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Rock Rail question

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  muzichio 
#1 ·
I've moved from a high clearance 4x4 Ram pickup with 20" tires to a 2011 GC laredo with 18" tires and OR1 (no quadralift- got tired of waiting!). My old rig had 9.4" of clearance and the grand cherokee is coming in around 8". Has anyone on the forum used rock rails and have they been in situations where having them saved the body from some damage? Did you like how they looked? How much did they cost to install?
I do a fair of amount of offroading in the southwest and am thinking of them like a sort of "insurance policy". The 2010 mopar version was $500 bucks (plus installation) - may be worth it to keep my new ride looking good!
 
#2 ·
You went from 20" wheels to 18" wheels, not tires. The stock tires on the WK2 are about 30.5". When it comes to offroading, 18" wheels are better than 20" wheels, because you get more sidewall for the same outer tire diameter.

That said - if you feel you need rock rails and you plan to actually use them, be sure to buy ones that are meant to be used and are not merely decorative. My '06 KJ Renegade had factory rock rails, only they were hollow tubes that couldn't really take the weight of the Jeep resting on them on top of a rock. I did get some gouges in them, though, so they protected the rocker panels a bit from scraping on rocks & logs, but they weren't meant to hold up to actually leaning on them.
 
#4 ·
jpsmith...thanks for the feedback....i was wondering why the OR package on the overland dropped the 20's for the 18's. That said, the tires on my old truck were 33" vs the 30" you shared that the GC has...and I managed to ding a rocker panel on a tree stump in the maze district in southern utah. My fault, I thought the stump was lower than it turned out to be but have to wonder what would have happened to a 3" lower GC without rock rails!
That particular section of "jeep trail" was exactly what I had in mind for a Quadralift equipped truck :) Oh well...
Rb3wreath - I'll be checking out Rocky Road Outfitters...thanks!
 
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