Rancho Half Doors and SpiderShade Skins

[MattJ]

I recently installed these and wanted to offer advice or answer questions if any other BSJ members are considering this product. They look great, but I had to make some adjustments to the product in order to get the doors to fit. Lots of posts in other Jeep forums on these products, but I wanted to let the BSJ family know that I can be a source of info here.

[BlackNBlue-ISH]

Post up the modifications, if the mod is worth the time it takes and cost for the product, it may be a viable option for people to purchase.

[MattJ]

OK - here's what you need to know.

1) The doors and skins look great. You can get the skins in colors that match or accent your Jeep. That's where the good news ends.

2) Lots of posts in other forums about which side mirrors fit easily and which don't. I got lucky and ordered the ones that fit before I realized you have to be careful with this choice. Here they are: http://a.co/aTDbB4S

3) Lots of posts in other forums about how to fix the rear doors, which often don't fit. The tube frame of the door will hit the sidewall of the Jeep before the latch can snap onto the strike plate. There is a lot of fury online about this issue, and a lot of extreme fixes that people have tried. On a hunch, I tried a simple fix and it worked great.

4) I used four plastic spacers to create a gap between the latch and the tube frame of the door. This allows the latch to reach the strike plate at the same time the tube frame hits the sidewall. As a bonus, the latch and frame both sit snug and tight, eliminating any rattle when the door is closed, so I didn't need to install the rubber spacers for the tube frame that are included for this purpose. I don't think anyone else has posted this fix online, so it is officially a BSJ exclusive!

5) I do still have one problem I can't figure out - maybe the BSJ family can offer ideas on this one! The nylock nut that is supposed to hold the door into the hinge is impossible to tighten because there is no space to get a wrench on it. The nut doesn't serve much of a purpose, so I can live with leaving them finger-tight. But I'm wondering if there is some sort of small collar with a hex screw insert that I could slide up the bolt and tighten. Or drill a hole in the bolt and use a cotter pin? Or is there a special wrench that is made for nuts like this in tight spots?

[MDSRACING398]

1/4 inch socket wobble extension. I haven't had nuts on jeep doors since day 2. Lot easier to change without

[MattJ]

Thanks - I thought about a wobble extension but can't even get a socket onto the nut. I like your idea of just leaving the nuts off altogether!

[BlackNBlue-ISH]

I took the nuts off 4 years ago, not sure where they went. Like Mark said, just use a wobble extension and a thinwall socket.

[BoomStickTMO]

Grab the correct sized open ended wrench and get it horizontal like the screw (in between the door frame and the door. Then slide the open ends onto the nut (only two side of the nut will be touching the wrench), then tighten using 30 degree turns. It's a pita, but can be done. Couple of things to do before that... get some painters tape and completely cover your wrench, that will minimize the risk to your paint. I don't use nuts on either sets of my doors (half & full) because I'm lazy and the top and bottom of my hinges are already rusted to hell... which leads me to my second thing, get some rubber washers and put them between the top and bottom sections of the screw, or one day you'll look like this... . Good luck man.


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[MattJ]

Just saw this at the dealer showroom in Hudson last week. They couldn't figure out how to get the rear doors to fit! Wonder if I should share my fix or let their team of mechanics figure it out . . .