604Bronco’s Build Journal

[604Bronco]

I'm in the process of installing the Turn Offroad tailgate reinforcement. Beware of the nuts that are inside the tailgate for the hinge bolts. They are not welded on--they're hanging on a bracket that moves around, I guess to give it some play for alignment. The instructions say to install the bolts with the tailgate in place (vertical), but gravity pulled the bracket down on mine and I only had about half of the nut showing. I've read stories of the bracket being dislodged and falling off inside the gate. So I installed the whole thing with the tailgate flat on the floor. Now I have a 90lb beast on my garage floor. Help coming this weekend. More to follow. No way this is the one hour project they describe.

The installation is definitely not an hour. Mine turned out to be close to 3.5-4 hours for a professional to install. Albeit, I had rear facing chase lights wired up behind my spare tire as well, but still.

The install video doesn't show removing of the spare tire or the spare tire carrier either. I think if you don't have to do any adjustments for fitment, it's probably 1-2 hours. But outside that, it's a little longer.

Still fully worth it, IMO!

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[604Bronco]

Finally got around to mounting the Rotopax Lox mount and 2 Gallon canister. Below is a picture of it mounted on the back of the vehicle, as well as inside the vehicle when it's empty and not being used. It fits perfectly between my slide out security drawer and my back seat!

 

[Mad Max]

First update (Turn Offroad tailgate reinforcement--to protect the plastic trim and assuming adjustments would be necessary, I pulled the tail light to reinstall the tailgate. That went fine. It's pretty close so I'm thinking I won't have to adjust much. That's good. But the lower hinge stop sits right where the lower trim piece goes in. Unless I'm doing it wrong (which is entirely plausible), that trim piece cannot come off or go back in with the tailgate in place.

 

[BoverW]

First update (Turn Offroad tailgate reinforcement--to protect the plastic trim and assuming adjustments would be necessary, I pulled the tail light to reinstall the tailgate. That went fine. It's pretty close so I'm thinking I won't have to adjust much. That's good. But the lower hinge stop sits right where the lower trim piece goes in. Unless I'm doing it wrong (which is entirely plausible), that trim piece cannot come off or go back in with the tailgate in place.

which piece？Can you show me? I installed by myself so I may know something.

BTW, those two pieces are plastic, meaning you can twist/bend it a little bit

 

[Mad Max]

which piece？Can you show me? I installed by myself so I may know something.

BTW, those two pieces are plastic, meaning you can twist/bend it a little bit

The lower trim piece. It's not a question of bending the plastic. There is not enough clearance to get it under the hinge stop without bending/breaking the pins that stick out of it.

 

[604Bronco]

The lower trim piece. It's not a question of bending the plastic. There is not enough clearance to get it under the hinge stop without bending/breaking the pins that stick out of it.

@Turn Offroad might be able to give some pointers/suggestions here.

 

[Turn Offroad]

The lower trim piece. It's not a question of bending the plastic. There is not enough clearance to get it under the hinge stop without bending/breaking the pins that stick out of it.

This part of the install is difficult. I’ve personally installed around 30 of these and this part is always tricky so don’t feel bad for struggling a bit.

What I do is put masking tape a few layers thick on the painted surface that is contacting the tire carrier to protect the paint. Once you do that with some bending you can squeeze it back in there. It’s tight and that plastic piece does need to be flexed to get it in there (including the pins) but with the paint protected you’ll have a lot more room to play with it.

It’s all about getting it in there at the correct angle. If it’s just not going to happen you can cut the interior plastic to separate the 2 pieces as shown in this video for installing our tail light guards.

 

[BoverW]

The lower trim piece. It's not a question of bending the plastic. There is not enough clearance to get it under the hinge stop without bending/breaking the pins that stick out of it.

I have a similar problem when I put these two pieces back. It turns out that my taillight is not installed properly. Check the gap between the taillight and fender. Compare with the driver side. If too large, then it will push these two body pieces to the left (to the tailgate) leaving no space for you.

As Turn Offroad mentioned, flex it & Paint protection. The middle piece is plastic too, so the black piece in the figure can be pressed as well. Hope it helps.

