**i'm getting sick of being bumped!!**

[Merlin]

Check out SUPERBUMPER Hitch Step - Stops Rear End Collision Damage.. My brother has one so it looked like a good idea so I purchased one also. So far its been hit twice with no damage to my runner whatsoever. One was a guy hitting my parked runner and the other a low speed impacted while in traffic in NY. Both times I had no damage and both the offenders Smack up they're bumpers instead. The website even says that they will replace it for free if it should ever get bent in an accident. You can't beat it. It was definitely some of the best money I spent, I highly recommend it.

yikes - that looks pretty solid. that would probably do all kinds of bad things to anyone that rear-ended you at anything over a crawl.

i was thinking of making something similar for my wife's T4R since she got bumped in parking lots a couple of times (hit and run). my friend's metal shop students were going to weld me up some square tubing for a "hitch step" that could also serve double duty as an extra bumper.

we were even thinking about extending it over to the sides a bit more and using the tow hitch mounting points to sort of make a poor-mans "butt armor". (she's backed into low poles in parking lots a couple of times - couldn't see them below the rear window, and they were just perfectly in between the rear parking sensors).

kinda ghetto, but cheaper than a rear bumper cover (i just have to pay for the tubing and some plate lunches or mcdonald's for the students).

 

[Offroader5]

That was merely an example of the style of "protector" I was thinking of making. The text says Go Rhino....but that type of "step" is made purely as a step and nothing more. It's made with very thin wall tubing and there is actually NO tubing on top where the step is...it's just cut out and has a rubber/plastic insert. I wouldn't trust this Go Rhino step to have any kind of rigidity in the event of even a very slow rear end collision. Chances are one of the ends would bend right over and go into your bumper skin.

@Offroader - Another perfect bumper that I would definitely consider looking into!! Thanks!! Where did you find that picture, is it available for sale online? I tried to look up "GoRhingl" ? ? ? I can't clearly make out the letters in your image that you have provided for us all to see!!

 

[Glock_19]

I have one of these in chrome. I got rear ended by an Accord ~ 10mph, no damage to the 4Runner or the hitch step. She sped off so I can't report on the damage to her hood.

 

[Merlin]

That was merely an example of the style of "protector" I was thinking of making. The text says Go Rhino....but that type of "step" is made purely as a step and nothing more. It's made with very thin wall tubing and there is actually NO tubing on top where the step is...it's just cut out and has a rubber/plastic insert. I wouldn't trust this Go Rhino step to have any kind of rigidity in the event of even a very slow rear end collision. Chances are one of the ends would bend right over and go into your bumper skin.

yeah, i was looking at asking my students to make something with some decently thick-walled square tubing, gusseted, etc...

that way they don't have to worry about bending anything, they can just cut it, weld it, and then i can hercu-line it.

 

[krupnation]

In MN the problem is the opposite. People are so afraid of bumping into the car ahead of them at stoplights that they slow down early and stop at least half a car length behind the car ahead of them. Here, as I think is true most everywhere, if you hit the car ahead of you, you are automatically at fault, so everyone now is extra cautious.

Another phenomena is how drivers who find themselves first in line at a light stop way short of the intersection (when there are two lanes going the same direction) hoping the driver who comes up along side will pull ahead of them closer to the intersection. I call this the "Don't want to be looked down upon by someone in a tall SUV with tinted windows next to me!" syndrome. I've seen where neither driver in both lanes wanted to pull ahead of the other and they "parked" so far back that they didn't trip the sensor in the road to change the light. Amusing until horns start honking.

This is exactly how it is in WA too! I don't know which is worse. Having an @**hole sit a car length (or more) behind the line at the stop light, therefore not tripping the sensor for it to turn green, or having an idiot fly up on your rearend and bump into you. I've never had that happen to me but I'd be pissed if someone did that.

And one of the most annoying things drivers do around here is not get up to speed on the on-ramp when merging with traffic on the highway. I like to be doing the proper 65-70 when I'm merging and I'm constantly stuck behind idiots doing 45 mph and then merging into traffic. That to me is more dangerous than speeding!

 

[fvalentin]

:iagree: I was going to say this but I couldn't remember what it was called. I don't have one but read about it and all the reviews were positive. How does this thing look on our 4th gens? I was thinking about getting this but don't want something that looks ugly or sticks out too much.

The superbumper sticks out a bit further than most of the other products because it has the rubber shock absorbing donuts to reduce the force of an impact. I like my runner looking cool also so I purchased the smallest one they make called the bumper shield. It's also the one my brother had on his FJ so I was able to try it on to see how it looks. A couple of my friends thought it stuck out too much but two days after i bought it a guy hit my runner in the parking lot while I was in the restaurant with my girlfriend ripping his plastic front end and fleeing the scene immediately after. I ran outside about to loose my freaking mind when I notice he only struck the bumper shield making a scratch on the paint I can later take care of with some Krylon. After that I was completely sold.

 

[fvalentin]

I still do not KNow how to post pictures on the site but my brother does on his FJ site so Im going to ask him to help me out so I can post a picture of mine with its "battle damage". They also gave me a 2 sets of "Bumper Buffers" free for my front plate with the purchase and another set when I signed up and gave them my email. FYI-My bother got his cheap also because they have a clearance section where he purchased on with minor scratches and bought a can of flat black and made it new. I don't have that kind of patience so I bought mine new.

 

[jaybird93000]

look up Curt tow hitches, thats what i just bought, and although mine isn't that extended, i'm sure they sell one...

