Rugged Ridge RRC Side Armor Guard Plate Kit; Black (07-18 Jeep Wrangler JK 4 Door)

Video Review & Installation

I'm Ryan from ExtremeTerrain.com, and this is my review of the Rugged Ridge RRC Side Armor Guard kit, fitting all 2007 and up JKs that already have the Rugged Ridge RRC Side Armor installed. These are designed to work specifically with that side armor, they'll bolt right up to that side armor. Although if you have other side armor, these are not going to work or will require some modification. These are available for both the two-door and the four-door JK, so make sure you get the right setup for you.Today we're gonna talk through the installation of these, which I am going to give a two out of three wrenches, because there is some drilling involved in getting these installed. These come with predrilled holes in them, but your side armor is not predrilled. So you have to drill some holes in your side armor and use the self tapping screws that are included in this kit to get these bolted up. We're also going to talk about the construction and a few of the features of these. So this is for those of you who have already purchased and installed the Rugged Ridge RRC Side Armor but want a little bit of a different look and a little bit more function out of it. Now the side armor does have open rails on the top that do make a okay step. However, by adding this kit on top of it, you have a large, flat stepping surface. It does have some dimples in it, which can add to grip. And it just makes it a much more functional step without taking away from the protection that the side armor already provides. These side armor guards are made of steel and covered in a textured black powder coat finish. It is the same textured black powder coat finish as the side armor itself, so these do look good together. They look like they're designed to go together because they are. They're both made by Rugged Ridge and these will bolt right up after you drill a couple of holes. As you can see here, the front plates do have the Rugged Ridge logo etched into them, which is common for a lot of Rugged Ridge products. Some of you don't mind that, some of you like advertising the brands of the parts you purchase. Personally, I don't love having the logo there but I do like the functionality of these pieces.As far as getting these installed, as I said before, I'm giving this a two out of three wrenches. There is no need to drill into the body of your Jeep or the frame of your Jeep. You're only drilling into your RRC Side Armor but because there is some drilling involved, and that's not something all of you will have a comfort level with, I am going to give this two out of three wrenches. As far as the actual installation process goes, all you're going to have to do is hold the guard up to the side armor, mark the holes. There are six in the front and six in the rear on either side. So you'll mark those holes using a nice sharp drill bit to drill out the holes and then use the self-tabbing screws that come in this kit to attach these onto your side armor. The whole process shouldn't take you more than an hour to complete and you won't need any specialty tools. Just a drill and a good, sharp drill bit, and also a Phillips head screwdriver to install the self tapping screws. This guard kit comes in at right around $130. And for just a couple of pieces of metal, that might seem a little bit steep at first. But these are contoured to fit exactly onto your RRC Side Armor. They are stamped to give it a little bit of a nicer look but also provide a little bit more grip, when you have muddy boots or snow on your shoes. So, all in all, because these are designed to work right with your side armor, they will install pretty easily after you get those holes drilled. I would say that these are going to be worth the cost for the added functionality and the added look that you get when you purchase them.So if you already have the Rugged Ridge RRC Side Armor installed on your JK but you wanna change up the look and add some functionality with a larger stepping surface, these are going to be a really nice option as long as you're okay drilling a few holes in your side armor. So that's my review of the Rugged Ridge RRC Side Armor Guard kit, fitting all 2007 and up JKs that have the Rugged Ridge RRC Side Armor installed, that you can find right here at ExtremeTerrain.com.