JCR Half Roof Rack install rant

[BarelyAwake]

JCR is the focus of this rant about installation instructions, complete parts delivery and general customer service. However, they are not unique and this shouldn’t be interpreted as targeting them uniquely in the market. Almost every accessory added to the JT has had issues with terrible instructions, incomplete parts or some issue.

Feel like those who have been in the Jeep world for a while are probably used to this situation and expect it. For those of us new to this world with experience with other brand’s accessories, it may be shocking how prevalent and widespread the problem is in the Jeep world.

JCR Half Rack issues specifically -
- No instructions provided. Small card with QR code saying ”Help us go paperless.” Fine, I can do that.
- QR code takes you to a Victory 4x4 page(s) with hundreds of products. Fine, I’ll search.
- Search turns up no results. Either the search function is broken or the JT products are not listed.
- Go to JCR site product page and find the instructions. OK, now we’re on our way even with lots of time wasted.
- First step lists tools needed - a couple SAE allen wrenches. Fine. Except the hardware provided is metric.
- You will need a 4 and 5mm Allen wrench.
- Mass quantities of screws, washers and nuts provided. Far more than required.
- Instructions progress easy enough - until the mounting brackets.
- The “M” mounting bracket section doesn’t specify the bolts to be used. Sort through the provided 2 bags of bolts and process of elimination identify the likely 8 bolts required.

Here’s where it gets stupid -
- The M bracket mounting nuts, welded on to the brackets, are SAE - 5/16 coarse thread, bolts for which are not provided. (The likely 8 screws were metric and threads did not match).
- You will need to go to a hardware store and buy 8 stainless steel, 1 inch 5/16 coarse thread bolts to complete the install.
- Instructions say to line up with seam on the cab back. Not unless you don’t want to remove your roof panels or use a Bestop soft top. Needs to be moved back.
- Instructions say clip the front trim and will use in a later step. Never referenced again In the instructions.
- The metric screws provided are really low quality.

Again, JCR is not unique.
- VSS solar: Terrible instructions and missing installation kit.
- RLD: No instructions or terrible instructions. No idea if my load bars (both different) are installed in the right direction, order or orientation. No Idea how much torque should be used on the cap mounting (not provided). Instruction images reference different product mounts than provided.
- TuffStuff: There are included parts which are not referenced in the instructions. Do I need these? What do I need them for? First instruction step is “Mount the shower enclosure.” That’s it. In fairness, the remaining 20 pages dedicated to unrolling and opening arms are very detailed and professionally done.
- Rokblokz: Ok, this may be me. Others say very easy install. For me they were a PITA and required improvisation to get on.

To be fair - here’s some good experiences:
- RedLine Tuning hood struts - Highly underrated addition. Been very helpful and with great professionally done simple instructions.
- Rigid lights and cowl mounts.
- BulletProof and CMM interior mounts.

The accessories are not cheap. Any - as with the JCR product - the final product may nicely manufactured and very useful. The difficult installation process created through poor instructions or missing parts leaves a bad impression and reluctance to purchase anything else from the supplier.

Rant off. Been frustrated repeatedly and finally had my fill today.

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[stingrey]

I think companies are pinching pennies with the whole 'help us go paperless' scenario on the premiss of being more environmentally aware.
They ship in giant cardboard (paper) boxes and are expecting us to believe they're concerned with saving paper and the environment. Throw in a few illustrated pieces of paper with clear instructions and don't anger your customers.
Imagine you live in a remote region, without cellular/internet and they ask you to scan a QR code.

 

[FLUndertaker]

Agree the QR scan thing is a load of crap. When I’m working on my rig or in the shop my phone is usually in the house. I wrench to get away from it! To require me to have it in hand, usually greasy nasty hand pisses me off. Trying to follow direction on a 2.5” screen trying to zoom in and out is ridiculous. I want 1st generation paper instructions specific to the exact product I bought preferably with color photos that I can lay next to the parts I am working on. If the manufacturer has to tack on $.50 for 5 pages of color copies, I’ll gladly pay it. Don’t insult my intelligence with save the planet rationale that nobody believes.

 

[Jonny A]

I got an order of a bunch of stuff from Quadratec. Very clear and concise directions

 

[DesertRunner]

@RebelOffRoad, @Quadratec, CMM, and iKamper have been fantastic in terms of quality and customer service. All these for me are quantified by the buy once cry once philosophy.

 

[Ride On Joe]

Thank you for posting. I like the look of the rack but from the sounds of it, I need to look at other options.

 

[Ultraviolet Offroad]

I have the @JcrOffroad half rack. I actually watched their videos a few times prior to receiving the rack. I can only speak on my experience, but the hardware I received was exactly what was outlined in their install video.

 

[GobiJT]

I've the rack on order. Supposed to here tomorrow. Fingers crossed that everything I ordered comes in and is not damaged.

 

[Jaydebe]

I have the @JcrOffroad half rack. I actually watched their videos a few times prior to receiving the rack. I can only speak on my experience, but the hardware I received was exactly what was outlined in their install video.

Same here. That said, the hardware is soft metal bolts and none of the starkeys I found actually fit well. There was enough slop in the bolt that even using hand tools had the star threads bending.

As someone who does renovations and uses star keys daily, they takes months to wear out normally.

Otherwise, I think is was a 45 min build and install, another 10-15 min to tighten down.
Rechecked for tight after a few hundred miles.

