Smittybilt XRC Bumper Install on Jeep Cherokee XJ

Oct. 04, 2016 By Jim Brightly, KF7SCT

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Not only does the Smittybilt XRC front bumper add to the Cherokee’s security, it also improves its look, plus giving it front attachment points should recovery become needed and will accept a winch.

When building a daily driver for an avid off-roader, who also happens to be a high school student in Southern California, one has to consider the school’s daily parking lot woes and recovery needs while on the trail. A pair of Smittybilt XRC steel bumpers takes care of the requirements in both areas with heavy-gauge steel at both ends of the Cherokee.

My younger son, Chad, and I are slowly building a 1990 Cherokee Laredo for his son, Cash, to be a daily driver (to and from school and work) and an off-road weekend warrior for camping trips to the trails of SoCal and Arizona. We’ve already lifted the Cherokee and gave it a set of Rubicon wheels and Yokohama Geolandar A/T tires, and replaced its injectors, so now we need to protect it with steel.

The XRC rear bumper protects the rear and carries the spare tire, a HiLift jack, and a gas can. It also has a hitch receiver and a pair of D-ring attachment points.

It’s “Christmas in July” when the packages from Summit Racing appear at the door; however, they are heavy, large, and awkward, and you may need some help to move them around.

Even though, in my opinion, XJ-model Cherokees are one of the “best bang for your buck!” Jeeps available today, new parts for them are being dropped from catalogs because of their age, not because of their popularity. Smittybilt, among a few others, is maintaining a good selection of aftermarket parts for them, however, including a small selection of bumpers.

Well designed and powder coated, the heavy-duty XRC steel bumper is built for many years of trail riding and parking lot bumper cars.

When we went looking for bumpers we had a few minimal requirements: ability and rating to tow, heavy-duty recovery attachment points, spare tire carrier, winch and auxiliary lighting mounts, and enough strength to survive daily trips to a high school parking lot. Smittybilt XRC bumpers (#76810 and #76851, front and rear, respectively) fit our requirements to a T!

You can mount the spare tire carrier at almost any height you want, depending upon the tire’s diameter. This swing-away carrier also holds the HiLift jack and gas can.

The two rectangular pieces are the adjustable tire carrier. They’re adjustable so that the wheel’s offset can be easily accommodated.

Engineered to provide maximum ground clearance, the XRC bumpers are manufactured out of 3/16-inch cold-rolled steel that is robotically welded to exact specifications. With raised corners for better entry and exit under the most extreme conditions and solid-mounted D-rings, the bumpers are welded on the inside and out, and then finished with a two-stage textured matte black powder coat. The rear bumper is equipped with a class III hitch for towing, and the front bumper is equipped with a built-in winch plate to accommodate up to a 12,000-pound rated winch and an XRC front bull bar option, part number 76811. The bull bar is manufactured from 1.75-inch tubing and has two light tabs (each of which can accommodate up to a 9-inch light).

A hoist makes it much easier to remove the OEM bumper, even though you may need to heat some of the bolts to break them loose.

There are rear body panel holes on both sides of the Cherokee, insert the Smittybilt nut plates. The plates’ welded nuts match pre-existing holes in the body.

Due to the fact that the XJ is of unibody construction, which means it has no heavy-duty steel ladder-type frame, mounting heavy and heavy-duty bumpers such as these can cause problems if they have a poorly designed mounting system, but that isn’t the case with the Smittybilt XRC bumpers. Their mounting systems are perfectly designed for mounting on the XJ.

Install the bumper mounting brackets but do not tighten at this time.

There are bolts below the “frame” and on the sides.

Both instruction sheets include complete parts lists. Obviously, the first thing to do is verify that all parts are present as you unpack them. Check off each part as you go to make sure it’s there and in the correct amount. If you’re confused, parts are missing, or you can’t figure out how to assemble something, call tech support at 310-762-9944.

Before assembling the bumper and tire gate, make sure the bumper matches its mounting brackets.

Install the tire gate onto the XRC bumper per the Smittybilt instructions, adjust the tire gate, and attach the bumper to the Cherokee. Make sure the bumper is aligned with the body properly and tighten all the mounting bolts at this time.