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| Grant 4x4 Swing Out Bumper Installation |
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After driving the Jeep around for about a year, it was decided that the rear mounted
spare tire carrier was taking up too much room in the back of the Orange CJ-5 and it was decided to start to look for a
rear swing-out style heavy duty bumper that could hold the hi-lift jack as well as some extra fuel for the trails.
After much research and reading on the Internet and the Jeep Forums, we settled on a bumper that a company on
eBay sells. The company name was Grant 4x4 and their
items can be seen by clicking on the
link.
The auction said that the bumper was heavy-duty construction with a black painted finish. It held 2 5-gallon jerry
cans for fuel and could hold up to a 40" tire. All the feedback was good, so we decided to go with it. The bumper
was ordered up and the ad said it would ship within 3-5 days. The order was placed over the phone and they take
credit cards. They were a power seller and with all the feedback read, it indicated that they had learned from their
mistakes and that they packaging and finish of the bumpers had been modified over time in response to customer
feedback.
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The bumper arrived about 2 weeks after placing the order and since it was placed over
a holiday span, I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they had family obligations and couldn't ship it out
in the time frame indicated in the ad. It came in a very heavy gauge cardboard box with a smaller box containing the
spare tire carrier. The mounting hardware was included and was bolted to the bumper.
It was dark when the package arrived, so I didn't get a chance to fully check it out, but I removed it from the
packaging and from what I saw, it was exactly as the auction described. The following day I took the pictures you
see and from all accounts, the bumper is a top-notch product from a company that is very easy to deal with. They
offer modifications to any stock configuration; you just have to call them at 231-734-6230 and talk to them. I had a
pleasant experience with the gentleman on the phone.
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It is late now and I haven't had a chance to put the bumper on, but it did come with a
1-page set of instructions for the mounting and best use of the product. I plan on mounting this over the weekend and
I will provide a set of pictures that shows off the mounting and any issues that I run into.
I got up on Saturday and the weather was decent, so I decided to try to put on the bumper. The bumper bolted into
the holes pretty good, except the bolts were a little larger then a couple of the holes, so I had to drill out
the holes a bit to get everything to line up. Once that was done, the bumper bolted into place and everything
was torqued down and it looked pretty good.
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Next up was the hi-lift jack and that was pretty easy to bolt on. This was put
on the top of the carrier with the 2 bolts that were provided. Everything was 3/4" nuts, so the hi-lift jack
was put on and the bolts were tightened down.
Following that was the spare tire mount. The spare tire mount is welded to a pair of 3/4" threaded rods that
got into the carrier and then are bolted to it. I suppose that the rods are left long for the different back
spacing that you could run into with different tires. Once I had the adjusters that bumped up against the tires
in the location that I wanted them, I realized that I couldn't close the swing out carrier because the threaded
rods were too long and hit the tailgate and the soft-top window. I broke out the cut off tool and trimmed them
to the correct size. This was a little longer then expected due to the fact that the rods were hardened steel
and so cutting them down to size took a little longer then I thought. Once that was done, the spare tire was
tightened down and then I took the Jeep out for a ride. There was a little rattling, but the instructions stated
that you need to have the Jerry cans in place and mine haven't come in yet.
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I was able to get a new tailgate, some tailgate chains, tailgate chain covers, and
finally the jerry cans all set up on the Jeep along with the tailgate decals and finally the project was finished.
I was doing this as part of the Engine rebuild, the rocker knocker upgrade, and finally the headlight and hood
lift conversion, so it took a bit longer to finish the installation but it was well worth it. The pictures
speak for themselves. I had to paint the chains as they were originals and were a bit rusty, but a few hours in a
bucket of coke helped clean off the rust and a few minutes with the wire wheel and we were in business.
Jen had gotten me some heavy-duty D-rings a while back that were Orange and were rated for like 12,000 lbs. So, I
broke them out and put them on the Jeep. Everything fit as expected and I couldn't be happier. All in all this
is a great addition to the Jeep and now I have a ton of room in the back of the Jeep for a cooler or more tools
and parts. It is well made and I have to say thank you and a big thumbs up to the guys at Grant 4x4 for making a
superior product. Thanks again! I will soon be adding a lock box in the rear of the Jeep for all the stuff I will
need to carry on the trail. I am looking forward to Spring '06 to take this out and really see what it is made of.
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UPDATE: I was finally able to get around to ordering up the cargo piece
to the rear bumper system. It came in a small box, which concerned me, but soon enough, the box was open, it had
three pieces, I bolted the 2 arms onto the basket and then didn't know what to do. Turns out, I had my hi-lift
jack mounted incorrectly which was covering up the holes that the support arms were supposed to slide into.
After that was all figured out, I was able to slide it in place with relative ease. It is heavy, but manageable.
Next up is painting it and getting some bolts to keep it in place on the backside. Those didn't come with the
cargo setup and should only be a few bucks at the local hardware store. Also, it is too cold out right now or
else it would be painted. All in all, I am still very impressed with the workmanship. Good job!
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| Lessons Learned the Hard Way |
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My lessons learned here would have to be that you should order this up well in
advance of when you want to install and use it. If it takes 2 weeks to get to you, it is well worth the wait from
what I see thus far. The quality of the welds and the weight of the bumper indicate that it is well made from good
materials. The paint is flat black and they offer no warranties on the paint.
See below for the update, they have plenty in stock and can ship the next day!
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| Conclusions |
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Overall I would say that this project is pretty easy to do in an afternoon. With all
heavy-duty swing out bumpers, the cost factor is clearly evident. All in all, it costs just under $500.00 for this
configuration with shipping included in that price. They offer many configurations and will make you anything you are
looking for from what I gather. The D-rings are not included from what I saw and there is no evidence to that fact in
the auction, so you will have to purchase these separately, thus driving up the price another $20.00 or so. Give them
a call and order one up for yourself.
The approximate build-up costs and installation time can be seen
here.
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| UPDATED...(12/27/05) |
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I have just heard from Bill at Grant 4x4. Here is what he wrote me:
"Just a note to say we have picked up production and now have 25 of each item in stock and shipping the next business day."
"Best regards and Happy New Year."
BILL GRANT
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