I've Never Figured Out When Enough Is Enough

[L J]

awesome. so I have that to look forward to... 🤦‍♂️

Metalcloak isn't a favorite among some members but I doubt you'll have any problems.

 

[Apparition]

awesome. so I have that to look forward to... 🤦‍♂️

I've got a lot of MC on my blue jeep. It seems to get me where I want to go and there are some things I like about their stuff that nobody else offers.

 

[Wildman]

I've picked up on some of that in other areas of the forum. It seems MC's reputation has taken a hit since I first used them years ago. Is there a good reason behind it? Or is it just talk?

I went with a ton of their products because I like the way they look, and fit. I've not had a problem yet with a single order (aside from my first set of fenders rusting prematurely, which MC took back and refinished for me for free).

Nothing wrong with their products just SOME don't like the look & because of their marketing they are frowned on. But the good thing is that a few of us (more than a few) have MC stuff on our rigs.

You Jeep is LOOKING great. Keep it up & good work BTW.

 

[EternalHobbyist]

I've got a lot of MC on my blue jeep. It seems to get me where I want to go and there are some things I like about their stuff that nobody else offers.

Nothing wrong with their products just SOME don't like the look & because of their marketing they are frowned on. But the good thing is that a few of us (more than a few) have MC stuff on our rigs.

You Jeep is LOOKING great. Keep it up & good work BTW.

Alright. I won't worry about it. Not that it would matter at this point anyways... lets face it, the ship has sailed on these decisions. lol

The real test will be if I can get out to Moab this year. I'm trying to get everything buttoned up before I sign up for the spring trip.

***I am low key serious contemplating doing a long term LJ build after this one (and learning how to weld). If that happens, I'm sure I will venture way out there on my parts selection.

EDIT:: Forgot to say, thank you for the compliment!

 

[EternalHobbyist]

This has been kind of nagging at me since my jeep came home. Have any of you use the MC corner guards and run into this little 'problem'? The tub hangs down a little, and I'm wondering if that will be a clearance issue that they compensated for with 35" tires. What have you guys done to resolve this? The way I see it, I have a couple of options.
1) leave it, paint it black, and throw the fenders on.
2) cut it flush with the corner guard, paint it black.

Thoughts?

 

[Apparition]

This has been kind of nagging at me since my jeep came home. Have any of you use the MC corner guards and run into this little 'problem'? The tub hangs down a little, and I'm wondering if that will be a clearance issue that they compensated for with 35" tires. What have you guys done to resolve this? The way I see it, I have a couple of options.
1) leave it, paint it black, and throw the fenders on.
2) cut it flush with the corner guard, paint it black.

Thoughts?


View attachment 398638

I trimmed it off.

 

[DrDmoney]

This has been kind of nagging at me since my jeep came home. Have any of you use the MC corner guards and run into this little 'problem'? The tub hangs down a little, and I'm wondering if that will be a clearance issue that they compensated for with 35" tires. What have you guys done to resolve this? The way I see it, I have a couple of options.
1) leave it, paint it black, and throw the fenders on.
2) cut it flush with the corner guard, paint it black.

Thoughts?


View attachment 398638

That’s where 35’s hit, most trim that off.

 

[EternalHobbyist]

That’s where 35’s hit, most trim that off.

Sounds like she' getting a haircut to me.

 

[EternalHobbyist]

I didn't get a ton of time out in the garage yesterday. Just had other things going on. However, here is a quick update of what I did do.

I started with an easy project, and decided to reinstall the MC front fender flares that have been in storage for the last 8 or so years. They still look basically as good as new. However, the mounting points needed a little TLC. when I painted the front fenders last year, some of the paint got into the threads, and there was the typical surface rust, so I started with cleaning out the threads. I also ran to a local shop and picked up some new mounting hardware. Here are the results:

I'll say this, Idk how you could possibly engineer an easier fender install. I almost laughed at how easy those things are.

More to come from last nights garage adventures!