 

[memphis34]

A lady bumped into me once in a McDonald's drive thru. I had my drop hitch in at the time. I felt a little bump, no damage. It put a big indention in her front bumper cover.

 

[SR5 Iron]

A lady bumped into me once in a McDonald's drive thru. I had my drop hitch in at the time. I felt a little bump, no damage. It put a big indention in her front bumper cover.

Gettin a McRib?

 

[Desert Fox]

What you are looking for is the hitch part. It is available all over, Walmart, Checker (Oriley) auto, autozone, heck you might even find one at 7-11 (or Pigley Wigley) depending on where you live. You can get several sizes or shapes like the drop hitch. You want to purchase the hitch ball to add injury for the potential tailgater.

Dont forget the frequency grease (just kidding):cheers:

 

[ronsta]

What you are looking for is the hitch part. It is available all over, Walmart, Checker (Oriley) auto, autozone, heck you might even find one at 7-11 (or Pigley Wigley) depending on where you live. You can get several sizes or shapes like the drop hitch. You want to purchase the hitch ball to add injury for the potential tailgater.

Dont forget the frequency grease (just kidding):cheers:

I think you mean squelch grease :hunter:

 

[Sputnik]

I actually got hit about two weeks after I bought my 4Runner in August. THANKFULLY it did not damage mine, but it left an awesome Toyota logo on his Accord front bumper from my hitch cover.

Lmao that's awesome lol... Would have Ben way cooler if you left a Toyota mark on a domestic like a ford explorer or jeep Cherokee lmao

 

[Desert Fox]

I think you mean squelch grease :hunter:

yep, thats it. the kind that you rub on with a ST1

 

[bergs]

Thanks & screw bad drivers straight to hell

That's pretty funny coming from a guy who purposely rammed a brick mailbox post in a fit of rage.

Just sayin'.

 

[saintbumper]

Yep I keep a 2" drop hitch in both my Toyotas all of the time. A Class IV hitch w/ a proper ball mount will basically destroy anything that hits it.

Here's why a ball mount (especially the drop type) in your receiver hitch will ruin your frame in speeds above 5 mph...

Crash Photos | Facebook

 

[ClockWork]

Yea, I disagree. Sorry.

Thanks for the POS jeep picture, though.

 

[sonerick]

Here's why a ball mount (especially the drop type) in your receiver hitch will ruin your frame in speeds above 5 mph...

Crash Photos | Facebook

Grand Cherokees are unibody construction, probably with crumple zones designed to do exactly what is shown in that picture during an impact.

4Runners have a real frame. Had that Grand Cherokee been a 4Runner, the only thing crumpling would have been the Ford Focus that rear-ended it.

 

[DC runner]

What? No no no. Obviously some serious misunderstanding as to the purpose of a crumple zone. The frame is NOT a crumple designed component, never. Crumple zones are designed to absorb impact and prevent the ALL dangerous frame bend that kills people. A bumper, quarter panel, door; these are places that use specifically designed air spaces to create specif ways to absorb energy to LIMIT frame impact.

Unibody and On fram constriction impact how this is implemented, no doubt, but it doesn't change the basic purpose. You bet your ass the 4runner has specifically designed crumple zones to keep the frame from bending. When a frame bends, this is when the interior cage of the vehicle is destroyed and means more damage to the inhabitants.


Now. As to the hitch. Sorry, but hitches bypass a crumple zone. You can ignore it and blame it on Jeeps all you want; but the reality is that when you place a hitch on your truck; the kinetic energy from a rear end collision is taken directly to the frame itself, rather than through the bumper and rear crumple zone.


The reality is, while a hitch will prevent minor damage in a low speed, low force impact; a high impact crash it can cause substantial frame damage.

Also, this alert from the national Safety Commission kinda sums it up. A hitch alters the impact absorbing characteristics of a vehicle, in turn causing more impact force to a body. A.k.A more whiplash.

The National Safety Commission Alerts: How Receiver Hitches Affect Rear End Collision Injuries

 

[ClockWork]

What? No no no. Obviously some serious misunderstanding as to the purpose of a crumple zone. The frame is NOT a crumple designed component, never. Crumple zones are designed to absorb impact and prevent the ALL dangerous frame bend that kills people. A bumper, quarter panel, door; these are places that use specifically designed air spaces to create specif ways to absorb energy to LIMIT frame impact.

Unibody and On fram constriction impact how this is implemented, no doubt, but it doesn't change the basic purpose. You bet your ass the 4runner has specifically designed crumple zones to keep the frame from bending. When a frame bends, this is when the interior cage of the vehicle is destroyed and means more damage to the inhabitants.


Now. As to the hitch. Sorry, but hitches bypass a crumple zone. You can ignore it and blame it on Jeeps all you want; but the reality is that when you place a hitch on your truck; the kinetic energy from a rear end collision is taken directly to the frame itself, rather than through the bumper and rear crumple zone.


The reality is, while a hitch will prevent minor damage in a low speed, low force impact; a high impact crash it can cause substantial frame damage.

Also, this alert from the national Safety Commission kinda sums it up. A hitch alters the impact absorbing characteristics of a vehicle, in turn causing more impact force to a body. A.k.A more whiplash.

The National Safety Commission Alerts: How Receiver Hitches Affect Rear End Collision Injuries

Yes, however frame rais on the 4runner run from bumper to bumper. The tip of the front and rear frame rails are right underneath the plastic of the bumper.