C4 Fabrications Rear Bumper Installation Parts 1 & 2

[mtbtim]

Hey My 5th Gen Brothers and Sisters,

My buddy [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I have a two-part video series for you. If you're in the market for an aftermarket rear bumper for your rig, C4 Fabrications has one you should consider. It's very well built with a lot of nice features and has plenty of options to choose from.

Here's the videos and Enjoy the Show!

PART 1
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PART 2
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fOMHTtX5-Uk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[unsub1]

Wow! Thanks for this. I stayed up way too late last night drinking beers and watching this. That's a lot to take in but seems pretty doable. My install is coming up next month and this makes me feel a little better prepared. I think I dread the powder coat situation and camera relocation as much as anything.

Great to see the exhaust was a non-issue.

Time to order a 36mm socket!

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

Wow! Thanks for this. I stayed up way too late last night drinking beers and watching this. That's a lot to take in but seems pretty doable. My install is coming up next month and this makes me feel a little better prepared. I think I dread the powder coat situation and camera relocation as much as anything.

Great to see the exhaust was a non-issue.

Time to order a 36mm socket!

Both of your concerns cost C4 a sale from me as a rear replacement. I like that their bumper is a full replacement, but no powder coat option was the biggest concern for me. I know that I have some good options in my area, but do not want to lug that thing around getting that work done.
I wont be doing the install myself so the camera would cost me more in time, but it's not complicated for the shop doing the bumper install.

I am getting ready to replace the plastic front on mine pieces with a metal-tech, but not sure what I will replace the rear bumper with yet.
Hoping something new or updated comes out.

 

[unsub1]

Both of your concerns cost C4 a sale from me as a rear replacement. I like that their bumper is a full replacement, but no powder coat option was the biggest concern for me. I know that I have some good options in my area, but do not want to lug that thing around getting that work done.
I wont be doing the install myself so the camera would cost me more in time, but it's not complicated for the shop doing the bumper install.

I am getting ready to replace the plastic front on mine pieces with a metal-tech, but not sure what I will replace the rear bumper with yet.
Hoping something new or updated comes out.

Yeah, I found a powder place in Liberty Hill that seem experienced. But still, receiving the bumper, getting it to powder and back, intact, will be an undertaking. I ALMOST went CBI but just really like the C4 finish-work so much. Lots of good options out there.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

Yeah, I found a powder place in Liberty Hill that seem experienced. But still, receiving the bumper, getting it to powder and back, intact, will be an undertaking. I ALMOST went CBI but just really like the C4 finish-work so much. Lots of good options out there.

Austin land cruiser provided me with a powder coat contact that they like over off of old howard lane, but I am still deciding which rear to go with.
The no cut bumpers are hard to come by. Metaltech said they are working on one that is a no cut option. I am hoping if that will be something they can have ready by year end. I can wait for a while.
I like the CBI bumper, but it wont meet my no cut requirement. I dont want any plastic lingering.

I reached out to 4x4labs for some details on their rear bumper, but theirs is really pricey.

 

[mtbtim]

Austin land cruiser provided me with a powder coat contact that they like over off of old howard lane, but I am still deciding which rear to go with.
The no cut bumpers are hard to come by. Metaltech said they are working on one that is a no cut option. I am hoping if that will be something they can have ready by year end. I can wait for a while.
I like the CBI bumper, but it wont meet my no cut requirement. I dont want any plastic lingering.

I reached out to 4x4 labs for some details, but theirs is really pricey.

Here's what my buddy Garett did, he had C4 ship the bumper and swing-outs directly to the powder coater. This way he only had to transport the bumper and swing-outs one time. I bet your local powder coater would be ok with this since they are getting your business.

Now, even if C4 did have a powder coating option, would they ship straight to a home address? When I ordered a rear bumper and other products from CBI for my 3rd Gen 4runner, my order was shipped with a freight company. i had to pick up my order from their freight depot. If this is the case with C4, you pick it up and drive straight to your powder coater. I don't see the big deal and this definitely wouldn't be the deal breaker from keeping me from ordering a quality bumper from a good company.

I also think you should reconsider having a shop install this for you. If you don't mind turning wrenches, you will save yourself a ton of money. Even with a shop that specializes with this type of work, they are going to charge you a lot for this job. I'm guessing a minimum of $1500 in labor.

