HeartGuy
New member
His runner is the test mule for the new Pelfrey rear bumper
LawnDart's Build Thread
- Thread starter LawnDart
- Start date
His runner is the test mule for the new Pelfrey rear bumper
LawnDart
Senior Member
LawnDart
Senior Member
[MENTION=147978]Padres86[/MENTION] and [MENTION=115572]DesertCanyons[/MENTION]
Here you go:
So let me phrase this not as "here's what I don't like about the CBI. If Pelfrey decided to not release their rear bumper I wouldn't look at my CBI with disdain. Rather I'm phrasing this more like "here's what I think Pelfreybilt is improving upon" if that makes sense.
You are correct, the bumper isn't for sale yet on Pelfrey's site. It will be in a few months. The dual swing arm that you've seen teased is *MY* bumper. That's specifically the one I'll be getting. And it's also the bumper I've had design input on. When Tyler and Satin came to me they basically asked me what I liked about my CBI, but stuff I'd like to see added.
I'm on my second CBI bumper, and I think frankly a single swing arm really has no good defense especially because it increases weight on each spindle, and makes opening it with a trailer impossible.
I think the latching system on the CBI is...not so great. I know I'm only one of a handful of people who've broken there U-bolt components, but when it fails...it fails bad. It basically sheared off while going through Baja, and almost knocked us off the road as the weight of the 35" tire caused the back end to kick out bad to the right while going fast over whoopdidoos.
Some of the biggest areas for improvement are how the arms work, latch, and interact with the bumper itself. If you've seen my CBI I've made HDPE plastic contact pads, as I really don't care for powdercoated metal on powdercoated metal as far as mating surfaces go. It always wears through and rusts. Maybe this is fine in drier environments like Idaho or SoCal, but up here it rusts bad. The Pelfrey will have delrin on delrin for all mating surfaces.
Lights are built specifically for integrated Baja Designs S2 flush mounts, which allows them to tuck the bumper up for a bit better clearance at the 5 and 7 o'clock portions of the lower portions of the bumper. It's also a no cut bumper, meaning you pull the original bumper completely off, and bolt this new one in.
It's going to be steel only, I could go on and on about aluminum vs steel, but for a rear bumper, it needs to be steel, especially for hitting shit and towing stuff.
The biggest thing is that they did away with spindles. Each arm uses two heim joints, this mean that each arm can be removed fairly easily, but it also means that the arm is supported along a greater amount of vertical length. The goal was to create arms that were more rigid at the base, so that vibration wouldn't go further up.
The bumper will support up to a 37" tire, however that's a little unrealistic given fitting 35s is already a challenge on the vehicle itself. The tire will sit directly dead center on a depth settable angled mount, with whatever accessory on either side of the arm.
The latches are just awesome. It's what Pelfrey has taken the most time to design. Most bumpers use the off the shelf latch, and those are the weakest point on the CBI, SSO, etc style bumpers.
Again I like what CBI has made, my biggest areas I saw improvement on were the latch, and how the bumper locked open. The climbing pins on the CBI are less than great. I think CBI knows that, as the series 200 LC bumper they are now making, and was seen on the Expedition Overland bumper for their 200 now uses a flat style plate that you have to purposely pull up on the pin, move the arm, and let the pin drop into. The current climbing plate/pin system has a tendency to smash into the angled metal shelf on the spindle, and divot out the material since it's steel on steel.
Basically, if you need a bumper for the next 2-3 months, go CBI. I haven't used the Pelfreybilt design yet, I do know is that all the hard work on that design will be translated into updated bumper design for the Tacoma, Lexus GX, 4th gen, Tundra, etc. This is one of the most complicated bumpers anyone has done for the 4Runners, but it should be great. I hope.
As a result they are giving me the opportunity to use it first and figure out what works, what needs changing, etc. I've lived with the CBI for 2.5 years now, and I tend to be critical not about what I dislike about things, but what I see as improvable areas.
I won't be the kind of person to go up to CBI bumper owners and say "ugh poor choice on armor." That's not my goal. Rather it was to say "That CBI is a good bumper, we just made something THAT much better."
Here you go:
So let me phrase this not as "here's what I don't like about the CBI. If Pelfrey decided to not release their rear bumper I wouldn't look at my CBI with disdain. Rather I'm phrasing this more like "here's what I think Pelfreybilt is improving upon" if that makes sense.
