Smittybilt 76410 XRC Tailgate with Tire Carrier for 2007-2018 Jeep® Wrangler JK, Black

The tailgate itself is very solid, and in the end turns out to be a good fit. Only take this on if you're an experienced do it yourself type person. Not because the job is difficult, but because the instructions are absolutely terrible. Several steps are out of order, and some parts aren't even mentioned. This causes quite a bit of back tracking and re-doing work you've already done. I trulyhope the person who wrote them is no longer employed. Pay attention to bolt lengths when assembling as well. They out slightly different bolts in the same bag and let you figure it out. The only big flaw with the tailgate itself is the holes that the wiring for the third brake light and power locks goes through is too small to fit the connectors through. I had to disassemble the connector to get everything where it's supposed to go. It's also missing nuts for the bolts that hold the bumper on for the door latch. It's held on by weld nuts on the original tailgate but none are provided on the new one.Also, the instructions say to call a number for assistance with assembly. I'm not sure about most people, but id rather have a complete set of instructions than spend my day on the phone with customer service. I don't imagine they are any more helpful than the person/people who wrote that horrid manual. I'd give it 5 stars if the instructions were worth reading.

Pros: Very Heavy duty, and weighs a ton, and looks good.Cons: All the little screws makes installing no fun, not to mention the instructions are all over the place. Ended up having to go back remove parts to install the rubber bushing. Which was a real pain. My biggest concern is after having it on for about a month or longer I've notice that it is sagging a little. - And yes everything was tightened to the torque specs. I'm suspecting its the funny U channel insets used to bolt the door to the hinges.A very bad design. Oh and when you shut the gate the tire wobbles a lot, kind of unsettling.

Do yourself a favor...buy something else. I bought this tailgate to accommodate the weight of my larger and heavier spare tire. I liked the looks and thought it would be a perfect solution. As other reviewers have noted, the instructions provided by Smittybilt are only marginally useful. I'm a mechanically inclined guy (I was a mechanic as a previous profession) so I thought that I wouldn't have a problem. I did get the tailgate installed but it has problems that no amount of mechanic-ing would fix. In short - panel fitment sucks. In my case there was way to big of a gap on the drivers side lower corner (wouldn't even contact the weather strip) while simultaneously way to close of a fit on the passenger side upper corner. It almost looks like the entire unit twisted when it was welded. The only fix would have been to reshape the panel and why do that for a brand new $500 item. I sent it back and went a different route. The tailgate is heavy duty and would definitely support larger wheels/tires but good luck getting it to fit correctly without large gaps or shattering your rear glass.

Built like a tank, this product is *very* sturdy - much heavier than the JK’s stock tailgate. Installation is very detailed (instructions have improved greatly).The stock wiring harness is not long enough to reach the new location of the latching mechanism. I will need to lengthen those wires so opening the tailgate to it widest allowable position will not ril the harness out.If you are purchasing this to hold the Smittybilt Slant Back Tire Carrier, be aware that Smittybilt does not recommend adding any additional weight to the tire carried in this configuration as the tailgate was apparently not design for *that* much weight. It will carry a 35” spare alone in its straight or slant back potion without problems, however.

Just got this from wife for my birthday. First off it is, as advertised, an armored tailgate. VERY heavy, but feels solid. Get ready to use up a day or 2 for assembly. The instructions miss a lot of steps and all the tiny little screws are crap. I would get 3 steps ahead, then have to disassemble it because the instructions didn't tell me to do something. The fitment of mine was horrible, the top hinge side suck in to far and almost tore a gasket on the rear window. I tried for 2 days to get it to line up before taking it to a body shop. They said it my need shims to get it right.So like someone else said, if you buy this, take it straight to someone who knows what they are doing before removing it from the box!!Other than that, when it's installed correctly, it will do what it says it will do. And it does look cool.

Looks awesome in the picture and the description sounds like a fantastic option. Both wrong.Comes to you in several pieces with possibly the worst instructions you can get. Your factory wires aren’t long enough to reach the lock actuator so you have to buy a wire extension. There are tiny screws used in the assembly that I think are made of tin foil. You have to throw those out and find better ones at the hardware store. Oh and mine arrived bent. I would not recommend this to anyone

It looks nice, I like it now that it’s on but OMG! It took my husband and I literally two full days to install because the directions were HORRIBLE! We had to take things apart numerous times because we were guessing where parts went. We have experience and have installed many things on our vehicles, I would never purchase this again. Smittybilt can do better with their directions, very stressful.

As you can see the four Alan screws that hold the latch on have all broken off in side the threads which causes the tailgate to not fully close. Still better than a factory for the money.