 

[mtbtim]

Wow! Thanks for this. I stayed up way too late last night drinking beers and watching this. That's a lot to take in but seems pretty doable. My install is coming up next month and this makes me feel a little better prepared. I think I dread the powder coat situation and camera relocation as much as anything.

Great to see the exhaust was a non-issue.

Time to order a 36mm socket!

Get yourself a friend to help you and plan on a full weekend to get this done. It's hard for me to accurately judge the time it takes to do all this work because filming pretty much doubles the time it takes to complete a job. Even without the filming, this is an involved job, especially since the camera relocation is part of it. Due to the 3 videos we've made for this job, we took the guesswork out for you so your install should go fairly smoothly.

 

[57buick]

I installed mine by myself and it wasn't too big a deal. Took a couple hours to assemble it.

As far as powder coat it would have cost me money to sandblast it if they had automatically powder coated it. I didn't want black like every other aftermarket bumper. I went with a hammered grey

Also to do the camera relocation just go buy this factory connector on ebay or amazon that plugs into the camera and run your own wire. back to the factory connector in the hatch and your done.

Connector 6 Pin 6-way sumitomo automotive for Toyota w/out wire

1x Connector 6 Pin 6-way sumitomo automotive for Toyota w/out wire | eBay

Ive since changed some things like the wheels since the first pics were taken

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

Here's what my buddy Garett did, he had C4 ship the bumper and swing-outs directly to the powder coater. This way he only had to transport the bumper and swing-outs one time. I bet your local powder coater would be ok with this since they are getting your business.

Now, even if C4 did have a powder coating option, would they ship straight to a home address? When I ordered a rear bumper and other products from CBI for my 3rd Gen 4runner, my order was shipped with a freight company. i had to pick up my order from their freight depot. If this is the case with C4, you pick it up and drive straight to your powder coater. I don't see the big deal and this definitely wouldn't be the deal breaker from keeping me from ordering a quality bumper from a good company.

I also think you should reconsider having a shop install this for you. If you don't mind turning wrenches, you will save yourself a ton of money. Even with a shop that specializes with this type of work, they are going to charge you a lot for this job. I'm guessing a minimum of $1500 in labor.

I have a quote from ALC for about two hours labor to install the bumper.
I sure hope its not $1500. I will do the install if they're going to be that cheeky.

 

[mtbtim]

I have a quote from ALC for about two hours labor to install the bumper.
I sure hope its not $1500. I will do the install if they're going to be that cheeky.

Either [MENTION=216234]57buick[/MENTION] and the shop you got a quote from are the fastest mechanics in the world or I'm one of the slowest. Taking the OEM bumper off, getting the base C4 bumper on, aligning it, torquing all the fasteners to spec, getting the swing-outs on, tray table, tire carrier, whatever other equipment carriers on, protective plates, bumpstops, etc etc, and running power to your license plate light all in a couple hours. I call serious BS.

I know people quite often underestimate the time it took them for a job like this. It's the same thing when somebody says they can swap a transmission in a couple hours.

Dude, if you can get a shop to only charge you a couple hours labor for this job, that is a Deal and a Half! But, something tells me when they see how involved this job is, they are going to be backpedaling on their 2 hour estimate. Watch the 2 videos for the bumper install. No way in hell this is a 2 hour job.

 

[57buick]

Either [MENTION=216234]57buick[/MENTION] and the shop you got a quote from are the fastest mechanics in the world or I'm one of the slowest. Taking the OEM bumper off, getting the base C4 bumper on, aligning it, torquing all the fasteners to spec, getting the swing-outs on, tray table, tire carrier, whatever other equipment carriers on, protective plates, bumpstops, etc etc, and running power to your license plate light all in a couple hours. I call serious BS.

I know people quite often underestimate the time it took them for a job like this. It's the same thing when somebody says they can swap a transmission in a couple hours.

Dude, if you can get a shop to only charge you a couple hours labor for this job, that is a Deal and a Half! But, something tells me when they see how involved this job is, they are going to be backpedaling on their 2 hour estimate. Watch the 2 videos for the bumper install. No way in hell this is a 2 hour job.

Of course im not talking about the wiring and fiddling with accessories mounts etc, just talking about the basic bumper install and tighten down, the other stuff can be done at your leisure.

