Smitybilt products

SB is a big name and has been around a long time. Some of there stuff is garbage, same as the EAG stuff on Amazon. Some of it is decent, however. I run SB bumpers and they work for me. No rust, fit correctly, finish is holding up. They are a simple "shell" of 3/16" steel and not boxed so they could be better. Would I buy them again? No, when I can buy something like the Dirtworx for only a little more money. I also have a SB bikini top, also works great and is without issue.
Same here, the SB front and rear bumpers on my previously owned X are still up to the task, and look fine several years later (I see them every day in the parking lot at work). The front even survived a front-end collision without a scratch.
 
I'll say it once and I'll say it again... take one of these Smittybilt "armor" products, place it against one of your body panels, and watch what happens with enough rain / salt / mineral water (the kind of water they have down in the Southwest). It's not one of those things where you "might" get rust under the armor... you WILL get rust under there, and depending on where you live, it could happen in short time.

Trapping water between the body and a piece of "armor" (if it can even be called that) is a recipe for rust.

The Smittybilt bumpers don't have this issue because they aren't sandwiched against your body like a piece of armor. I had that EAG / Barricade / Smittybilt (they're all the same thing) front bumper on my old TJ and never had an issue with it at all. But again, it's a little different.
 
glad I read this post, being a Jeep newbie I thought SB was a half decent brand name. However I have a welder and a co-worker has a power coat setup so for any armor I'll be building it myself when the time comes.
 
I'll say it once and I'll say it again... take one of these Smittybilt "armor" products, place it against one of your body panels, and watch what happens with enough rain / salt / mineral water (the kind of water they have down in the Southwest). It's not one of those things where you "might" get rust under the armor... you WILL get rust under there, and depending on where you live, it could happen in short time.

Trapping water between the body and a piece of "armor" (if it can even be called that) is a recipe for rust.

The Smittybilt bumpers don't have this issue because they aren't sandwiched against your body like a piece of armor. I had that EAG / Barricade / Smittybilt (they're all the same thing) front bumper on my old TJ and never had an issue with it at all. But again, it's a little different.


This doesn't just apply to Smittybilt...ANYTHING that can trap water is a recipe for rust, as evidenced by my recent rocker replacement. My mopar Factory armor looked good on the outside, and underneath it, the rocker was completely rotten. You are better off leaving things open so water can flow through, than trying to seal against water penetration, IMHO. Eventually, a sealed item will leak, but because its sealed, the water cannot get out. If it can flow through, you can rinse it and the water can dry.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rob5589 and Chris
This doesn't just apply to Smittybilt...ANYTHING that can trap water is a recipe for rust, as evidenced by my recent rocker replacement. My mopar Factory armor looked good on the outside, and underneath it, the rocker was completely rotten. You are better off leaving things open so water can flow through, than trying to seal against water penetration, IMHO. Eventually, a sealed item will leak, but because its sealed, the water cannot get out. If it can flow through, you can rinse it and the water can dry.

Yes I agree completely!
 
Who knows, maybe those 5 or 6 brands of that same bumper (or rebranded identical bumpers from the same Chinese factory) really are that much better. It's just that SB seems to take all the flak, simply for being Chinese made, when they're just one of many.
I think that pretty much ALL the inexpensive bumpers and such that we see on ebay and Amazon are made in the same factory in China. If you look at enough of them, you can see that they are mostly the same picture no matter what name is on it.
I think that Smittybilt gets the flak because they USED to be an American company with products made in America. Now they're selling the same thing as everybody else, just charging for the name.
I just put a cheap Chinese bumper on the back of the Muddog, and it's still a heck of a lot beefier than the factory. It probably weighed over twice as much. I don't know how long the "Textured Finish" will last, But the bumper under it is still more protection than I had.
 
Along with crappy products their customer service was one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with. They could be giving stuff away and I absolutely would not put their product on my jeep. I still have a front bumper of theirs that I will be replacing soon just because I do not trust it.
 
Well.. Smittybilt said they are sending me out a new pair at no charge. I still think I might just sand the old ones and bedliner them. I;ll wait to see if they ever show up on my doorstep lol.
 
