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Wow, I hit the road for a few weeks and come back to a bit of drama. I have been building Jeeps since the 1970s and have more than 20 builds since then, some easy, some not so easy. I've seen a lot of good parts out there and I've seen crap.
If I had any concerns with the RockLaurence Shackle Flip Kit or the front tow bar I would not have installed them in my Jeep. Because I was the one that did the install, I got to see first hand how everything was built and everything worked together. Quite frankly, I don't see any of our concerns but I am not building this Jeep to participate in the King of the Hammers competition and I am not building it for some hard core rock crawling. This Jeep is going to see duty on average trails one would encounter in the desert southwest, the volcanic highlands and the tall pines of the north. A modern day Conestoga wagon carrying its passengers and gear across modern day forest service and BLM roads in a quest for adventure in this great outdoors.
Even if I were (planning to abuse my Jeep), I have seen plenty of set ups for Jeeps and others that people have used that scared the daylights out of me, this kit is not one of them. People have done all kinds of crazy and stupid things to lift their Jeeps to handle for the most part bigger tires. This lift is mild at best and would not in any way qualify a FSJ to be any kind of rock crawling machine.
There are plenty of things that would fail on any Jeep long before the rear lift blocks included with the kit would fail. Hell the tubing on rock buggies that support engines, suspensions and safety cages aren't made from steel as strong as the lift blocks are. Your statement that they might collapse over time makes no sense at all. The front tow bar is well attached to the Jeep and the front shackle brackets and would be much safer than using shackle tow brackets for any similar purpose. As for cutting/notching the frame rail bumper brackets, that in no way weakens the frame in any way. This rail extensions for the bumper are just that, if you would cut them off entirely, you would not compromise the frame in any way. As for the two holes you drill for access to the nuts, look at all the other holes up and down the frame and many lift kits from major manufacturer's for Jeeps and others require drilling a few holes in the frame.
I appreciate your concerns but I do not share them with you for this Overland/Expedition build of my newest FSJ.
I will however be sure to report any negative experiences that might show themselves over time with this kit or anything else I've made a part of this project, although I do not anticipate any.
As of right now, I've got several hundred miles on rocky, washboard desert trails even with some bone jarring speed just to see how things "shake out" and I've seen or experienced nothing to doubt the quality and safety of the RockLaurence shackle flip kit.
I'll be doing some updates and updated pictures over the next 30 days before I start my next long distance off-road journey.
If I had any concerns with the RockLaurence Shackle Flip Kit or the front tow bar I would not have installed them in my Jeep. Because I was the one that did the install, I got to see first hand how everything was built and everything worked together. Quite frankly, I don't see any of our concerns but I am not building this Jeep to participate in the King of the Hammers competition and I am not building it for some hard core rock crawling. This Jeep is going to see duty on average trails one would encounter in the desert southwest, the volcanic highlands and the tall pines of the north. A modern day Conestoga wagon carrying its passengers and gear across modern day forest service and BLM roads in a quest for adventure in this great outdoors.
Even if I were (planning to abuse my Jeep), I have seen plenty of set ups for Jeeps and others that people have used that scared the daylights out of me, this kit is not one of them. People have done all kinds of crazy and stupid things to lift their Jeeps to handle for the most part bigger tires. This lift is mild at best and would not in any way qualify a FSJ to be any kind of rock crawling machine.
There are plenty of things that would fail on any Jeep long before the rear lift blocks included with the kit would fail. Hell the tubing on rock buggies that support engines, suspensions and safety cages aren't made from steel as strong as the lift blocks are. Your statement that they might collapse over time makes no sense at all. The front tow bar is well attached to the Jeep and the front shackle brackets and would be much safer than using shackle tow brackets for any similar purpose. As for cutting/notching the frame rail bumper brackets, that in no way weakens the frame in any way. This rail extensions for the bumper are just that, if you would cut them off entirely, you would not compromise the frame in any way. As for the two holes you drill for access to the nuts, look at all the other holes up and down the frame and many lift kits from major manufacturer's for Jeeps and others require drilling a few holes in the frame.
I appreciate your concerns but I do not share them with you for this Overland/Expedition build of my newest FSJ.
I will however be sure to report any negative experiences that might show themselves over time with this kit or anything else I've made a part of this project, although I do not anticipate any.
As of right now, I've got several hundred miles on rocky, washboard desert trails even with some bone jarring speed just to see how things "shake out" and I've seen or experienced nothing to doubt the quality and safety of the RockLaurence shackle flip kit.
I'll be doing some updates and updated pictures over the next 30 days before I start my next long distance off-road journey.
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