Owners of front or rear bumpers, help

[Shabang]

Hey ya'll,

Just looking for some advice on a front or rear bumper addition. I just want to hear what everyone thinks is more worth it the long run. Currently I am stuck between getting the C4 Lo-Pro Bumper or some kind of rear bumper/tire-carrier. Let me know what you would do first. And for some background, I do not do a ton of offroading, but there are weekends and vacations that I take my rig out on.

Thanks!

 

[Krej]

Hard to answer your question without a better description of what you are looking to achieve. Here are my general thoughts.

1. LowPro front bumpers are glorified winch mounts. Not saying that in a bad way, I like mine a lot, but if you don’t need/ don’t plan on getting a winch, the bumper is just extra weight.
2. Rear bumpers are really expensive. The are a bad way to carry things unless you need the armor. Swing-out tire mounts work better if you don’t need the armor.
3. I can think of a lot of things I would invest in first from a practical standpoint, but if you are looking at them for cosmetic reasons as well (no judgment for me) that is a different ball game.

I will stop there for now, but let me know if you have any other questions. I have a pretty decked out rig and could walk you through all of the stuff you don’t need. Lol

 

[Jhalko]

It’s a lot of weight for occasional use, I’ve done a lot of fun moderate trails and get through with just a scrape here and there on the stock plastic and I have original low hanging front. If you put a bumper on the front aluminum is your friend.

 

[Moto13]

Hard to answer your question without a better description of what you are looking to achieve. Here are my general thoughts.

1. LowPro front bumpers are glorified winch mounts. Not saying that in a bad way, I like mine a lot, but if you don’t need/ don’t plan on getting a winch, the bumper is just extra weight.
2. Rear bumpers are really expensive. The are a bad way to carry things unless you need the armor. Swing-out tire mounts work better if you don’t need the armor.
3. I can think of a lot of things I would invest in first from a practical standpoint, but if you are looking at them for cosmetic reasons as well (no judgment for me) that is a different ball game.

I will stop there for now, but let me know if you have any other questions. I have a pretty decked out rig and could walk you through all of the stuff you don’t need. Lol

I just picked up the ARB 3423020 because I wanted the winch mount. Now I'm looking at the rear as well. I'm running 99 tall springs on a 1996 Limited. The prices for rear swing aways are stupid. If I did the Coastal rear kit with the ARB on the front I'd have as much in bumpers as I did buying the truck. My question is, do the hitch mount swing away spare carriers work well and do they affect clearance? I don't have any experience with them but thinking of the weight I'm adding with bumpers and my next move on tire size I'm being mindful that all of this is probably going to lead to even more money spent on suspension.

 

[Ripper238]

I'm thinking of getting a C4 Lo-Pro Bumper too, but so i have a winch mount and i like the look. I believe they make them in aluminum if you are just looking for looks.

Ill need to beef up the front end suspension if i decide on adding the C4 low-pro and winch so ill have to do more research.

 

[Shabang]

Thanks for help y'all! It is partly cosmetic, but it will have its fair share of usage. I agree that the rear bumper swing outs are two ridiculous for my amount of off-roading. I do like the ARB models, not too expensive and looks pretty sick.

 

[sn_85]

Thanks for help y'all! It is partly cosmetic, but it will have its fair share of usage. I agree that the rear bumper swing outs are two ridiculous for my amount of off-roading. I do like the ARB models, not too expensive and looks pretty sick.

In your use case I'd get a C4 Lo-Pro, Shrockworks sliders, RCI aluminum skids, and a Shrockworks rear bumper. Shrockworks is located in Houston so that's a plus. I'd just wait until their next Group Buy and get 15% off. They should have another in winter time. As others have said be prepared to pay a weight penalty - driveability, MPG. You'll need a new suspension and likely upsize your tires. Then down the road you may have to re-gear.

Cars aren't a forever thing but if you keep it stock you'll definitely keep it a lot longer. That being said modding is part of the fun and sometimes it's about the look. If you listen to most people on this forum they'll say to keep it stock for as long as possible which is reasonable. But at some point the mod bug will hit so I say do as your heart pleases but understand you may incur some unwanted downsides. GL

 

[mrblah]

watch the weight.

thats the biggest drawback to armor of any kind.

 

[Shabang]

Thanks again yall, I have decided to go with the C4 lo pro. As for weight in the front, what all would I need to do to the suspension to counter the weight? I want to do a level (just some spacers) but if theres more to be done, you guys would know.

 

[Drobs]

Thanks again yall, I have decided to go with the C4 lo pro. As for weight in the front, what all would I need to do to the suspension to counter the weight? I want to do a level (just some spacers) but if theres more to be done, you guys would know.

I have the Warn Low Pro Bumper and Warn VR10 (steel cable) winch.
The Warn Low Pro weighs 70 to 80lbs the winch weighs 100lbs. Add in the TRD skid plate and I figure 200+lbs hanging off the front end.