The camera relocation took longer than the bumper install to do it right and sleeve your cabling etc

 

[57buick]

Either [MENTION=216234]57buick[/MENTION] and the shop you got a quote from are the fastest mechanics in the world or I'm one of the slowest. Taking the OEM bumper off, getting the base C4 bumper on, aligning it, torquing all the fasteners to spec, getting the swing-outs on, tray table, tire carrier, whatever other equipment carriers on, protective plates, bumpstops, etc etc, and running power to your license plate light all in a couple hours. I call serious BS.

I know people quite often underestimate the time it took them for a job like this. It's the same thing when somebody says they can swap a transmission in a couple hours.

Dude, if you can get a shop to only charge you a couple hours labor for this job, that is a Deal and a Half! But, something tells me when they see how involved this job is, they are going to be backpedaling on their 2 hour estimate. Watch the 2 videos for the bumper install. No way in hell this is a 2 hour job.

Remember there are different holes tomount things depending on your preference how high or low you want the tire mount and the fuel can mounts etc. Dont bother having a shop do that because you will want to move things around to your liking

 

[mtbtim]

Of course im not talking about the wiring and fiddling with accessories mounts etc, just talking about the basic bumper install and tighten down, the other stuff can be done at your leisure.

The camera relocation took longer than the bumper install to do it right and sleeve your cabling etc

Gotcha. Now that makes more sense. I tell ya, looking at those fasteners and all the small parts was a little mind boggling. I installed a CBI dual swing-out bumper on my 98 4runner and it didn't have remotely the amount of fasteners this kit came with. It's because they offer all these little protective plates and bumpers for the swing-outs that the fastener count goes way up. We spent quite a while just organizing all the fasteners into like sizes so it would be easier for us to choose the correct ones.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

Either [MENTION=216234]57buick[/MENTION] and the shop you got a quote from are the fastest mechanics in the world or I'm one of the slowest. Taking the OEM bumper off, getting the base C4 bumper on, aligning it, torquing all the fasteners to spec, getting the swing-outs on, tray table, tire carrier, whatever other equipment carriers on, protective plates, bumpstops, etc etc, and running power to your license plate light all in a couple hours. I call serious BS.

I know people quite often underestimate the time it took them for a job like this. It's the same thing when somebody says they can swap a transmission in a couple hours.

Dude, if you can get a shop to only charge you a couple hours labor for this job, that is a Deal and a Half! But, something tells me when they see how involved this job is, they are going to be backpedaling on their 2 hour estimate. Watch the 2 videos for the bumper install. No way in hell this is a 2 hour job.

Interesting, their estimate did not seem to far off given their experience and easy access to resources. But, that was was shortest estimate they provided if it was the bumper install without a winch. Three hours max if all went well. They did say that sometimes the instructions do not match revisions made to parts and they have to consult the manufacture.
I reviewed the instructions and they appear to be pretty straight forward.
Also, they install Metal tech bumpers, so their experience with them should help reduce install time.

 

[mtbtim]

Interesting, their estimate did not seem to far off given their experience and easy access to resources. But, that was was shortest estimate they provided if it was the bumper install without a winch. Three hours max if all went well. They did say that sometimes the instructions do not match revisions made to parts and they have to consult the manufacture.
I reviewed the instructions and they appear to be pretty straight forward.
Also, they install Metal tech bumpers, so their experience with them should help reduce install time.

I just realized we are talking apples and oranges here. You aren't getting a C4 dual swing-out rear bumper installed on your rig for 2 hours labor. It sounds like you are getting a front Metal Tech bumper installed on your rig.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

I just realized we are talking apples and oranges here. You aren't getting a C4 dual swing-out rear bumper installed on your rig for 2 hours labor. It sounds like you are getting a front Metal Tech bumper installed on your rig.

Correct, it's the Metal Tech front bumper. I did speak with them again this am and two hours is a very low estimate. More like just over three hours with no winch. Close to four with the winch. Their labor costs are reasonable and ALC is very trusted in this area. I have no concerns with supporting them with this build.
For reference Metal Tech estimates 6 hours in their installation manual.

 

[mtbtim]

Correct, it's the Metal Tech front bumper. I did speak with them again this am and two hours is a very low estimate. More like just over three hours with no winch. Close to four with the winch. Their labor costs are reasonable and ALC is very trusted in this area. I have no concerns with supporting them with this build.
For reference Metal Tech estimates 6 hours in their installation manual.

Gotcha. Sounds like they are a very fair shop.