Any reason NOT to go with a bumper replacement?

All,

I am new to the forum here and am in the market for a new do-all vehicle and am leaning toward a Tacoma. Is there any reason to not go with a full bumper replacement for a Tacoma? I see that a lot of serious off-roaders have them to give better angles. Would you recommend doing this on a daily driver?

I am looking at different bumper replacements as I do a lot of hunting/fishing/outdoor activities and have had two collisions with deer that were pretty costly.

Does bumper replacement grille-guard have much of an effect of fuel econ? What about air-bag effectiveness? If you go with a replacement, should you modify your suspension to compensate for added weight?

I appreciate any advice.

 

Ur gunna need a suspension upgrade

 

^^^This, suspension is the pinnacle of all other upgrades. Trust me, I've done months worth of reading and research on this.

If you're gonna do a plate bumper I'd consider full skids too which will add weight as well so again, a quality suspension is gonna compliment this.

 

Thread revival... I'm in the same scenario. Just for looks, deer, and 2 - 4 lights. I don't off road, maybe the occasional dirt road and trail. Don't know if I wanna blow $500 to $1000 on a "novelty"

 

I'm looking more toward trimming weights not adding on the Taco so im not much help to you here.

 

You also have to cut your liners (I just ended up removing mine altogether) and when you do that it leaves the air box intake port open to the elements (on 2nd gens anyway).

There is also a different front suspension unless you like the huge rake and an improper ride.

 

Don't get one. You will not see appreciable increase in the Delicious Factor in your life if you buy one.

Plate bumpers are for protection against rocks when you're on the trail, wheeling the fuck out of your truck.

Plate bumpers are for housing a winch, so you can pull yourself out of bad spots, or pull others out of bad spots, while you're wheeling the fuck out of your truck.

Plate bumpers are for increased approach angle, to get your tires onto rocks without crushing the lower portion of a bumper, so you can crawl on top of them while wheeling the fuck out of your truck.

Plate bumpers are for stuffing bigger tires, to help you crawl over stuff while you're wheeling the fuck out of your truck.

Since you're not going to wheel the fuck out of your truck, you can see that the plate bumper might not be a very good option for you.

Since the plate bumper expose the tires, and if you look at it from a pure Aerodynamic Standpoint, it's gonna smash the face of your tires into the wind, causing you to have to maintain higher RPMs to keep your speed up while you're on your way to the Mall Parking Lot.

Most plate bumpers are very heavy and will require you to get a suspension upgrade just to drive your truck without it smooshing your front springs and causing you to bottom out while going over speed bumps during your 20th trip around the Mall Parking Lot.

 

I'm noticing a pattern.

 

Tailgate semis in deer country. Also deers hate Nikiki manaj, blast that shit singing offkey. And that iggy girl. I g g y offkey. Deer flee.

 

The Buckstop bumper on my Ram 3500 slays deer without leaving any sign of the incident on the truck, at least none that can't be wiped off

 

I have one and I don't wheel hardcore. My truck is my daily driver. I hunt and fish a bit. I did loose a bit of fuel economy but not enough to not add the bumper. I do have a little more peace of mind knowing if some moron cuts me off or a deer jumps out in front of me I have a lot more protection than a stock bumper. I did not trim the liner. I just have it tucked up in the bumper. I can easily go back to stock if I desire to. It's nice to be able to add a winch down the road should I choose to plus I think it looks good. It all boils down to personal preference. Some don't want the added weight, hate the look, have to justify it with hardcore off-roading. At the end of the day it's your truck and $ so do what you like.

 

The only bumper I think that's strictly for offroad use is a HC rear. Other than that, all plate bumpers are street friendly IMO. Deer or dickheads, there's a lot of times more protection is better, and they provide it.

 

Post of the year! I love it!! haha