Front Winch Bumper Question

B

bryancostanich

New member
Hey all,

I recently purchased a 4" toytec lift for my 2000 (3" suspension, 1" body). And tomorrow i'm going to purchase a front winch bumper. I've done some research and i've looked at the following bumpers:

-> ARB
-> IRBIS Offroad (Irbis Offroad)
-> Shrockworks (ShrockWorks Toyota 4Runner Winch Bumper Front Bumper Bull Bar Off-road)
-> Savage Offroad (Front Bumper, 96-02 Toyota 4Runner)
-> Addicted Off Road(http://www.addictedoffroad.com/bumpers.html)

So far, my favorite has been the Irbis. It's super solid, looks awesome, and has the big opening for the radiator. My second fav has been shrockworks. ARB doesn't seem to do 3rd gen bumpers, which is strange. savage's is just kind of cheap, offers no headlight protection, etc. Addicted's is a tube style, which i'm not interested in.

The thing is, I spoke to Irbis and the won't do one for a t4r right now unless you leave your ride with them (i'm in CA, they're in CO) because they seemed to have misplaced their templates.

Shrockworks has an _insane_ lead time, 3 months at a minimum, which i find completely unacceptable.

question: are there any other good, heavy duty front winch bumpers out there for the 3rd gen? or should i just wait for months for shrockworks to churn out my bumper?

EDIT:
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There also seems to be a few fabrication shops in the area (Los Angeles), but it looks like many of them specialize in the baja thing:
-> http://www.killeroffroadfab.com/products.htm
-> http://dronotekfab.webs.com/
-> http://kirbyoffroadracing.com/

i don't mind going to a fab shop, though i worry about their products being as polished as someone who has built tons of bumpers and can get it right.

this guy's bumper seems to be awesome though, and it's a custom fab: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/63244-jsmarines-4runner-build-thread-lots-pics.html
 
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Either arb for a tacoma like I have or you pretty much got the lay of the land fairly accurate ,

You could find a used tjm or go local and custom , pm pikeman
I think he may have a local guy that does some amazing work .
 
Yeah his is nice as well , I think pikeman's buddy is just starting to go into production . Ask jsmarine where he got his done , I think he has a build thread as well , I really like his truck alot ,one of the top on the.site imo
 
You've pretty much got the main list of aftermarket bumpers out there. Addicted Offroad's bumper looks sweet IMO and they seem to be a pretty solid rising company w/ great customer service. I wouldn't go around saying it's the ****iest bumper out there cause that's doesn't seem to be true. ARB does make 3rd gen 4runner bumpers also. You're gotta check out other places like Sleedoffroad. Shrockworks lead time is really long but it's because they have lots of orders and it takes a while to get their stuff fabbed and all the materials for it. Good luck with bumper search and purchase...
 
Where is Pikeman at to chime in about Outdoorlogic? Since you are in CA I would look into the Outdoorlogic group buy.
 
@98'4runnerSR5 - i'm sure that addicted is a great company with great customer service. the people that run it are probably great people.

however, look at that bumper. it's a few tubes of steel. there's nothing there. which means it's cheap to fab and cheap to sell, but i'm not interested in putting it on my rig, because it offers very little protection, which is the entire point of a bumper. it seems to me, that kind of bumper is best on a baja trophy truck, rather than a utility rig that's meant to go off road.

@theizzardking - got it. don't those bumpers need to be specially fitted or something? e.g. aren't they a pain to put on? also, good idea, i'll ping jsmarine - his bumper is really sweet.

