Ever since Cindy and I decided to mount a 37" spare tire on the back of our Jeep JL Wrangler, people have been decrying the intelligence of it and have been insisting that we would break our tailgate. After all, they had seen it happen on the internet and so it must be true. And, what can I say - they were right. By the end of our trip to Moab, we found that we did in fact break our tailgate only... it wasn't where we were told it would happen AND, our spare tire had nothing to do with it.
As you can see in this photo, the break we found was on the INSIDE of our tailgate and on the bottom of the vented plastic cover.
From what we could tell, one of our tool bags or maybe portable air compressor slammed into the back of the tailgate while taking on a big obstacle and the impact was hard enough to break the plastic cover.
It's a bummer for sure especially being we never saw it coming. Too bad nobody had posted this on the internet. :rolleyes2:
Anyway, it really isn't that big of a deal and maybe we'll be able to cover it up with a tray table or something. Either way, we're still waiting for the rest of the tailgate to self-destruct, you know, because we mounted a 37" tire on it. :crazyeyes:
UPDATE 04/23/18 : JACKED UP NO MORE
It'd been so long since I ordered a new interior trim panel for our JL's tailgate that I almost forgot all about it. But, it finally did come in and here are a few shots of what it looked like before, during and after the new trim was installed.
Shot of JET Li sitting next to Pappy and getting ready to get fixed up.
New trim acquired and ready to be installed.
Removing the existing trim.
A couple of shots of what the inside of a JL tailgate looks like without the plastic trim installed.
New trim panel installed. Notice the mounting points for a Trail Rail or even trail table.
And just like that, our tailgate is whole again.
Oh and for those of you who are wanting to know what the part is if this ever happens to you, this is what you'll need.
Panel-Swing Gate Trim : 6BM40TX7AB
Should cost about $60
As you can see in this photo, the break we found was on the INSIDE of our tailgate and on the bottom of the vented plastic cover.
From what we could tell, one of our tool bags or maybe portable air compressor slammed into the back of the tailgate while taking on a big obstacle and the impact was hard enough to break the plastic cover.
It's a bummer for sure especially being we never saw it coming. Too bad nobody had posted this on the internet. :rolleyes2:
Anyway, it really isn't that big of a deal and maybe we'll be able to cover it up with a tray table or something. Either way, we're still waiting for the rest of the tailgate to self-destruct, you know, because we mounted a 37" tire on it. :crazyeyes:
UPDATE 04/23/18 : JACKED UP NO MORE
It'd been so long since I ordered a new interior trim panel for our JL's tailgate that I almost forgot all about it. But, it finally did come in and here are a few shots of what it looked like before, during and after the new trim was installed.
Shot of JET Li sitting next to Pappy and getting ready to get fixed up.
New trim acquired and ready to be installed.
Removing the existing trim.
A couple of shots of what the inside of a JL tailgate looks like without the plastic trim installed.
New trim panel installed. Notice the mounting points for a Trail Rail or even trail table.
And just like that, our tailgate is whole again.
Oh and for those of you who are wanting to know what the part is if this ever happens to you, this is what you'll need.
Panel-Swing Gate Trim : 6BM40TX7AB
Should cost about $60
