RPG Offroad traction bars creaking noise

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smurfslayer

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KHC Torque Arm.

Great option for the Jen Too and honestly, it makes a night and day difference in predictability when the rear gets all wrapped up.

There was an issue with the differential shield, included in the group buy, was designed for a pumpkin with a specific pattern. Apparently, there were multiple suppliers of the pumpkins, so this presented a problem. What happened was the the diff would rock in the diff shield cradle and a couple users had trouble with it ruining the bearing / leaking. I didn’t install the shield but will, once I hit it with a plasma cutter to relieve it. There’s a thread on it somewhere, but the issue can be worked around.

I test fitted my shield, and hand tightened, and spoke to KHC. We mutually concluded I had a pumpkin from another supplier and I did not install the diff shield.

Cool things about the T/A: you can install it in your driveway, without a lift, using nothing but hand tools. A couple of ‘ambiguities’ about the install instructions, namely what to do with the rear brake hoses as you need to relocate and bend a bracket, but workable.

Once install is complete, effects are immediate and tangible. Wheel hop & axle wrap is all but eliminated. The truck tracks straight while you spin the rears up. If you drove Raptor Assault in a Jen Too, you know that ‘thump, thump, thump, thump’ as the truck scrambles for traction in the dirt when you floor it. That’s gone.

On the Jen Too, I absolutely would modify the stock (rear) suspension - either with a torque arm or traction bars, especially if you are hard on the throttle in low traction conditions. I have no other suspension mods - well, ok .. wheels that are 14# per lighter than stock, but no lift, level, etc. but yeah the mid 20th century tech on the Jen Juan and Jen Too trucks are worth buttoning up for hard use.
 
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Guyzer

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Had trouble uploading video. Tried again. Not sure why the video is not showing, just audio came through.
 

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Reaper308

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KHC Torque Arm.

Great option for the Jen Too and honestly, it makes a night and day difference in predictability when the rear gets all wrapped up.

There was an issue with the differential shield, included in the group buy, was designed for a pumpkin with a specific pattern. Apparently, there were multiple suppliers of the pumpkins, so this presented a problem. What happened was the the diff would rock in the diff shield cradle and a couple users had trouble with it ruining the bearing / leaking. I didn’t install the shield but will, once I hit it with a plasma cutter to relieve it. There’s a thread on it somewhere, but the issue can be worked around.

I test fitted my shield, and hand tightened, and spoke to KHC. We mutually concluded I had a pumpkin from another supplier and I did not install the diff shield.

Cool things about the T/A: you can install it in your driveway, without a lift, using nothing but hand tools. A couple of ‘ambiguities’ about the install instructions, namely what to do with the rear brake hoses as you need to relocate and bend a bracket, but workable.

Once install is complete, effects are immediate and tangible. Wheel hop & axle wrap is all but eliminated. The truck tracks straight while you spin the rears up. If you drove Raptor Assault in a Jen Too, you know that ‘thump, thump, thump, thump’ as the truck scrambles for traction in the dirt when you floor it. That’s gone.

On the Jen Too, I absolutely would modify the stock (rear) suspension - either with a torque arm or traction bars, especially if you are hard on the throttle in low traction conditions. I have no other suspension mods - well, ok .. wheels that are 14# per lighter than stock, but no lift, level, etc. but yeah the mid 20th century tech on the Jen Juan and Jen Too trucks are worth buttoning up for hard use.
Glad your happy with the KHC torque arm I’m thinking of doing it!
 
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Guyzer

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Yes, I took the truck back to RPG Offroad and they added lube to the bushings and torqued the bolts and the creaking is gone. Yay! Shout out to Kyle who took care of the matter and gave me a shirt and some stickers for my patience. The truck sounds good as new and happy with the stability of the rear. I spun the tires in some gravel and on the road and no hop, hop, hop. The traction bars are very stealth and are tucked up nicely so the untrained eye would not even know. No apparent loss(or very little) in ground clearance.
 

WillieFlo

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Yes, I took the truck back to RPG Offroad and they added lube to the bushings and torqued the bolts and the creaking is gone. Yay! Shout out to Kyle who took care of the matter and gave me a shirt and some stickers for my patience. The truck sounds good as new and happy with the stability of the rear. I spun the tires in some gravel and on the road and no hop, hop, hop. The traction bars are very stealth and are tucked up nicely so the untrained eye would not even know. No apparent loss(or very little) in ground clearance.
I like my RPG traction bars and they do work, now that they are on with modifications by my installer; but fitment issues and crappy customer service has me never wanting to buy another product from RPG again.
 
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Guyzer

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I feel your frustration with the customer service department. We have several choices in tractions bars so the poor customer service that I originally received and you experienced should be a definitle concern for someone considering their products. Personally, I think the products are top notch, beautifully designed, and most importantly... they work! I especially like how they are the most stealth bars out there and they are essentially no lower than the side steps. Great design, great fit, multiple color choices for matching your Raptor shock colors. I had them installed at their shop but the installer forgot to lube the bushing(duh!) and it sounded light a rusty old truck every time I accelerated or decelerated. I asked them if their instructions call for lubing the bushing but he did not know the answer and I did not see a video on their website. I also did not get the install instructions as they installed it while I rode my mountain bike around the local hills.
 
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Guyzer

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Update on the squeaking noise. I finally got a hold of RPG and they had me come back to their shop to look a their traction bars they installed. They said there was no lube on the bushings when they installed them so they lubed it up and the noise went away for a little while. Well the creaking noise is back after six months and it can be heard from inside the cab. I have not been offroading so the suspension is not getting beat up. The traction bars definitely improve the power delivery, eliminate wheel hop and look really nice, but the squeaking noise is a bummer. Maybe the bushings are low quality or maybe they require servicing every 6 months. Maybe they should be designed with Zerk fittings to lube them. I'm gonna reach out to RPG to see what they can do. I am curious if anyone else has this experience with RPG traction bars or any other brand traction bars.
 

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