@SCRunner12 - i went to outdoorlogic's website and couldn't find much. it looked like they were just setting up the site template or something. do you have any links to their stuff?
 
bryancostanich said:
@98'4runnerSR5 - i'm sure that addicted is a great company with great customer service. the people that run it are probably great people.

however, look at that bumper. it's a few tubes of steel. there's nothing there. which means it's cheap to fab and cheap to sell, but i'm not interested in putting it on my rig, because it offers very little protection, which is the entire point of a bumper. it seems to me, that kind of bumper is best on a baja trophy truck, rather than a utility rig that's meant to go off road.
Click to expand...
You're totally right brah, this one time a Rascal just went crazy on this old lady at the mall and my tube bumper did nothing to protect the front of my rig. :bash:
 
bryancostanich said:
@98'4runnerSR5 - i'm sure that addicted is a great company with great customer service. the people that run it are probably great people.

however, look at that bumper. it's a few tubes of steel. there's nothing there. which means it's cheap to fab and cheap to sell, but i'm not interested in putting it on my rig, because it offers very little protection, which is the entire point of a bumper. it seems to me, that kind of bumper is best on a baja trophy truck, rather than a utility rig that's meant to go off road.

@theizzardking - got it. don't those bumpers need to be specially fitted or something? e.g. aren't they a pain to put on? also, good idea, i'll ping jsmarine - his bumper is really sweet.

@SCRunner12 - i went to outdoorlogic's website and couldn't find much. it looked like they were just setting up the site template or something. do you have any links to their stuff?
Click to expand...

obviously your looking for a bumper designed to act like a workbench. Scotties (addicted) bumper was built for high clearance. It depends on how you wheel your truck. My Arb hangs pretty low and it has got stuck on a few rocks because of that.

Go with an arb. They seem to be the best as far as an expedition tool, not necessarily for a rock crawler
 
the arb bumper is very very easy to put on, no drilling no grinding , just 2 seconds with a sawzall, two small plates you have to cut off and pop the bolts through the stock holes and tighten it up, putting the arb on was the easiest "mod" i have done on my truck...honestly changing the spark plugs is harder then slapping an arb on.......so don't let the retro-fit scare yo, it is very very easy and i wouldn't say that if it wasn't, it really is.

that said if you want a plate bumper and don't want the wait,

go with outdoor logic or the arb.....

the arb you maybe able to find used for very cheap which is good
and the outdoor logic one is just plain sweet, for you i'd put the list like this.

tie between ARB-OUTDOOR LOGIC (depends on price and availability)
shrockworks (great, but long lead time and expensive)
tjm -discontinued and will be a nightmare trying to find one
other tube style bumpers

682.jpg~original

225-Copy.jpg~original

459.jpg~original
 
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get the addicted if you wanna save weight. im thinkin of gettin one instead of my prado ARB i currently have.
 
SCRunner12 said:
Where is Pikeman at to chime in about Outdoorlogic? Since you are in CA I would look into the Outdoorlogic group buy.
Click to expand...

I am right here and just found the thread. I wasnt on the site since yesterday morning. I can say that the Addicted offroad bumper is solid and high qulaity work. Tube bumpers are for some and not for others, but theirs is one of the best. Take a look at some of the other work Scotty and his crew at Addicted have done and you know the quality and attention to detail. I believe JSMarine built his own bumper.

OP- what part of Cali are you in? Yes take a look at the Outdoorlogic group buy going on right now. I am extremely pleased with my bumper from them and also very impressed with the customer care from the shop also. If you are somewhat local to me in So. Cal I will meet and let you see the bumper in person. I will attach links in a second.
 
bryancostanich said:
Hey all,

I recently purchased a 4" toytec lift for my 2000 (3" suspension, 1" body). And tomorrow i'm going to purchase a front winch bumper. I've done some research and i've looked at the following bumpers:

-> ARB
-> IRBIS Offroad (Irbis Offroad)
-> Shrockworks (ShrockWorks Toyota 4Runner Winch Bumper Front Bumper Bull Bar Off-road)
-> Savage Offroad (Front Bumper, 96-02 Toyota 4Runner)
-> Addicted Off Road(Addicted Offroad)

So far, my favorite has been the Irbis. It's super solid, looks awesome, and has the big opening for the radiator. My second fav has been shrockworks. ARB doesn't seem to do 3rd gen bumpers, which is strange. savage's is just kind of cheap, offers no headlight protection, etc. Addicted's seems to be the ****tiest of all, offering very little protection.