You are correct, the bumper isn't for sale yet on Pelfrey's site. It will be in a few months. The dual swing arm that you've seen teased is *MY* bumper. That's specifically the one I'll be getting. And it's also the bumper I've had design input on. When Tyler and Satin came to me they basically asked me what I liked about my CBI, but stuff I'd like to see added.
I'm on my second CBI bumper, and I think frankly a single swing arm really has no good defense especially because it increases weight on each spindle, and makes opening it with a trailer impossible.
I think the latching system on the CBI is...not so great. I know I'm only one of a handful of people who've broken there U-bolt components, but when it fails...it fails bad. It basically sheared off while going through Baja, and almost knocked us off the road as the weight of the 35" tire caused the back end to kick out bad to the right while going fast over whoopdidoos.
Some of the biggest areas for improvement are how the arms work, latch, and interact with the bumper itself. If you've seen my CBI I've made HDPE plastic contact pads, as I really don't care for powdercoated metal on powdercoated metal as far as mating surfaces go. It always wears through and rusts. Maybe this is fine in drier environments like Idaho or SoCal, but up here it rusts bad. The Pelfrey will have delrin on delrin for all mating surfaces.
Lights are built specifically for integrated Baja Designs S2 flush mounts, which allows them to tuck the bumper up for a bit better clearance at the 5 and 7 o'clock portions of the lower portions of the bumper. It's also a no cut bumper, meaning you pull the original bumper completely off, and bolt this new one in.
It's going to be steel only, I could go on and on about aluminum vs steel, but for a rear bumper, it needs to be steel, especially for hitting shit and towing stuff.
The biggest thing is that they did away with spindles. Each arm uses two heim joints, this mean that each arm can be removed fairly easily, but it also means that the arm is supported along a greater amount of vertical length. The goal was to create arms that were more rigid at the base, so that vibration wouldn't go further up.
The bumper will support up to a 37" tire, however that's a little unrealistic given fitting 35s is already a challenge on the vehicle itself. The tire will sit directly dead center on a depth settable angled mount, with whatever accessory on either side of the arm.
The latches are just awesome. It's what Pelfrey has taken the most time to design. Most bumpers use the off the shelf latch, and those are the weakest point on the CBI, SSO, etc style bumpers.
Again I like what CBI has made, my biggest areas I saw improvement on were the latch, and how the bumper locked open. The climbing pins on the CBI are less than great. I think CBI knows that, as the series 200 LC bumper they are now making, and was seen on the Expedition Overland bumper for their 200 now uses a flat style plate that you have to purposely pull up on the pin, move the arm, and let the pin drop into. The current climbing plate/pin system has a tendency to smash into the angled metal shelf on the spindle, and divot out the material since it's steel on steel.
Basically, if you need a bumper for the next 2-3 months, go CBI. I haven't used the Pelfreybilt design yet, I do know is that all the hard work on that design will be translated into updated bumper design for the Tacoma, Lexus GX, 4th gen, Tundra, etc. This is one of the most complicated bumpers anyone has done for the 4Runners, but it should be great. I hope.
As a result they are giving me the opportunity to use it first and figure out what works, what needs changing, etc. I've lived with the CBI for 2.5 years now, and I tend to be critical not about what I dislike about things, but what I see as improvable areas.
I won't be the kind of person to go up to CBI bumper owners and say "ugh poor choice on armor." That's not my goal. Rather it was to say "That CBI is a good bumper, we just made something THAT much better."
Liquidmantis
New member
Eeeenteresting... I'm likely going to be rear bumper shopping in a few months, as the last big item in my build list. Is the PelfreyBilt going to have the option for a receiver hitch on the swing arm? This is a must-have for me as I have my 1Up hitch-mount bike rack mounted full-time other than during non-biking trips. Having an easy way to get it out of the way of the hatch is one of my main reasons for wanting a bumper.
LawnDart
Senior Member
No plans for that. You can have your own welded in I suppose.
JSparky
New member
Just don't try and tow or recover from a swingarm-mounted point, you'd think that would go without saying but you'd be surprised what I've seen on the trail. The builder should be able to accommodate swingarm customizations give proper lead-time. I've seen plenty of swingouts with integrated bike racks so a hitch point should be easy.. I've even seen a swingout designed to carry a green egg smoker for tailgating.. it was pretty wild.