 

[LostWoods]

Same here. That said, the hardware is soft metal bolts and none of the starkeys I found actually fit well. There was enough slop in the bolt that even using hand tools had the star threads bending.

As someone who does renovations and uses star keys daily, they takes months to wear out normally.

Otherwise, I think is was a 45 min build and install, another 10-15 min to tighten down.
Rechecked for tight after a few hundred miles.

First thing I do when I buy something is to check out the hardware and if I don't like what I see, I just drop an order with McMaster. Nothing pisses me off more than a company who thinks a low-strength fastener is acceptable but isn't willing to spring for stainless.

But for OP, companies make mistakes. What matters is how frequently it happens and how fast they fix it. I know most have had positive experiences with JCR and the fact they do detailed videos for most of their products is definitely going above and beyond enough that I forgive them passing on paper instructions.

 

[immaechu]

I have the @JcrOffroad half rack. I actually watched their videos a few times prior to receiving the rack. I can only speak on my experience, but the hardware I received was exactly what was outlined in their install video.

same here. I have the full rack and I watched the video a few times where I memorized what to do. All the hardware were correct. Yes, they gave more than enough but I'm fine with that. I can use it for other things in the future.

 

[JcrOffroad]

The extra hardware is because we use the same hardware pack on multiple products to save shelf space in shipping and receiving. We apologize for the confusion on the rack install hardware, we will update the PDF document to make it more clear what goes where as soon as we can.

We also have decided to update the cards that ship with the products to make it more clear where instructions can be found.

 

[ThunderfromSea]

JCR is the focus of this rant about installation instructions, complete parts delivery and general customer service. However, they are not unique and this shouldn’t be interpreted as targeting them uniquely in the market. Almost every accessory added to the JT has had issues with terrible instructions, incomplete parts or some issue.

Feel like those who have been in the Jeep world for a while are probably used to this situation and expect it. For those of us new to this world with experience with other brand’s accessories, it may be shocking how prevalent and widespread the problem is in the Jeep world.

JCR Half Rack issues specifically -
- No instructions provided. Small card with QR code saying ”Help us go paperless.” Fine, I can do that.
- QR code takes you to a Victory 4x4 page(s) with hundreds of products. Fine, I’ll search.
- Search turns up no results. Either the search function is broken or the JT products are not listed.
- Go to JCR site product page and find the instructions. OK, now we’re on our way even with lots of time wasted.
- First step lists tools needed - a couple SAE allen wrenches. Fine. Except the hardware provided is metric.
- You will need a 4 and 5mm Allen wrench.
- Mass quantities of screws, washers and nuts provided. Far more than required.
- Instructions progress easy enough - until the mounting brackets.
- The “M” mounting bracket section doesn’t specify the bolts to be used. Sort through the provided 2 bags of bolts and process of elimination identify the likely 8 bolts required.

Here’s where it gets stupid -
- The M bracket mounting nuts, welded on to the brackets, are SAE - 5/16 coarse thread, bolts for which are not provided. (The likely 8 screws were metric and threads did not match).
- You will need to go to a hardware store and buy 8 stainless steel, 1 inch 5/16 coarse thread bolts to complete the install.
- Instructions say to line up with seam on the cab back. Not unless you don’t want to remove your roof panels or use a Bestop soft top. Needs to be moved back.
- Instructions say clip the front trim and will use in a later step. Never referenced again In the instructions.
- The metric screws provided are really low quality.

Again, JCR is not unique.
- VSS solar: Terrible instructions and missing installation kit.
- RLD: No instructions or terrible instructions. No idea if my load bars (both different) are installed in the right direction, order or orientation. No Idea how much torque should be used on the cap mounting (not provided). Instruction images reference different product mounts than provided.
- TuffStuff: There are included parts which are not referenced in the instructions. Do I need these? What do I need them for? First instruction step is “Mount the shower enclosure.” That’s it. In fairness, the remaining 20 pages dedicated to unrolling and opening arms are very detailed and professionally done.
- Rokblokz: Ok, this may be me. Others say very easy install. For me they were a PITA and required improvisation to get on.

To be fair - here’s some good experiences:
- RedLine Tuning hood struts - Highly underrated addition. Been very helpful and with great professionally done simple instructions.
- Rigid lights and cowl mounts.
- BulletProof and CMM interior mounts.

The accessories are not cheap. Any - as with the JCR product - the final product may nicely manufactured and very useful. The difficult installation process created through poor instructions or missing parts leaves a bad impression and reluctance to purchase anything else from the supplier.

Rant off. Been frustrated repeatedly and finally had my fill today.

I get it on the crazy instructions written by third graders and extra trips to the hardware store for missing parts. I think I’ve become numb. That said, I’ve found the best starting point is ALWAYS YouTube. Expecting written directions that are understandable appears to be a thing of the past now; although I’ve slowly started to give credit to folks using YouTube. The visual is worth more than paper- and JCR has done a good job with their install videos so far for me.

 

[Blade1668]

Old thread but I think I can address part of the current thinking about many accessory manufacturers. A very large number of customers do the buy vehicle drive to 4×4 shop whip out C.C. and say I want this and put it on.
Part #2 kudos to RockHard and other companies that do great videos on installing their products and have good to great instructions. Some expect the nut installing it to have a base level of experience in doing projects and building stuff.
IMHO

 

[cmb396]

I literally put mine together this evening. Took about 20 minutes by my self, and I looked at the pic on the website. VERY easy to do.

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