Best Non-Winch Front Bumper

[Jimbo]

I've been all through the front bumper threads (of which there are a ton).

Looking to replace the front bumper on my 18 limited with a steel or aluminum setup without an integrated winch.

My plan is to have a receive hitch installed, and carry my winch in a cradle for front or rear mounting. I only offroad occasionally, and don't want all that weight 24x7, nor to have the winch exposed to the elements.

That said, having trouble finding the lightest and "shortest" bumper option. No need to have the bumper hang so far forward if I'm not trying to fit a winch into it.

Any suggestions?

 

[btcsxj]

Search

https://www.google.com/search?safe=...7......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71.3AruJkdAhKA

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/219587-cbi-front-receiver-hitch.html

 

[willo]

To answer your question - get an aluminum bumper if weights your thing. The winch mount on these things is only a flat spot with four holes and a mounting point for the fairlead. You can cover that with your license plate.I think you'll have a hard time finding one with a receiver hitch in aluminum however.

Now that that's out of the way...
I'm gonna tell you right now that you will regret the porta-winch idea.

I totally get the less weight mentality. I do. Do you know when my winch is really handy? When someone else gets stuck down the road. This is usually in the winter where I live but not always.

I have winched:
My neighbor out of the ditch. (funny he now has a built 4runner after that)
My neighbors buddy out of the same ditch.
A construction delivery guy a the fork in my road that was iced up.
A tree that trapped my chain saw.
A tree that fell across the road.
Myself three times in a row due to four feet of wet snow - In friggin May.
None of those times was when I was offroad. I also winch offroad, but I wanted to point out that having it ready to go is the best option.

A tigershark 9500 with synthetic rope weighs in at just under 90 lbs. (I'm at 150lb for my warn bumper and the tigershark)
Add a mount to that that can take the weight, you're over 100lbs.
This is manageable but can be a great way to hurt your back.
do you really want that in the back of your truck? How will you secure it?
What happens if it flies around and whacks you or a passenger?

My jeep once slid out and I ended up bumper first into a ditch. There's no way I could have recovered that using a porta-winch on the front - there was no room to install one. I'll concede that a rear mount would have worked in that case, but consider that there are situations where you won't be able to actually get the thing into the receiver.

Totally my take, just wanted to chime in before you commit to that setup.