I went with the Warn Low Pro because it was readily available everywhere "on the shelf" plus it was already powder coated. No long lead times & no additional powder coating cost & hassle.

I went with the Eibach Pro Truck lift after researching other lifts (Dobinson, Bilstein, Kings, Icon, etc.) and have found it to greatly improves on road handling (tight in the curves + nose dive on breaking is gone). It handles the weight of winch / bumper, & stopped the front end from sagging.

The Eibach kit doesn't require new upper control arms. I'm still getting 18.75 average MPG.

I cant justify the price of Icon or Kings at this point - sitting in the midwest.


Next mod will be sliders - still debating Shrockworks step sliders vs RSG angled sliders.

Holding off on the skid plates for now as I still have my 2 free oil changes as part of the new vehicle service package. I'm 90% decided on RCI aluminum skid plates as they have a tie in with the TRD front skid plate.

I plan to go up a tire size or 2 once my Wildpeaks wear out - 30k to 40k miles from now.


I'm pretty happy with what I have so far. However, 20/20 hindsight... a hidden winch mount like this SDHQ mount is also a neat lightweight way to go:

SDHQ hidden winch installation

 

[ProfessorP]

I'm thinking of getting a C4 Lo-Pro Bumper too, but so i have a winch mount and i like the look. I believe they make them in aluminum if you are just looking for looks.

Ill need to beef up the front end suspension if i decide on adding the C4 low-pro and winch so ill have to do more research.

An aluminum bumper can be more than just for looks. I went with a Victory 4x4 winch blitz bumper in aluminum. The recovery tabs are 1” thick and they go through the bumper and are fully welded to the part that bolts directly to the frame. The rest of the bumper is 1/4” aluminum and has all kinds of reinforcements. If you don’t need armor for bashing into rocks the Victory bumper is plenty strong for winching and recovery.

Weight of my Victory bumper with the Warn VR8-S winch is about 85 pounds minus the weight of the factory bumper that it replaced for a net gain of about 65 pounds.

Only had the setup installed for 10 days and I already winched a very stuck 2wd SUV out of a ditch and everything worked just fine. The aluminum bumper didn’t melt away or turn to dust and the Chinese made Warn didn’t burst into flames. :biggrin2:

 

[Ripper238]

An aluminum bumper can be more than just for looks. I went with a Victory 4x4 winch blitz bumper in aluminum. The recovery tabs are 1” thick and they go through the bumper and are fully welded to the part that bolts directly to the frame. The rest of the bumper is 1/4” aluminum and has all kinds of reinforcements. If you don’t need armor for bashing into rocks the Victory bumper is plenty strong for winching and recovery.

Weight of my Victory bumper with the Warn VR8-S winch is about 85 pounds minus the weight of the factory bumper that it replaced for a net gain of about 65 pounds.

Only had the setup installed for 10 days and I already winched a very stuck 2wd SUV out of a ditch and everything worked just fine. The aluminum bumper didn’t melt away or turn to dust and the Chinese made Warn didn’t burst into flames. :biggrin2:

Really nice and good to hear! I may go this way then since i wont be basing rocks! No suspension upgrades?

Looks like you have Duratracs too!

 

[ProfessorP]

Really nice and good to hear! I may go this way then since i wont be basing rocks! No suspension upgrades?

Looks like you have Duratracs too!

I went with a Dobinsons 2.5” suspension lift (new springs and shocks front and back) and Dobinsons upper control arms. My tires are 265/70 R17 Falken Wildpeak AT3W.

Here’s a link to my suspension upgrade specifications.

 

[Shabang]

I am really considering just doing the 5100s, they're cheap, and have great reviews. But I could be completely wrong. Also, does the C4 provide a strong enough base for a Hi-Jack?

 

[AMLOR]

An aluminum bumper can be more than just for looks. I went with a Victory 4x4 winch blitz bumper in aluminum. The recovery tabs are 1” thick and they go through the bumper and are fully welded to the part that bolts directly to the frame. The rest of the bumper is 1/4” aluminum and has all kinds of reinforcements. If you don’t need armor for bashing into rocks the Victory bumper is plenty strong for winching and recovery.

Weight of my Victory bumper with the Warn VR8-S winch is about 85 pounds minus the weight of the factory bumper that it replaced for a net gain of about 65 pounds.

Only had the setup installed for 10 days and I already winched a very stuck 2wd SUV out of a ditch and everything worked just fine. The aluminum bumper didn’t melt away or turn to dust and the Chinese made Warn didn’t burst into flames. :biggrin2:

THIS!^^^:iagree: Mine should be here toward the end of next week. will be using it to mount a Smittybilt 12K winch. As I mostly do overland, not rock crawling the aluminum is just fine by me.
Hopefully Eibach comes through with a heavier front coil spring for the FOX shocks. I still need to add another battery...