Hanson Offroad JK Wrangler
Rear Bumper Install
After a small
incident that left Christine's only plastic part
left on her JK with a nice dent in it she felt
it was time to replace that rear bumper with
something more substantial.
Wanting an
integrated hitch was important along with good
looks that keeps the style of the JK.
Hanson Offroad
manufactures a stylish bumper for the JK that
includes a "frenched-in" 2 inch receiver hitch.
The bumper isn't massive and gaudy like some JK
bumpers available. The combination of
sturdy construction and multiple angles adds
strength and optimizes departure angles. This
bumper wraps around the rear body with a thinner
profile than stock bumpers. Powder coated
in black semi-gloss finish. Hanson's rear bumper
works w/stock size tires.
The
bumper arrived in a crate the resembled a
coffin. The bumper was very well packaged
in the wooden box and had what seemed like two
dozen screws holding it shut. Inside the
bumper was wrapped in plastic and encased in
spray foam.
After unpacking the
bumper and inspecting it we began the
installation.
We could not seem to
locate any installation instructions but we knew
what we were doing. The factory JK bumper
was unbolted from the frame along with the
factory rear tow hook.
With help holding
the bumper in place thread in the bolts on the
side frame rails then install the rear bolts
below the receiver. Use washers to shim
the bumper between the rear cross member.
Level the bumper and tighten the bolts.
TIP:
We substituted the smallish washers that came
with the bumper with larger ones. The 3/8"
bolt washers that are used below the receiver
are small and the slotted holes are rather large
not giving a lot of surface to hold onto.
 OOPS:
After we completed the installation it was
discovered that the spare tire would not fit.
Hanson does state that the stock tire does fit
and we thought that the
"not-too-much-larger-than-stock" tires on
Christine's Jeep would fit...but it was about
1/2 inch too big. We made a quick call to
OK Auto and
picked up a
Warrior spare tire spacer
which moved the spare up 2 two inches and solved
the spare problem.
In general, this is
an easy installation with a minimal amount of
tools and can be completed in about 1 hour.
The bumper is very clean in it's design and
retains the styling of the JK.
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