Winch bumper thoughts

I am stealing this picture from another thread, but it is the best example of my point.



Most of the bumpers being built appear to be designed to just bolt on to where the stock aluminum bumper is mounted. The stock location is designed to just hold a 15-20 lb chunk of aluminum in place. It is not designed to take any kind of load at all.

Has anyone had a problem with winches tearing bumpers off of the frame when they are mounted this way? Or does anyone design a bracket that somehow ties back into the frame?

I love the Demello bumper (and others like it), but no matter how strong they are it seems like they aren't mounted well.

 

I have a relentless bumper. And have used my winch a couple times with no issues

 

I love how the demello looks but haven't been a fan of how it mounts up. I have a relentless front and I would say that there are only a few others that mount up as strong. It has the same two bolts as the demello, plus the ones on the bottom, and a bracket that goes back further on the frame. CBI's is solid as well. Haven't seen a brute force or pelfry built in person, from what I remember they seemed stout as well. If you have you're heart set on the demello Id give them a call and see if they can add more support to it. They do alot of custom stuff.

 

Relentless is one I like also. Plus I think he has an aluminum version for a lythe weight savings.

 

pretty sure all bumper manufacturers tie the bumpers to the side of the frame rail with a bracket that bolts to the sway bar mount holes, except for allpro but i could be mistaken.

 

Yes, Jandrews allegedly had seen it happen, and that was with an All-Pro bumper which uses two additional 1/2" bolts on the lower front crossmember (where the factory tie-down points are). All-Pro had since revised the mounting bracket to also pick up on the sway bar holes. See: http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/340415_10150589362894961_1519904193_o.jpg

Winching/recovery forces can be quite high, up to 5 tons. The six bumper studs can take it if the force is straight-on. At an angle, the studs can bend/shear.

 

I have an aluminum one. The design on them is great, but I was not pleased with the customer service. Maybe that's changed though.

From everything I've seen the demello does not. Just the four bolts on the front. I personally like demello and was pleases with my old trucks sliders. If I were to be in the market for a new bumper I would see of they could make one with the extra mounts though.

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/de...-new-demello-front-bumpers-2.html#post3365194

 

I would look into CBI, they have more mounting points than the Bumper that is shown here. I have a Warn 8000m on my truck and have used it plenty of times and have had no issues so far.

 

Make sure it is AIRBAG compatible....

 

Isn't ARB the only vendor that states their bumper is airbag compatible ?

 

Most likely YES (but ive never researched that myself).
TJM bumpers are.

Just something to think about when considering front bumpers.
It probably costs a shit-ton of money to test bumpers for airbag compatibility and why most companies can't say it.

 

You would think airbags would be deployed by some kind on inertia switch not collapse of the front end....

 

You would think.... But depending on where the sensors are mounted to, overall crumple zones, and impact absorption....I don't think it's that simple.

Having a heavy duty bumper may prevent the airbag from going off simply because it could absorb the impact instead of allowing the sensor to pickup the inertia.... (Or as it was designed to work)

Did that make sense?

 

The airbags on tacomas are inertia based. There's no pressure plate of any kind

 

Airbags for 2nd gens are triggered by deceleration. You can even see some of the sensors when working on the truck. Any other method to detect a collision wouldn't be reliable given the variety of impact scenarios (full frontal crash, large offset, small offset, pole...).

Since the plate bumper is stiffer than the factory aluminum beam, it absorbs less energy. This causes greater deceleration to anything behind it, so the airbag may go off sooner in some scenarios.

 

Yup ^^. ”Airbag compatible” today actually means that the bumper is designed to crush on impact. Of course there is no DOT regulated use of that term so a manufacturer can really use it based on any criteria they want.

 

That's your theory.
Since non of us were involved in the engineering of the safety system, you really can't assume anything. I'm pretty sure it's not that simple.

If anyone is concerned with that sort of thing, they probably should avoid an aftermarket bumper completely.

 

That's not really a theory, its a fact.

 

All newer vehicle use accelerometers to measure the amount of g-forces, once the set amount of g-forces has been reach it will deploy the airbags. The amount of g-forces required to deploy the airbags is dependent on how many g's the average human body can withstand before the airbag is needed. It is not based on the type of vehicle you drive.