to anyone
looking for a little relief for there tailgate, and or a
tough bumper. We've tried to bounce it around and still
it doesn't budge. We haven't had a chance to tow with it
yet, but the receiver is very nicely placed under the
bumper and has the tow chain slots hidden away from plain
view. Very clean look and a very sturdy product. The
welds are top quality and the whole bumper looks like a
lot of work has gone into it. The Powder coated smooth
black finish adds to the level of quality that has been
put into this product. For more information about
purchasing one of these bumpers, or if you have any
questions or comments, please let us know.
|
-
PRODUCT INFORMATION
|
-
LoD Specialized Off Road Equipment
-
-
|
|
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
