But
the big question is how do they function, right? Well, as soon as
we finished installing them, we loaded the Jeep up and headed to
Moab. What better place to test a set of bumpers! Moab's trails
are non-stop rockcrawling fun. With plenty of rocks, ledges, and
near-vertical climbs and drops, we couldn't think of a better place
to go abuse our new armor - and abuse it we did!
Both
ends took quite a beating as we traversed the Golden Spike trail
- especially when we took it across the Golden Crack. With the Cherokee's
long front overhang, there was little choice but to drop the front
end into the crack and let it fall until the bumper stopped it.
Once it did, getting out the other side meant pushing the Jeep against
the bumper and sliding it up the other side of the crack. Shoving
the Jeep's front bumper against the crack did little to phase it,
other than a little missing powder coat at the contact points. Around
the corner at Double Whammy, we bounced the Jeep's rear bumper on
the rocky ground a few times with the same result.
Dropping
into the Golden Crack |
Burying
the front end and shoving it across |
But
perhaps the biggest tests would come the following day on the Hell's
Revenge trail. The rear bumper would take the brunt of our efforts
at the Dump Bump, where we slid off the slickrock and landed repeatedly
on the rear bumper with all of our weight. Not a problem.
Catching
the rear on the Dump Bump |
Taking
a nose-dive into Mickey's Hot Tub |
The
final big test was further into the trail, however, at Mickey's
Hot Tub. We took the interesting way in and the Cherokee pretty
much did a free-fall into the tub, stopping on its front bumper,
while the rear wheels danced in the air above. A careful release
of the brakes allowed the Jeep to force its way down into the tub,
sliding the front bumper along the ground until it broke free and
the Jeep leveled out on all fours. But we weren't finished yet.
The other end of the hot tub is even steeper and is nearly straight-up.
The Cherokee eased its way up the exit, scraping the ground behind
it as we made our first run at getting out. Sliding back down into
the tub, the Jeep came to rest on the back bumper again. We needed
to back up and adjust our line but the rear bumper was wedged into
the ground. Putting the Jeep into reverse, we pushed the bumper
backward until it freed up. We then made our last run at the exit
and climbed on out.
Scrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaape |
Pausing
on our rear bumper before exiting the tub |
Looking
back at the bottom of the hot tub revealed a nice scrape line where
dragged the bumper through it. Looking at our bumpers, we found
no damage whatsoever, other than scratched powder coating. Amazing.
The bumpers passed our Moab test with flying colors. The scrapes
are no big deal and can be touched up easily with some semi-gloss
black Rust-Oleum.
The
results of our Moab abuse tests... |
...nothing
a little Rust-Oleum won't fix right up. |
But
Wait...There's More
--->>> |