 

[EternalHobbyist]

Next up, I wanted to finish the tire carrier install.

First up, I needed to mark where to drill the holes while the carrier was in place and mounted into the upper brackets. This allowed for easy hole location on the lower brackets. Once marked, 8 holes were drilled. This was followed by painting and waiting. In case you are curious how I coated the teeny tiny license plate holes, this is what I used:

This tire carrier, while not super difficult, is definitely an install that takes a little patience. The four independent brackets take some time to adjust to allow the carrier to fit properly without it being a MAJOR fight to get the pins installed. The tolerances are pretty tight. I do think that this is a good thing though. The last thing any of us want is our tire carrier rattling away as we cruise down the road. I highly highly doubt that will be an issue. I did have to use a mallet and a wood block to persuade the brackets into the correct spots for the pins though. And currently, my bottom left pin requires two hands to remove. I'm ok with it, and am curious to see if it will loosen up with a little road use.

I will also add this. I spent a little extra $$ to have quick release pins in all four brackets to allow for easy removal of the carrier, and I feel like that was a waste of money. It is enough hassle removing/reinstalling the whole thing that unscrewing two hinge bolt/nuts are not even worth considering an inconvenience.

I also want to be careful not to overstate the difficulty of removing the carrier. It is literally as simple as unpinning and pulling off. But when you consider removal of spare tire, disconnecting license plate light, disconnecting rear view camera, and then pulling the carrier off..... lets be honest, how often are you going to bother? Two bolts certainly isn't going to even factor in unless I really underestimated your laziness. Moral of the story? Save your money, unless you just want to look cool. (in which case, do as I have done).

Next up! Press the lugs into the carrier bracket, and bracket install:

I went ahead an installed the bracket at the highest location because @Apparition had mentioned having clearance issues with his. Well, highest hole, lowest in adjustment slot.

Then of course, I Installed the final bracket first, measured second. Then had to adjust. Little marks like this really annoy me on a brand new product. Oh well. Live and learn.

 

[EternalHobbyist]

Finally, the afore mentioned hair cut did take place last night right at the end of my garage time. I trimmed the fenders back and applied POR15 last night with TopCoat this morning before I left for work. I think this looks 100x better. I cut it off with a cutting wheel and cleaned it up with a flap disc. Went super fast.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Nice work. Is there any reinforcement to the passenger side body where the carrier mounts?

 

[EternalHobbyist]

Nice work. Is there any reinforcement to the passenger side body where the carrier mounts?

I think the reinforcement is the corner guards. They are pretty clear in the instructions that these carriers are not designed to be mounted directly to the tub. Corner guards are required. But to answer your question, there is not any additional support.

 

[EternalHobbyist]

I spent a couple of hours this morning ordering up some remaining parts that I have been procrastinating on ordering. I've dumped so much money into this project these last two years, that spending money on little things like a license plate bracket is a lot less fun than it use to be. By spring, I will be done spending and building for the year and have the summer to enjoy it.

Here are today's purchases:

1) I made a really stupid move, and ordered 4" rear fender flares from MC without realizing that I had 6" flares for the front already. I decided to hang on to the 4" flares (rather than return them), and just order up a set of 6". That was a $438 mistake.

2) Silver lining is that after I ordered the flares this morning, I started wondering how MC planned to mount the HiLift Jack to the tire carrier. This led to a phone call with MC, and when they found out that I ordered a second set of fenders, they offered to throw in the hilift jack bracket for free! Even though it is a $30 freebie, it really made my day and made me appreciate MC's customer service. Granted, I'm pretty sure I have around $9k of their products... lol

3) JKS License Plate Relocation Bracket:
https://www.quadratec.com/p/jks-man...-mount-license-plate-bracket-wrangler-JKS8211

4) RR LED License Plate Bolts:
https://www.quadratec.com/p/rugged-ridge/led-license-plate-bolts

5) RedRock Hard Top Quick Removal Fastener Kit:
https://www.extremeterrain.com/redr...d-top-quick-removal-fastener-kit-j134455.html

6) RedRock Door Entry Guards:
https://www.extremeterrain.com/redrock-4x4-jeep-wrangler-door-entry-guards-j141591.html

7) Surco Deluxe Wall Mount Door Hanger:
https://www.extremeterrain.com/surco-jeep-wrangler-deluxe-wall-mount-door-hanger-dh1002.html

I am ever so slowly getting closer to being ready for the good weather!
Still need to deal with the rust on my beadlocks.....

