Rough Country 10603 Tailgate Reinforcement Kit for 18-25 Jeep Wrangler JL

Great tailgate reinforcement alternative for Larger Wheels. Watch out would be that with some larger size tires like my 315’s it catches the bumper a little.

I was a little skeptical of this plate for $70 when Mopar and other reinforcement kits are nearly $800. I think it is a simple design and will be fine for mostly on-road use, but I do wonder if it would be up the task of the severe vertical loads seen from frequent off-road use. I can’t say at this time as the 35 isn’t even bolted up yet, but it does seem sturdy.

I installed this in combination with the RC Relocator kit. There were a few issues you should be aware of.

The Torque specified in RC’s instructions for the bolts which go through the carrier and into the tailgate is listed at 30ft-lbs. This is incorrect and the RC Relocator plate says 20 which is closer to correct as further research shows MOPAR specs that at 17.5ft-lbs. 20 is probably fine, but 30 would run the risk of stripping out the fasteners inside the tailgate. I caught it and feel I was lucky.

The second issue is that the included bolts which mount the reinforcement plate to the hinges are too long. They were so long that they popped the interior trim panel off and fully negated the blue lock-patch. While purchasing the right fasteners, I also added flat washers to prevent scuffing of the finish on the plate from the socket. RC’s instructions show allen head fasteners, which would have been a better choice, but the ones which were included were regular hex head bolts. I know there is a bit of “you get what you pay for” but even at $70 it seems silly that the wrong hardware is in the kit. RC needs to correct this ASAP. I think I was lucky that the interior trim wasn’t damaged from the incorrect length bolts. I’ll also be looking for some kind of black bolt caps or perhaps painting the hinge bolts as shiny zinc plated bolts on a black bracket look a bit unfinished.

Total installation time with the relocation bracket was over an hour, but keep in mind that included a trip to the hardware store and reinstalling the bolts with blue Loctite. You’ll need an extra set of hands too unless fully disconnect the wire harness and set the carrier aside.

Agree with Corey - this product is terrible. Cost me valuable time an $ repairing my tailgate due to this product not working.