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MOPAR Rock Rails Installed - Picture Laden

86K views 194 replies 61 participants last post by  kc135 
#1 ·
After a long, long wait to even get the rock rails into stock - and a tortuous installation by a nearby Jeep dealership - the installation of the MOPAR rock rails onto my 2012 Grand Cherokee Overland is now complete!

For those wanting differing aspects and views of the rock rails - I created this thread to help provide that for anyone interested.













Full gallery of pictures can be viewed here:

Grand Cherokee Rock Rails Photos by Wxchaser1 | Photobucket
 
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#87 ·
Rats, I'm missing 2 of the flange nut. I hope those are not hard to find (in black?). One of my head cap screws doesn't have the washer welded to it, I can probably glue one to it LOL. Now for the plastic rivits, missing 2... sigh. Anways.. the manual that came with the TH is the same one for the one with the tubes.
 
#91 ·
Thinking of taking off the rock rails. Would anybody here buy them? They are in perfect condition.
 
#93 ·
I will have someone do the uninstall for me if I decide to go that route. :lol:

It looks like the rails might have gone out of production. If anyone is interested, PM me an offer. They aren't officially for sale, although I would probably let them go for the right price.
 
#101 ·
After doing this myself and reading lots of install threads there's one thing that is absolutely clear - the install instructions provided by jeep are incorrect. From the pdf posted earlier in the thread, steps 13 and 14 (inside and outside bolts) need to be reversed. If you had to sweat to 'close the gap' on the outside bolts this would have made it MUCH easier.
 
#103 ·
I tried reversing the steps, as that just made more sense when looking at things. However, that didn't work either. When I did that, I couldn't get the rail inside the pinch weld. Ultimately ended up doing both at the same time by jacking it up into place and forcing it in. The driver side went in just as the instructions said, so I don't think there is a one way works for all with these things. Oh well, it was a beautiful weekend and I didn't have to work. There are worse things to worry about in the world. :)
 
#107 ·
#109 ·
If I am in a big parking lot, just put it into off road 1, knowing that someone is going to get a surprise if they fling their door open.

Urban protection! Same reason I put on a rear step hitch was to protect the rear bumper from assholes - and to be able to detail and load cargo onto the roof easier.
 
#113 · (Edited)
about to pick these up on friday, but I need to know what tools Ill need to install them!!! I am headed down from Edmonton, Alberta on an almost two week wheeling trip so looking forward to some new swag

What size drill bit and any kind of timeline of how long it took to install?? once installed I'm headed to Moab, UT for some much needed rock therapy
 
#114 ·
Honestly there are no specialty tools required aside from the Allen key that comes in the hardware kit. You do want to have a nut driver. It makes getting the nuts along the door sill on much easier.
You really don't need to drill anything according to the instructions, however I do recommend rounding out the holes along the pinch weld to give you a little more room for error when installing the stiffener plate and nuts. You'll see what I mean when you get under there.
Also have a floor or bottle jack. You'll need one to put leverage on the rail to "pop" it into place after installing the flag bolts. Jack stands are helpful too, unless you have a strong buddy helping. Install the hardware in this sequence:

1. Flag bolts (loose fit)
2. Sill nuts (just enough to grab a few threads)
3. Pinch weld bolts.

IIR, the instructions state to install the pinch weld bolts second, which makes installing the sill nuts nearly impossible.

One last thing..don't waste the time fumbling with removing the plastic trim piece along the door. Unless you plan on re using it someday, just use a chisel to remove the push pins along the bottom and then just pull the bastard off. You'll break the clips, but it won't matter if you're trashing that piece.


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#122 ·
#118 ·
They don't really have a lot of places for dirt/ water to get inside. That said, these things are made of heavy gauge steel with a tough powder coating. They aren't your cheap light gauge running board material. Even if they began to rust inside, it would take a loooong time for it to go all the way through.

I'm getting ready to install my second set next week. In my opinion, if you're doing any off road driving, they are the only way to go. Plus they look really good.


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#129 ·
Reading through all this I seem to have got a good deal from Walnut Creek Jeep, $1200 installed. $750 for the rails and $450 installation. I bought the JGC there so I got the customer deal. They were a pig to install, they originally said I could wait but then realized they weren't going to go on easily so they got me a car and sent me on my way. It ended up taking two days to complete the job. On the driver's side, about the third bolt back, they had trouble getting the bolt to reach because the side wasn't straight, and the paint got cracked. But they are fixing that without any quibbling.

I feel slightly apologetic because I knew it could be a pig of a job when I ordered them. I looked at the installation instructions and figured that while it sounded simple enough it had a lot of room to go wrong. So the quoted labor was not hard to swallow. Jeep/Mopar need to look at how these things are fitted. Surely they could have used nutserts as some others do for fitting rock rails? Perhaps they could also have provided some sort of seal/spacer to make the straightness of the side of the vehicle less of an issue. That would eliminate all the digging out foam and interfere with the weather sealing less. They could also have made a proper end cap instead of requiring the original panels to be cut. I am glad I don't live in the rust belt.
 
#130 ·
You've made some good points.
 
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