DesertCanyons
New member
Bike rack on reciever hitch
I've seen your rig in the You Tube video and I know you have a trailer so I imagine your Pelfreybilt rear bumper will have a reciever hitch too. Just not on the swing out arm. I look forward to seeing it when it's done.
If [MENTION=138432]Liquidmantis[/MENTION] or anyone else wants a swing out bike rack, get one that swings down. My 15 year old Yakima rack is simple, strong and swings down enough to open the tailgate. I took two bikes to El Capitan State Beach this fall and it worked fine with the bikes attached.
I've seen your rig in the You Tube video and I know you have a trailer so I imagine your Pelfreybilt rear bumper will have a reciever hitch too. Just not on the swing out arm. I look forward to seeing it when it's done.
If [MENTION=138432]Liquidmantis[/MENTION] or anyone else wants a swing out bike rack, get one that swings down. My 15 year old Yakima rack is simple, strong and swings down enough to open the tailgate. I took two bikes to El Capitan State Beach this fall and it worked fine with the bikes attached.
LawnDart
Senior Member
Just to be clear. The bumper comes with a standard receiver hitch.
It doesn’t come with the option for a hitch on a swing arm nor will it. Even mine on the CBI was kind of a one off design.
The latch design is pretty unique and requires its own geometry that would prevent it from easily integrating. Trust me the latch is wicked strong.
It doesn’t come with the option for a hitch on a swing arm nor will it. Even mine on the CBI was kind of a one off design.
The latch design is pretty unique and requires its own geometry that would prevent it from easily integrating. Trust me the latch is wicked strong.
Xtremluck
New member
I've asked them already if they would be willing to weld on a 2" receiver hitch onto one of the swing arms and they said no. A shame as I LOVE my front Pelfreybilt bumper and was really impressed with the build quality. I will be going CBI because of this.
LawnDart
Senior Member
If you really want one you can find someone to modify and fabricate one in, but they're trying to launch an entirely new swing arm design, and the most complicated part of it is building the jigs that will allow them make these.
Asking for special one offs is really tough on a manufacturing level. My second hitch wasn't built to hold bikes. It was built to mount a Shotover G1 and Flowcine Black Arm for filming vehicle to vehicle.
Xtremluck
New member
The 1up racks swing down as well. I think some of us need extra clearance when we transport our bikes over technical off road terrain. Sounds a bit silly but most of my trips involve mountain biking and 4X4 camping. So the bikes need to come with me when we go wheeling.
Here is my current setup (10” Hitch riser + 1up Rack). It works ok and even had it on advanced trails before. But the riser will drag on rocks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
LawnDart
Senior Member
So I'm actually sitting here looking at the CAD file renderings as we speak, and there is no way a dual hitch will work.
I wish I could post them but I don't think Pelfrey would want me to do so. I'll just say when you see it you can't make it work.
Just as a fun fact, the Pelfrey FJC bumper has like 12 laser cut pieces.
This 4Runner one has like 85+ pieces. It's that complicated to get the right shapes.
I wish I could post them but I don't think Pelfrey would want me to do so. I'll just say when you see it you can't make it work.
Just as a fun fact, the Pelfrey FJC bumper has like 12 laser cut pieces.
This 4Runner one has like 85+ pieces. It's that complicated to get the right shapes.
Xtremluck
New member
I've seen the CAD drawings as well and have to say that it looks absolutely amazing. Going to be hands down the best bumper out there.
LawnDart
Senior Member
I'm not a huge fan of how the Pelfreybilt bumper looks in the non-swing arm configuration, looks a bit too big without the arms to offset the look.
However the swing arm one is going to be rad. Again...I hope. I'm thinking February it'll be ready for testing.
I did have to move my Maxtrax up onto the roof as the only downside to the Pelfrey is that the spare tire is dead center, and my maxtrax being on the tire would block my top/center brake light. So those had to move in preparation.
I saw the drawings a while back and I pulled the trigger on ordering one. I can't wait till they have done and ready for people to pick up! It's going to be the most badass bumper to get it.
LawnDart
Senior Member
Thanks!
honda250xtitan
New member
What's the opposite of HELLA FLUSH?!
In all seriousness, fenders had to come off as they're being Line-X'd on the inside for more protection since I can't run fender liners. Truck goes in for some paint loving as well (fenders, etc).
they're gonna feel nice and solid i bet afterwards. and basically bomb proof:llama:
you sold me on those llantas btw. Just from those two pics lol.
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