Quote:
Originally Posted by rickashay
Hey Guys/gals,
Long story short, we've (Tamarack) been working on a OEM+ bumper design for the 3rd gens for ~6 months.
Background & Goals:
We've built a lot of trucks and ran a lot of aftermarket bumpers, and ran a lot of different camping/wheeling configurations, and we seem to be constantly trying to simplify (lighten?) our truck(s) as time and experience continue. I often compare the 4WD scene (I hate the word "Overlanding") to the mountain bike scene - bikes started out beefy and heavy and built like tanks, but as the technology and time has passed, bikes have become more evolved, more advanced, lighter, and stronger. Our goal with this project was:
A) Provide a winch mounting point (duh)
B) Incorporate recovery points that are more or less in line with the frame rails (reduce the lever-arm effect during a recovery - lots of bumpers have the recovery points mounted too high/offset from the frame rails IMO)
C) Make the bumper fairly modular and allow for different user groups to spec it to their uses
D) Try and tie in to the OEM aesthetic as much as possible - "thus OEM+"
E) Keep weight down to a minimum
Below is the prototype that we will be cutting in the coming weeks and I will be running on my 4Runner.
A couple interesting points about the current design:
- Approx 50lbs using the factory chrome 96-98' bumper
- 3/16" steel
- Will be a Weld-It-Yourself kit with most of the major components being pre-bent. This will minimize welding, increase the consistent level of quality of appearance for bumpers out on the market (varying degree of welder skill), and allow a flat-pack/cheaper shipping.
- Lower front skid bolts on, so access to winch mounting points will be a breeze
- We will be making brackets to house 2x LED pods in the factory turn signal locations
- Accommodates 0 and 1" bodylifts into one design and it can be interchanged back and forth
- We will later be producing a full aluminum/steel replacement for the OEM chrome bumper valence, that will be a direct swap, but modernize the OEM design while increasing strength for the more hard-core user
We are a ways out from production on this and still in the prototype phase. I wanted to throw this out there to the awesome T4R forum community and GATHER SOME FEEDBACK.
- Would you buy a bumper like this? (pricing still in the works - will know soon)
- Any thoughts, ideas, questions, or recommendations on the design? (please ignore the slightly bent OEM chrome bumper I had scanned... it should straighten itself out when I bolt everything up ;)
Thanks for your time!
Addison
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hey. i am looking out of the corner of my eye for bumpers to replace the OEM one but that aren't the full-on bull bar or TJM-style stuff. slightly more refined and not quite as giant; i don't really want to upgrade a ton of components just for this. i do want something that will protect against deer, which we have in spades here. it would be nice to have something that won't look dramatically different from the OEM bumper, but 'just enough' so it's not looking like a rebuilt fat lip bumper.
that said, i'm curious to see how your design evolves, and i wonder how it would integrate the OEM bumper and still offer protection for the headlights, grille, condenser, and radiator. we totaled a subaru this way, and i really don't want to lose my baby (my 4R) to another deer. do your modularity plans include the possibility of adding on a refined (loaded word, sorry) bull bar sort of top portion?
another consideration: i am no welder, and frankly don't like my neighbor (a professional welder) enough to beg for his help. would you consider an option for supplying a bare but welded product, if the customer were to supply as many exact measurements as you need?
edit: my bumper is a little bent just like that. makes me feel like i was looking at a scan of mine :-) oh and a winch mount wouldn't be in the cards for my 4R; i have a truck i go beat up on the trails. would it be straightforward to offer a no-winch option?
thanks
