My long-term goal is to get steel bumpers for my 2011 SR5. Right now SSS for the rear and Shrockworks for the front. I wanted a SSS front, but other factors have eliminated that one. Other things were coming first, specifically better undercarriage armor (skids and slides) and a upgraded springs/shocks to carry the weight.
But now things have changed. One, my wife rear-ended a boat and the prop trashed the grill and put a hole in the lower bumper cover. Second, I lightly side-swiped a tree during a reverse turnaround on the trail, which further scratched the lower cover (this is why the SSS bumper won't work). And finally, my dad (who retired about 2 years ago) may be finally running out of welding projects. He's fully capable of building a bumper if I leave the vehicle with him.
My concern is with safety, as this is a 95% daily driver for my wife. With the OEM bumper, a moderate impact (less than 20mph?) is mostly absorbed by the crush cans between the aluminum bumper support and the frame. But if the steel bumper is mounted directly to the frame, any impact will transmit the full force to the frame/occupants. This could cause a moderate impact to trigger the airbags when not needed, and/or bend the main frame instead of just the crush cans. This would factor both in a rear-end collision on the street and a hit on a tree or rock on the trail.
So...
1) Does the ARB bumper hang off the OEM crush cans, or do they incorporate new crush zones in their design?
2) I'm thinking it would be possible to have a 3-way system with a custom bumper:
- The winch would be on a separate beam hard-mounted to the frame, similar to a hidden-mount;
- The vertical weight of the bumper (and anyone standing on the bumper, and/or lifting the truck with a hi-lift under the bumper) would be supported by the primary frame and/or winch frame, but with slotted holes such that;
- The first few inches of longitudinal force on the bumper from external impact would go through either the OEM or hand-build crush cans.
I'd have to work out recovery points, because I don't think the crush cans would handle a hard snatch. Most likely I'd use access holes and the OEM points or else new points mounted to the frame. Or else locate the slotted longitudinal holes such that the bumper is free to move toward the vehicle but would be fixed if pulling away from the vehicle.
Any thoughts on this,
@
1engineer
?
@
marshal
, I saw that the frame horns were damaged in your wreck with the 4x4Labs bumper. Any thoughts from you?
Does this sound even remotely reasonable? Or am I overthinking this; just order the Shrockworks and be done with it?