Let me get this out of the way up front:
1. Extreme Terrain has been awesome. No hassles, great to talk to on the phone, and genuinely concerned about making things right.
2. JCR makes a great product. Their bumpers look great, and with the exception of one minor fabrication mistake, have also been great to deal with.
3. UPS is completely at fault.
On 3/17/15, I ordered a set of JCR Vanguard Full Width bumpers, front and rear, and skid plate, through Extreme Terrain. Ryan hooked me up, as usual! I would have ordered directly from JCR, but since the prices were really close, I went through XT since I've dealt with Ryan on other things. My plan was to upgrade the front and rear bumpers, and then add the adventure tire carrier. I'm going for an "overland motorcycle support rig" type of setup for my Jeep - to haul dirt bikes and other toys to the trails. So the Adventure tire carrier with rotopax storage is ideal for my needs.
The bumpers are built when ordered, so it takes a few weeks. The first set of bumpers arrived around 4/22/15 - and both were damaged. (see photos in my next post - I'll be uploading them from my phone.)
The damage was minor overall, but every piece was damaged. Other than the bolt and some uneven powdercoat, all the damage was caused by the delivery service (UPS).
Front bumper - shifted in the box towards the drivers side, punched through the box. Damage on end, shackle mount powder coat is chipped, bottom edge has a gouge and powdercoat is worn off, powder coat is worn off on the front edge near fog light is and one of the bumper mounting bolts was sliced with a cutting wheel in the manufacturing process.
Skid plate - punched through its box, inside the larger front bumper box. Powder coat is uneven (has streaks) and worn off on edges where it broke through the box and rubbed.
Rear bumper - frame mounts broke through the box. Powder coat is worn off on the frame mounts. Drivers side corner also broke through the box and is gouged. Imperfections in powder coat (2 spots that would not rub off) on surface. Gouge on edge.
So it was returned. I packaged it back up, UPS picked it up, and hopefully JCR was successful in filing a claim against them for the damage.
On to round 2. The replacement front bumper was delivered 05/28/15... and this time the damage was apparent before I even pulled in the driveway. One end of the box was completely missing (the cardboard was shoved back into the box), there was a large hole where the frame mount punched through the box, and the entire bumper was hanging 1/3 of the way out of the box on the concrete. The hardware box was hanging out, and I have no idea if anything else is missing.
The rear bumper should be delivered today, along with the skid plate. I'm hoping for better luck on this one, but I'm not very optimistic at this point.
While I don't blame JCR for the handling - I think they need to look at a better carrier or possibly reinforcing their boxes. It will add cost, I understand that - but if it was tied down to a solid bottom and had solid ends, it would most likely survive UPS's "handling" better. Still, the blame is solely with UPS for this. To even deliver the 2nd bumper in that condition is inexcusable.
Extreme Terrain's customer service has been great. They immediately created an RMA, and seem to understand although not their fault - delivering a damaged product isn't good for them or JCR. They've asked JCR to wrap the the next bumper as much as possible - and I hope that JCR sees this post and the photos here so they can address the issue.
I'm not cancelling my order. I like JCR's bumpers, and the adventure tire carrier is exactly what I need for my Jeep and will be the next thing I purchase. (XT doesn't have it listed yet, so I'll probably order directly through JCR.) But I'm really frustrated with UPS...
Photos in the next post.
1. Extreme Terrain has been awesome. No hassles, great to talk to on the phone, and genuinely concerned about making things right.
2. JCR makes a great product. Their bumpers look great, and with the exception of one minor fabrication mistake, have also been great to deal with.
3. UPS is completely at fault.
On 3/17/15, I ordered a set of JCR Vanguard Full Width bumpers, front and rear, and skid plate, through Extreme Terrain. Ryan hooked me up, as usual! I would have ordered directly from JCR, but since the prices were really close, I went through XT since I've dealt with Ryan on other things. My plan was to upgrade the front and rear bumpers, and then add the adventure tire carrier. I'm going for an "overland motorcycle support rig" type of setup for my Jeep - to haul dirt bikes and other toys to the trails. So the Adventure tire carrier with rotopax storage is ideal for my needs.
The bumpers are built when ordered, so it takes a few weeks. The first set of bumpers arrived around 4/22/15 - and both were damaged. (see photos in my next post - I'll be uploading them from my phone.)
The damage was minor overall, but every piece was damaged. Other than the bolt and some uneven powdercoat, all the damage was caused by the delivery service (UPS).
Front bumper - shifted in the box towards the drivers side, punched through the box. Damage on end, shackle mount powder coat is chipped, bottom edge has a gouge and powdercoat is worn off, powder coat is worn off on the front edge near fog light is and one of the bumper mounting bolts was sliced with a cutting wheel in the manufacturing process.
Skid plate - punched through its box, inside the larger front bumper box. Powder coat is uneven (has streaks) and worn off on edges where it broke through the box and rubbed.
Rear bumper - frame mounts broke through the box. Powder coat is worn off on the frame mounts. Drivers side corner also broke through the box and is gouged. Imperfections in powder coat (2 spots that would not rub off) on surface. Gouge on edge.
So it was returned. I packaged it back up, UPS picked it up, and hopefully JCR was successful in filing a claim against them for the damage.
On to round 2. The replacement front bumper was delivered 05/28/15... and this time the damage was apparent before I even pulled in the driveway. One end of the box was completely missing (the cardboard was shoved back into the box), there was a large hole where the frame mount punched through the box, and the entire bumper was hanging 1/3 of the way out of the box on the concrete. The hardware box was hanging out, and I have no idea if anything else is missing.
The rear bumper should be delivered today, along with the skid plate. I'm hoping for better luck on this one, but I'm not very optimistic at this point.
While I don't blame JCR for the handling - I think they need to look at a better carrier or possibly reinforcing their boxes. It will add cost, I understand that - but if it was tied down to a solid bottom and had solid ends, it would most likely survive UPS's "handling" better. Still, the blame is solely with UPS for this. To even deliver the 2nd bumper in that condition is inexcusable.
Extreme Terrain's customer service has been great. They immediately created an RMA, and seem to understand although not their fault - delivering a damaged product isn't good for them or JCR. They've asked JCR to wrap the the next bumper as much as possible - and I hope that JCR sees this post and the photos here so they can address the issue.
I'm not cancelling my order. I like JCR's bumpers, and the adventure tire carrier is exactly what I need for my Jeep and will be the next thing I purchase. (XT doesn't have it listed yet, so I'll probably order directly through JCR.) But I'm really frustrated with UPS...
Photos in the next post.