I bought a set of seat risers from Smittybilt, figuring there was no way they'd be able to screw up a product that has eight parts: four pucks and four bolts.

Sure enough, they did. Despite ordering a TJ-specific product and being packaged in a box that had "TJ" marked all over it, all four bolts were the wrong size.

They weren't just a "little" off. It was a WTF situation when I pulled the stock bolts out and saw the difference between them and the much, much smaller Smittybilt bolts.
 
I bought a set of seat risers from Smittybilt, figuring there was no way they'd be able to screw up a product that has eight parts: four pucks and four bolts.

Sure enough, they did. Despite ordering a TJ-specific product and being packaged in a box that had "TJ" marked all over it, all four bolts were the wrong size.

They weren't just a "little" off. It was a WTF situation when I pulled the stock bolts out and saw the difference between them and the much, much smaller Smittybilt bolts.
You're right. Who'da thunk they could screw up something so simple...

Maybe the seat risers you got were for a
e0lpwdnipttmjljsrxqz.jpg
 
Back in 2008-2009, I purchased a few Schmittybilt products for my Jeep.
Back in the 80's, when I was wheeling my Toyotas, it was pretty good stuff.

My Schmitty roundup:
The bad:
New XRC8 winch.....dead before 2nd birthday.
New seat covers....Attachment straps pulled off during initial install. Turned purple/brown within a year.

The not so bad:
Smittybilt 2781 portable air compressor..... I won this at a Jamboree raffle about 6 years ago. It is the bigger of their 2 compressor offerings. It is actually twice as fast compared to all the other portables I have seen and used. 5.65 CFM compared to 2.5-ish for the others. But it is much bigger to pack around. It only cost me a couple raffle tickets, and surprisingly to this day, it's still working well.

Simple Classic style bumpers front and rear....bumpers only, so no tire carrier to fall off or rattle. I've almost run over a spare tire and Schmitty carrier that fell off my buddy's YJ in the middle of a trail.
The rear bumper is the only thing left and it's not doing too bad. No rust or peeling after 10 years.
 
Smittybilt 2781 portable air compressor..... I won this at a Jamboree raffle about 6 years ago. It is the bigger of their 2 compressor offerings. It is actually twice as fast compared to all the other portables I have seen and used. 5.65 CFM compared to 2.5-ish for the others.
I researched that compressor once after reading someone mention its claimed 5.65 CFM which is unrealistic for that size compressor. Turns out that 5.65 CFM is not rated into a resisting pressure like a tire creates, it's into open air... 0 psi resistance which is a completely misleading way to rate a CFM specification. To be accurate, CFM ratings must specify into what pressure it achieved its CFM rating... like 10 psi, 20, psi, 30 psi etc. Heck our lungs can put out 5 CFM into the open air but they sure couldn't even put out .1 CFM into a tire due to the tire's resistance to taking in air. My guess, for its size, is it's more likely 2.5-3 CFM at the very most.
 
I researched that compressor once after reading someone mention its claimed 5.65 CFM which is unrealistic for that size compressor. Turns out that 5.65 CFM is not rated into a resisting pressure like a tire creates, it's into open air... 0 psi resistance which is a completely misleading way to rate a CFM specification. To be accurate, CFM ratings must specify into what pressure it achieved its CFM rating... like 10 psi, 20, psi, 30 psi etc. Heck our lungs can put out 5 CFM into the open air but they sure couldn't even put out .1 CFM into a tire due to the tire's resistance to taking in air. My guess, for its size, is it's more likely 2.5-3 CFM at the very most.

I have no doubt that you are correct sir. I am no engineer, just a guy that likes Jeeps! Whatever the numbers are, I do know it is a lot bigger and faster than all the other portables I have seen on the trails, and have owned.

And to be perfectly clear, there is no way I would of bought this compressor after my experience with my failed Smittybilt winch I bought new years ago. I won it in a raffle. I expect it to die every time I use it! It just hasn't yet. :thinking: