• RME Gear & Apparel

JK heavy duty tire carrier; Teraflex vs Rugged Ridge

D

dbach

Active Member
Location
st george , ut
has anybody compared the rugged ridge jk hd tie carrier [$500] to the one from tera flex [$700]? rugged ridge model looks very similar in the ads to tera flex ,$200 diff is quit a difference. I have seen the tera flex in person [excellent quality ] but not the rugged ridge .
 
Hickey

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Location
Grantsville, Utah
One difference I can see, is the Teraflex hinge has provisions for accessories like a HiLift jack or a fuel can. The Teraflex part has also been on the market for a few years and has a fantastic reputation, where the Rugged Ridge part is new, and virtually no reports from long term use.
I need to get one soon, before I start having tailgate issues.
 
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Greg

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Rugged Ridge parts are pretty cheaply built, IMO.... I've had a few pieces from them that haven't been very impressive. I wouldn't doubt that the Rugged Ridge tire carrier is a copy of the TeraFlex tire carrier, using cheaper materials and no real engineering. For the task that part does, I think you're better off paying a little more for the original, that's properly designed and engineered for the job.

I'm very happy with my TeraFlex tire carrier on my JK, it's been on the Jeep less than a year but has seen a lot of miles and trail time and is holding up great.
 
JoeT

JoeT

Well-Known Member
Location
Herriman
You get what you paid for when it comes to these. Which brand was the first with this design? TeraFlex. Which brand has had a 100,000 load cycle and a 14,000 open/close slam test done to it? TeraFlex. 1,000 hour salt spray testing? TeraFlex. I may be a little bias since I work for TeraFlex, but I have seen in person the differences with all 3 products and that the others come up short.

Buy the real thing and not the "we can't engineer anything ourselves" thing.
 
Rock Taco

Rock Taco

Well-Known Member
Location
Sandy
I've installed quite a few of the Teraflex ones and am amazed how easy they go on. Sold even more and never had one complaint yet.
 
Hickey

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Location
Grantsville, Utah
I'm ready to purchase one of the Teraflex units, but I'm wondering if I NEED the tire carrier part, or can I just use the Teraflex hinge and my factory tire carrier.

My tire fits great as is and I don't need the adjustability, but I want the hinge to avoid damage to the tailgate. I don't want to spend the extra $200 if it really doesn't gain me anything. Am I just being cheap?
 
I Lean

I Lean

Mbryson's hairdresser
Vendor
Location
Utah
Yep. The tailgate can/will get flexible when the spot welds start to crack/pop. It isn't just the hinges that are weaksauce.
 
Hickey

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Location
Grantsville, Utah
I picked up a Teraflex hinged carrier from Impulse offroad yesterday and installed it today. The quality of the aluminum casting is top notch.

Does anyone know what the 4 smaller threaded holes are for? I know the larger threaded holes are for the jack/rotopax mount, but I've never heard what the others are.
 
Skylinerider

Skylinerider

Wandering the desert
Location
Ephraim
Just adding to the praise for the Teraflex tire carrier. I got mine yesterday and had it installed in an hour or so, easy install and very happy with the quality.
 
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