This website does not receive financial compensation. The product links are not affiliate links, and I have no connection with Rough Country or SteerSmarts. There is no ad revenue or compensation of any kind from anyone.

Rough Country Review

In June 2022, my wife and I were thrilled to purchase her dream vehicle: a 2017 Jeep Wrangler Sahara. It wasn’t brand new, but it was new to her and something she had dreamed of since she was a child. To complete her vision, we added a lift, larger tires and wheels. Working at a Toyota dealership that also carries Rough Country products made them the easy choice. In hindsight, I should have done more research and chose a different brand.

After installation, we had an alignment done, and the necessary adjustments were made to the ECU for the new tire and wheel size. I warned my wife that this Jeep wouldn’t handle like her previous 4Runner and that absolutely proved to be true. While the ride wasn’t great, the bump steer was manageable as long as you weren’t driving too fast, turning too quickly, or encountering sudden elevation changes at speed. It could be driven at highway speeds but it wouldn't be your first choice to take on a long trip.

Over time, both the ride quality and steering deteriorated significantly, to the point where it felt unsafe on the highway. I took the Jeep to Stemen Align & Brake, local experts who had worked on it before. After inspecting the vehicle, they informed me that the ball joints had over 40% wear, and the bushings in the track bar were shot. They recommended replacing the ball joints and track bar. Stemen’s isn’t in the parts business, so they suggested a track bar from SteerSmarts, noting that they’ve seen a lot of "garbage products" from various brands, but SteerSmarts parts consistently stood out in terms of quality.

I was shocked. Before scheduling the repairs, I wanted to do my research and inspect the vehicle myself. At home, I climbed under the Jeep and was appalled by the rust on the Rough Country components. This Jeep had been driven in snow only twice and spent most of its time in a climate-controlled garage. For these parts to rust like this after just 7,000 easy miles was unbelievable. I can only imagine what they must look like on daily drivers. Then there's the ball joint situation; there is no good reason for a pair of "heavy duty" ball joints to wear to 40% inside of 7,000 miles.

After giving everything a proper inspection, I reached out to the SteerSmarts, gave them the list of installed components and described the issue I was having. They gave me a list of parts I would need, which included:

Additionally, I swapped the front sway bar end links to the back, which corrected the sway bar angle, and replaced the rear links with a set from Rugged Ridge. These worked well, but the Rough Country rear relocation bracket didn’t leave space for the new end links, so I removed and discarded it. The Rough Country rear track bar required repeated applications of PB Blaster to adjust it for the correct length.

The difference in quality between the SteerSmarts and Rough Country parts was immediately noticeable. The SteerSmarts parts coating felt more durable, and the weight difference was significant. After installing the new components, I took the Jeep back to Stemen’s for new ball joints and another alignment. The ball joints they installed were from Napa and came with a lifetime warranty, including labor. Driving the Jeep home at 80 on the highway, I was both ecstatic and furious. I had wasted so much time and money on inferior products, and I couldn’t believe how unsafe the Jeep had been for my wife to drive with the Rough Country parts installed.

I contacted Rough Country and requested reimbursement for their subpar parts and the cost of replacing the ball joints. My total request was $1,670.50. This amount doesn’t even cover the cost of the SteerSmarts parts, which were worth every penny.