The thing is, I spoke to Irbis and the won't do one for a t4r right now unless you leave your ride with them (i'm in CA, they're in CO) because they seemed to have misplaced their templates.

Shrockworks has an _insane_ lead time, 3 months at a minimum, which i find completely unacceptable.

question: are there any other good, heavy duty front winch bumpers out there for the 3rd gen? or should i just wait for months for shrockworks to churn out my bumper?

EDIT:
====

There also seems to be a few fabrication shops in the area (Los Angeles), but it looks like many of them specialize in the baja thing:
-> Killer Off-Road Fabrication - Products
-> HOME - CUSTOMOFFROADFAB.COM
-> DesignsByKirby.com - KirbyOffroadRacing.com - Custom Fabrication, Welding, Class One Race Cars, Prerunners, trucs, Custom Parts, Custom Bumpers, roll cages, rocker gaurds - Serving Los Angeles County - San Bernardino County

i don't mind going to a fab shop, though i worry about their products being as polished as someone who has built tons of bumpers and can get it right.

this guy's bumper seems to be awesome though, and it's a custom fab: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/63244-jsmarines-4runner-build-thread-lots-pics.html
Click to expand...

WOW. $hitty? Seriously? (adding you to my black ball list):whipping2

Just an FYI, but I have well over 300 bumpers in production all over of the country. Most are built and installed on HARD CORE rockcrawlers with ZERO failures. In fact, one guy rear ended another car in his Tacoma at 45mph and it saved the truck(not a failure mind you). He then ordered another one from me to replace it because of how it handled the impact.

IMO tube is better for offroad use because it provides a MUCH better approach angle, is just as strong as plate bumpers, and has 1/3 the weight. And yes, its cheaper to produce and therefore cheaper to buy! Just because its plate, doesn't mean its stronger. Plate bends a hell of a lot easier than tube does.

Maybe you should choose your words a little more wisely. Or did you not realize that vendors are on these boards and read threads like this? :shrug:
 
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I think he is talking looks and not quality or performance , that's a personal thing imo , I too like plate over tube bumpers , but then again I'm not hardcore either , you make great products but they are not for everyone .... I do think it was a poor choice of words on the op s part though ..
 
Scotty a few of us had your back though. As mentioned tube or plate is preference and not necessarily performance. there are poor to excellent examples of each for strength and function.

Bryan- LA is pretty big general area. I am out in Riverside/ Moreno Valley area but make it in to Fullerton area once in a while. If you want to see the Outdoorlogic bumper in person PM me with contact info and when you want to see it.
 
AddictedOffroad said:
WOW. $hitty? Seriously? (adding you to my black ball list):whipping2

Just an FYI, but I have well over 300 bumpers in production all over of the country. Most are built and installed on HARD CORE rockcrawlers with ZERO failures. In fact, one guy rear ended another car in his Tacoma at 45mph and it saved the truck(not a failure mind you). He then ordered another one from me to replace it because of how it handled the impact.

IMO tube is better for offroad use because it provides a MUCH better approach angle, is just as strong as plate bumpers, and has 1/3 the weight. And yes, its cheaper to produce and therefore cheaper to buy! Just because its plate, doesn't mean its stronger. Plate bends a hell of a lot easier than tube does.

Maybe you should choose your words a little more wisely. Or did you not realize that vendors are on these boards and read threads like this? :shrug:
Click to expand...

Oooohhhhh... Awkward....

FWIW Scotty, Yours in top of my list; looks sweet (I like tube bumpers) and it doesn't cost the better part of a grand. There is something to be said for affordability. Not that the others are a bad value, just not as affordable.
 
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