 

[Mad Max]

I have a similar problem when I put these two pieces back. It turns out that my taillight is not installed properly. Check the gap between the taillight and fender. Compare with the driver side. If too large, then it will push these two body pieces to the left (to the tailgate) leaving no space for you.

As Turn Offroad mentioned, flex it & Paint protection. The middle piece is plastic too, so the black piece in the figure can be pressed as well. Hope it helps.

Thank you all. I figured I'm either going to break it or it'll go in. It went in. I'm just not used to forcing stuff.

 

[604Bronco]

Thank you all. I figured I'm either going to break it or it'll go in. It went in. I'm just not used to forcing stuff.

I remember the shop where I had mine installed mention this as a pain point, and gave me a heads up that they'd need to force it in and they were worried it would break. Thankfully, it went in with no issue. Phew!

 

[lwilliams34]

Rockworkx Hardtop Quick Removal Thumb Bolts (From Rockworkx):

Well, I just installed the @Rockworkx thumb bolts on my @Turn Offroad hard top, and I have to say, this is a great pairing!

These thumb bolts are amazing quality. They look awesome, and they feel great and very well made! They install in seconds, and I love the fact they have a wider base vs. the OEM (including MIC top) hard top bolts. It gives me a sense of better pressure distribution in holding the hard top down vs. having it all on a single small point (even with a washer) - Albeit, this might just be in my head. Plus you have the added benefit of having some extra tie down anchors. Plus since I'm OCD and have them lined up all facing one direction, I can tell at quick glance if any are coming loose and require re-tightening (although I don't suspect this will be an issue).

One thing to note: If you have the Turn Off Road hard top, you only need 6 bolts vs. the standard 8 bolts the MIC top uses. The solution is to buy Rockworkx Jeep pack of thumb bolts, as they come in a 6 pack and are the exact same size. Saves you a few bucks and you won't end up with 2 extra thumb bolts.

Here's some pictures of them, as well as compared to the regular bolts:

I am a little confused as to how these bolts secure the hard top when you are not using any type of wrench , socket etc to get them torqued down?

 

[604Bronco]

I am a little confused as to how these bolts secure the hard top when you are not using any type of wrench , socket etc to get them torqued down?

They are thumb bolts... You use your thumb

Joking aside, they are just hand-torqued down. They are awesome - You don't need (or want) to over tighten your hard top (OEM or aftermarket) as you can cause damage to it. These bolts allow you to never have to worry about that, hold the hard top in place, and act as a good visual reference if it needs re-tightening (I have all my bolts facing the same way, so at quick glance I can see if they've turned and need to be re-tightened). You have the added benefit of having some extra tie-down anchors as well.

 

[lwilliams34]

They are thumb bolts... You use your thumb

Joking aside, they are just hand-torqued down. They are awesome - You don't need (or want) to over tighten your hard top (OEM or aftermarket) as you can cause damage to it. These bolts allow you to never have to worry about that, hold the hard top in place, and act as a good visual reference if it needs re-tightening (I have all my bolts facing the same way, so at quick glance I can see if they've turned and need to be re-tightened). You have the added benefit of having some extra tie-down anchors as well.

thanks that makes a lot of sense. Just spoke with the owner as well about these. I'm OCD so worried about them loosening up, but it sounds like once you have them in place they hold pretty good.

 

[604Bronco]

thanks that makes a lot of sense. Just spoke with the owner as well about these. I'm OCD so worried about them loosening up, but it sounds like once you have them in place they hold pretty good.

They've been great for the few weeks or so that I've had them installed. I will say though, they aren't something you can just leave and never re-torque ever again. However this is the same as regular bolts.

Since the hard top is meant to be removable, you don't really want to put thread locker on the bolts to keep them in, so they'll always need some re-torquing due to the movement and vibrations of the vehicle. The thumb bolts are no different. Adding on a lock washer might help a bit though, but I haven't tried that.

You'd really have to be oblivious if all 6 bolts have backed off to a point where you didn't notice the hard top bouncing over bumps or moving. These thumb bolts make for a very quick reference when I'm in the cargo area to ensure they haven't moved, and if they have, it's a simple slight twist with my hand vs. needing to get tools out.

 

[Hossfire]

That's a solid piece of equipment. Thanks for the input on the half roof rack. Just ordered mine from CJ Pony Parts today.

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