 | Accessories which I installed, but later removed for one reason or another:
 | Trailer (Receiver) Hitch:
| Ease of Installation: |
Not Too Bad |
| Product Usefulness: |
Couldn't Live Without It! |
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This was one of the first accessories I installed on my
Jeep; an extremely useful item. I used it to hold my bicycle rack, the "hitch
hauler" for extra cargo space, tow my utility trailer, and as a rear tow point (using
the hitch pin, never the hitch ball). It's a very strong (frame-mounted) and
well-made receiver hitch, but it hung below the rear bumper and my departure angle
suffered somewhat as a result. I later removed it when I installed my
Olympic rock bumpers with integrated receivers.
By the way, the hitch pictured below has a 2-inch receiver. The
Mopar receiver is only a 1.25-inch receiver, which means it will accommodate a very
limited number of accessories (mostly sold only by Chrysler for lots of money). In
fact, the Mopar hitch itself is also very expensive. I wouldn't recommend
it at all.
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| Mopar Side Steps:
| Ease of Installation: |
Piece of Cake |
| Product Usefulness: |
Save your Money |
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I installed these so it would be easier for short people
(i.e., the wife and kid) to get into the Jeep. These are very attractive and
functional side steps. Problem was, they got hung up on all sorts of stuff on the
trail. I decided to remove them before a tree or large rock did it for me. The
wife and kid now have to climb up to get into the Jeep. I installed some of those
nylon web hand holds on the roll bar to help them up.
P.S. - please don't tell my wife I said she was short.
Thanks. ;o)
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| Husky Floor Liners:
| Ease of Installation: |
Piece of Cake |
| Product Usefulness: |
Real Glad I Have Them |
These probably shouldn't even be listed on this page, cause I've
since reinstalled them in the Jeep (but just for Winter use only). The Huskies are also a very
functional and attractive accessory, although a bit pricey. They work great if you
have carpet in your Jeep. In fact, the instructions specifically tell you not to
remove the carpet. The reason (I learned from experience) is that if you put the
floor liners directly on the metal floor, the dirt that collects between the two acts like
sand paper. Part of my driver floorboard is now gray (primer)! On the other
hand, the problem with having carpet in my Jeep is when I remove all the windows and the
doors during the summer. One day I got off work after it had been raining most of
the day to find my Husky Floor Liners floating inside of my Jeep! Now I
wasn't about to remove and dry out the carpet every time it rained, so I removed it all
together (at least for the summer months).
Then winter came, and I thought that reinstalling the carpet would help keep the Jeep
warmer. I trimmed the carpet so that it just fit under the floor liners (and over
the center hump). This makes it a bit easier to remove and reinstall each
season. The Huskies work great in the winter; with lots of capacity to hold snow and
slush.
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| Front Grille Screen:
| Ease of Installation: |
Piece of Cake |
| Product Usefulness: |
Save Your Money! |
Even though my TJ is a trail Jeep, aesthetics are still important to
me. And I love the classic slots in the front grille. Driving through some of
the deep mud holes in Ohio, my radiator was getting clogged up. I thought that a
front grille screen might help keep some of the mud out; it didn't. It's only good
for keeping the big stuff out; rocks, branches, small animals, pedestrians (just kidding),
etc, etc. I ended up taking it off; mainly just because I didn't like the way it
looked.
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Copyright 1998 - 2008 Ó by Glenn Bontly