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Review on πŸš™ TeraFlex 4838100 JK HD Aluminum Hinged Carrier Kit: Premium Durability for Jeep Wrangler Owners by Hector Smith

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Rugged construction, quality finishes and an attractive tailgate reinforcement option

This review is for TeraFlex 4838100 JK HD Aluminum Pivot Bracket only. This does not include their tire service. I installed a roof rack and still use the original Jeep rack. The Terraflex Carrier Kit works great and is designed for the 2017 JK that I installed it on, although Revain (automated - I haven't spoken to customer service) insisted that wasn't the case. I was looking for a solid tailgate/trunk reinforcement combination and was considering a bumper mount, but that would be at least a few hundred bucks more expensive, more complicated, heavier and would mean losing my right-hand side hitch. side (which I try to avoid). The Terraflex holder was relatively easy to assemble. I gave 5 stars for simplicity as it was easy. You can do this yourself, although there is at least one step where an extra pair of hands will come in handy. All necessary parts are included in this well packaged kit. The instructions are easy to follow. There are washers and grommets to secure the OEM driver side mount and rubber plugs for any additional mounting holes for things like tall bushing mounts are a nice touch to the setup. Terraflex gives you its 'jewels' separately (metal chrome badges and some stickers) for you to put on the carrier or somewhere else of your choice (thanks - I really like that). The first thing you'll notice about this thing is the weight. It's sturdy (see the attached photos of the crappy OEM hinges and plastic trim you're replacing) and while you can easily wrap it around you, an extra pair of hands comes in handy when screwing it on while trying to keep it It is stable and screws. Without scratching something, it's not easy. Have a torque wrench that can handle up to 20 ft-lbs of torque to tighten everything properly. Terraflex includes some blue threadlock, which is fine too, although you have some WD-40 or similar handy. When removing the torx screws on my hinges, they had to be soaked well to get them out, although they weren't rusty. Otherwise, you'll find all the tools you need in the included instructions, which are available on their website if you want to take a look ahead. As they warn you, make sure you have wood or something to walk on and support between the lower tailgate and the bumper when removing the hinges. This will prevent anything on you from shifting and ensure all screw holes line up perfectly when fastening everything together. It only lasted a few hours in the driveway on a nice day. The door opens and closes very gently and tightly. So far I've noticed a noticeable reduction in door/spare tire noise without the occasional bump rumble I've had before (I have 17" OEM wheels with 32" BFG Mud Terrain tires). Despite using stock wheels and tires, I didn't expect to have door sag issues in the future. Jeep has started including tailgate reinforcements as an option on the new Wrangler, but I think it's a step up from them. The product is a bit more expensive than similar competitor products but after seeing the fit and finish of some of them I think Terraflex represents an improvement in quality and price. Advantages: Robust construction. Nice black finish that matches the jeep. It's easy to follow the instructions with a well-designed kit. The function is smooth and the noise of the spare tire is reduced. Cons: A bit more expensive than similar products, but worth it for the build quality and finish in my opinion.

Pros
  • This is amazing
Cons
  • Quality