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I think the reinforcement is the corner guards. They are pretty clear in the instructions that these carriers are not designed to be mounted directly to the tub. Corner guards are required. But to answer your question, there is not any additional support.

With that big tire back there, it may be worth adding some support to the upper bracket inside the tub. Years ago I ran an ORO carrier with a similar mount. It came with a bracket which bolted to the roll bar mount and reinforced the back side of the tub, using the through bolts from the top mount.

You may be OK as perhaps the steel corner guards might provide enough support. If it were me - with the way I bang on my rig - I think I'd add something there.

Great work. I'm enjoying following along.

 

[EternalHobbyist]

With that big tire back there, it may be worth adding some support to the upper bracket inside the tub. Years ago I ran an ORO carrier with a similar mount. It came with a bracket which bolted to the roll bar mount and reinforced the back side of the tub, using the through bolts from the top mount.

You may be OK as perhaps the steel corner guards might provide enough support. If it were me - with the way I bang on my rig - I think I'd add something there.

Great work. I'm enjoying following along.

I just spent probably way too much time trying to research and find that carrier to see if I could order the bracket separate, to no avail. I do like the idea of tying in the tire carrier to the roll bar. I think it will require fabrication work that may be a touch over my head. lol I'll keep searching for a solution.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[EternalHobbyist]

A couple more purchases today. One that I forgot to mention on my first post, and the second that I just had forgotten to order.

1) I picked up the Stahlbus Oil Drain Plug off Amazon

and

2) I ordered a new synthetic winch line to replace my current one that is just super old. Not sure I want to trust a 10 year old winch line that taken some abuse over the years. Better safe than sorry.

***Can you tell we are slow at work??**
(I'm self-employed)

 

[Wildman]

I just spent probably way too much time trying to research and find that carrier to see if I could order the bracket separate, to no avail. I do like the idea of tying in the tire carrier to the roll bar. I think it will require fabrication work that may be a touch over my head. lol I'll keep searching for a solution.

Thanks for the tip!

Here is what Rusty's brace looks like.

There are other companies that made these braces too.

 

[EternalHobbyist]

Here is what Rusty's brace looks like.

View attachment 398915

There are other companies that made these braces too.

That seems a lot more doable to me. I was picturing a clamp around the bar...

another thought that just occurred to me on this topic, is that because the MC tire carrier is mounted to the corner of the tub and not the edge of the tailgate opening, I feel like the structural support would already naturally be much stronger. Due, of course to the curved steel. Makes me wonder if I can get away with leaving it.

Although, seeing the picture above, I feel fairly certain I could just fabricate that mount relatively easily...

 

[Wildman]

That seems a lot more doable to me. I was picturing a clamp around the bar...

another thought that just occurred to me on this topic, is that because the MC tire carrier is mounted to the corner of the tub and not the edge of the tailgate opening, I feel like the structural support would already naturally be much stronger. Due, of course to the curved steel. Makes me wonder if I can get away with leaving it.

Although, seeing the picture above, I feel fairly certain I could just fabricate that mount relatively easily...

My guess is that you MIGHT be OK since you're running steel armor. (BTW so am I) so it should take a lot of the load but adding that brace wouldn't be that hard so I'd see if you can't buy one or make it yourself. It's just added insurance.

I picked the Metal Cloak armor & fenders because of the removeable flares. I wanted/needed a flare wide enough to cover my tires but didn't want them getting stuck between trees. I have the 8" flares but I body color matched the armor & fenders. Then painted the flares Black like stock.