Ali Mansour
Brand Manager, 4WD & Sport Utility
Whether you're building your '97-'06 Jeep Wrangler TJ for hardcore rock crawling, light trail wheeling, or weekend cruises through the mall parking lot, it's important to keep the center of gravity low. This increases stability in off-camber situations and creates a safer and more controlled vehicle both on and off road.
One of the long-standing drawbacks of maintaining a low stance with the '97-'06 Wrangler is the long and low rocker panels.
With the rockers made of nothing more than light-duty sheetmetal, it doesn't take much to damage them off road. Couple this with their low clearance and straight-edge design, and they become an easy-to-damage and major hangup point when crawling over obstacles.
To address this clearance and strength issue, EVO Manufacturing has developed a new high-clearance rocker armor kit it calls Boatside Bombers. What makes this kit unique is that the 3/16-inch-plate bolt-on armor not only strengthens the rockers and protects the Jeep's tub, but also converts the factory rocker panel lines of the '97-'06 TJ into a sleek and sloped design.
In addition to netting more ground clearance than conventional rocker protection, the Boatside's sloped shape allows the TJ to slide over obstacles more easily. The kit does require a modest amount of cutting and drilling but is an easy driveway install and doesn't require any special tools or welding.
For more info on the Boatside Bomber and web-exclusive photos of our install, check out 4wheeloffroad.com.
Raising The Bar For the ultimate in high clearance and low center of gravity you can combine the EVO Boatside Bomber kit with the company's highline fender system. Since our '97 Wrangler was fitted with both we were able to squeeze on 42-inch tires under the Jeep with only 3 1/2-inch suspension and 1-inch body lifts! There is also an exterior high-clearance slider option for those looking for that extra bit of protection and a helpful step in.
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