Vertical Side Bar tub protection.  This is a big one.  No other bumper manufacturer on the market that I am aware of offers the same level of protection for the tub as with the Runck Equipment bumper.  The vertical side posts protect the tub from rocks, tree’s, and your own stupidity when it comes to doing body damage to the rear corners.  Trust me, I know all about backing up into things when out in the great outdoors (aka., my own stupidity).

Along with the side post protection is the protection to the rear quarter panel on the Jeep.  Many times, I've recommended steel diamond plate to cover up beauty marks that have been caused by coming down on a rock on the rear quarter panel.  With the Runck setup, the most-likely worst thing you'd have to do is break out the sand paper and rattle can to touch up any damage now caused by the same rock.  As you can see in the picture below, the Runck setup extends under the quarter panel to protect it from any foes looking for a little sheet metal to munch on.  Great protection for a very susceptible body damage area.

Construction - The next thing I considered was the construction.  When I spoke to Ben Smith he assured me that this setup is rattle-free. Coming from a former rattle-trap bumper, which about drove me crazy from the noises it made, this was a big selling point for me.  Ben was absolutely correct. After the installation and driving around town and down bumpy old gravel roads, I've not heard as much as a peep out of the rear tire carrier. Runck has a specially designed method of securing the swing-out arm, which is very strong and rattle-free.   

Furthermore, they went the extra mile to create a setup that locks the swing arm firmly in place at both the shut position and at the 90° angle, open position.  This is important to me, because I can’t tell you how many times I’ve let the rear tire carrier swing open and then had the spare tire slam into the driver-side tail light.  Below is a shot of what the carrier looks like in the open position.

Here is a shot of the locking lever that Runck incorporated into their setup.  By pulling the spring-tensioned rod, you release the locking mechanism and can operate the carrier either in or out.

It's Serviceable - Another great feature of this bumper is the fact that it is completely serviceable.  My old bumper had worn out from the weight and abuse in the mud and the swing arm bolt had seized, causing the tire carrier to fail.  The Runck unit is serviceable by removing the swing arm and greasing the shaft that the swing arm rides on.  Furthermore, you can keep a healthy amount of grease on the swing arm screw-down assembly so that you are never stuck with a worn-out or seized-up tire carrier.

The Little Things - Other features that sold me on the setup were the little things.  The fact that the license plate brackets were already welded on, the 3^rd brake light came standard with the setup, and the ability to be able to switch your carrier from 5 on 4.5” bolt pattern to 5 on 5.5” bolt pattern by using standard wheel studs were all factors.  My bolt pattern is 5 on 5.5” because of my Ford 9” axle setup. I changed the bolt pattern on the tire carrier from the 4.5” bolt circle to the 5.5” bolt circle in under 5 minutes with a simple hammer and an air gun.

Photo of pre-drilled holes for 4.5” or 5.5” bolt circle

Price - Lastly, but not the least attractive at all about this rear tire carrier, was the price.  At $679.99 for the entire setup, it was very attractive.  Other manufacturers wanted in excess of $800 for bumpers that were similar to this product, but did not offer the same level of protection and strength.

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