I know there’s lots of people on this forum with very tricked out rigs. For a while I’ve been thinking about getting steel recovery bumpers. For the obvious reasons. Winch mount. Recovery points. The 4XI bumpers have hi lift cut outs which is a neat idea for sure.

The rear bumper is mostly for clearance, and or getting a larger spare mounted and it’s no secret, the rear bumpers drag on rocks way before the front bumper does.

Here’s my question. How negatively does a heavy rear swing out bumper affect say steep uphill climbing performance? Is it enough to notice and take weight off of the front wheels when climbing the steep stuff? I just can’t help but think that much weight that far back and having the spare that high isn’t going to carry some consequences.

Is my concern legit or am I just over thinking it and need to go for it?