**UPDATED - PLEASE READ**

I will keep this upper section up to date with current bumper status and general info. If you want ALL the details, please set aside your requirement for instant answers and instant gratification, and sit down with a coffee and read through the whole thread - just like the good ol' forum days before Facebook and IG! (I can make that joke because I'm old now and used to spend as much time on this forum as most people do today on IG ;)

General Bumper Info:

There are two components to our bumper design: The "Lower Bumper" (LB3R) and the "Upper Bumper (UB3R)

Fitment: ALL 96-02' 4Runners
Weight: Approx 45lbs for the LB3R (true weight TBD)
Frame modifications: Frame rail end flaps removed - like all aftermarket 3rd Gen 4Runner bumpers that I am aware of (full instruction (written & video) will be released with product at official launch)
Bodylifts: The LB3R and UB3R are designed to accommodate no-bodylift and 1" bodylifts out of the box


Render of the LB3R with factory OEM 96-98' Upper bumper (ignore the tweak in the bumper we had scanned!)

!PT4 - Truck Assembly For Forum 2 by Tamarack, on Flickr

Render of the LB3R with our fully design UB3R:

Untitled by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

Bumper Configurations:

Any 96-02' 4Runner can run the LB3R with a 96-98' OEM Upper Bumper (the chrome factory bumper on the 96-98 4Runners) OR with our upcoming UB3R.

1. You have a 96-98' 4Runner:
- you can run our LB3R with your factory OEM Upper bumper
- or you can run our LB3R with our fully designed UB3R

2. You have a 99'-02' 4Runner:
- you can run our LB3R with a factory 96-98 OEM Upper bumper
- or you can run our LB3R with our fully designed UB3R














Progression of the Design:

Below is the first post when we starting talking about the design. We have received a ton of great feedback from forum members on how to make the product better - props to the 3rd Gen 4Runner community, you guys rock!
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 ;)


!PT4 - Truck Assembly For Forum 2 by Tamarack, on Flickr


!PT4 - Truck Assembly For Forum 1 by Tamarack, on Flickr

Thanks for your time!
Addison

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

I really like the design

I'm liking the along the oem design too.
How bout incorporating a 2" front receiver option?

I look forward to seeing a final design and yes I would purchase your product.

Second on adding a front receiver hitch. For folks who are allergic to weight having a receiver mounted winch is a great solution.

Will this be compatible with typical aftermarket skids (like Savage)?

Yes to all of the above

Bumping this back.

Working on some final adjustments before it goes to cutting for the prototype. I’ve been trying to find a clean 99+ OEM bumper valance to model that variation but have not turned any up as of yet.

Working on the OEM bumper valance replacement in the background as well. I’ll have some initial sketches up soon for some feedback on that.

Cool! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! Are you still in Nelson? I get up to BC when I can (haven't for a year+ of course), but usually the Sunshine Coast/Squamish area (thinking about pick-up options rather than shipping if this goes live/retail).

Good luck with the project

Edit - BC is a big territory and would cost me another $200 in gas - it would be a nice trip, but I'll opt for shipping if that day comes...

Yes, still out in Nelson. Would be rad to meetup if you’re even in the neighbourhood. Good biking and wheeling/camping in these parts ;)


UPDATE

A couple notes…

I’ll post pics of the receiver tube cutout below the winch plate when I get back on my computer.

Bumper had to have a fairly large revision once showing the plans to the shop who will be manufacturing them with us. Aesthetically it will barely change but that’s where the delay is coming from on my end.

Hoping to have the #1 cut in the next 10 days.

Next steps:

- Begin working on the “fat lip” version for the 99-02’ OEM bumper valence
- Complete the full “off-road” replacement version (will be available in both steel and aluminum) and will be interchangeable on the bumper with either of the factory versions (so you can even upgrade later if you want)
- Work on brackets to mount LED pods in the factory turn signal locations on both the 96-98’ and 99’-02’ bumper variants

Also have a slider design that I’m just about done. I will share that pretty quick here as well to gather some feedback.

Can’t wait to see these.

See update above. We made a provision under the winch plate to mount a 2” receiver tube. I’ll have some screenshots before the end of the weekend.

Good stuff. Hoping there's more 2" body lift demands so it can become an option.

So excited to see this!

Really would like one of these for my ‘99 limited . I live in hawaii any idea of how much shipping would be to me?