Pros and cons of YOUR winch bumper

So I crushed a deer with my Tacoma Sunday night. It's in the shop to the tune of $5200 in repairs. I had almost pulled the trigger on a winch bumper a few times, and of course wish I had done it one of those times. While it's getting fixed, I am shopping for a stouter option, and will probably choose one of these:

I am strongly considering the good old ARB Deluxe, but I worry about the longevity of the paint, and the true strength of the headlight hoops if I hit a deer doing 55-60 mph again. I've considered calling and asking if they'll send me a bare bumper, then having it Rhino Lined (or similar). I also considered getting some expanded steel welded over the openings to help make it more resistant to wildlife damage.

I have also looked at the Aluminess bumpers. I like the weight savings of the aluminum, but they can get pricey.

I love the Iron Bull Bumper with the Enforcer grille guard with headlight protection. This looks like the stoutest bumper, with the best finish, that I can find on the internet. However, I am looking at $1900-2100, depending on my final choices for options.

My main goals are grille/headlight protection, ability to mount a winch, and ability to mount lights. I would like input from anyone who has owned any brand of bumper that provides all three of these things, that I can buy online. Please let me know what you have, how long you've had it, and what you like/dislike about it.

Thanks in advance.

 

I have a relentless fab aluminum bumper and I love it. the weight savings was the number one reason for buying it. I bought the DIY kit and had a local guy weld it up so I could have a say in how the final product came out. Search my name and youll find my thread to see pics. I would say that if you have the money, aluminum is the way to go, because the expedited wear and tear from the excess weight of a steel bumper will eventually eat up any money saved. That is my opinion, but it is based on years of modifying cars and trucks, and excess weight is a killer in every application. As for the ability to hit another deer, I cannot speak to that, but I imagine that in either case you will do less damage to the truck next time. you will however stop slower with the steel vs aluminum, because again, the excess weight matters

 

I have an AllPro APEX bumper.
Pro: It took a hit from a cadillac and barely got bent.
Con: It tore through the cadillac so much, that my tire was next to make contact and bent the spindle, making it not drivable.


Now shopping for a front bumper, debating if I want to do the APEX again or try another. Probably going to depend on lead times. I was happy with the APEX for what its worth.

 

I clocked several deer with my ARB deluxe bar, not a scratch, and the powder coat has no rust whatsoever I am in california however. See this thread below

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...impact-with-pics.379600/page-17#post-12344420

 

Wow, deer move fast in your neck of the woods!

 

I took out a deer with the ARB on my old Tacoma; no damage to the bumper or truck. Luckily he went down and under the truck instead of getting swung around into the side of the truck or going up onto the hood. I also took out a Subaru (he ran into me) but that totaled the bumper and the truck. The biggest things I don't like about the ARB is that there are no recovery points from the factory, the clutch lever for the winch is difficult to access if your hands are larger than a small girl's and the signal lights in the bumper are a total PITA to access when you have to change a bulb. The only rust I've noticed is small spots where I've knocked the paint off. You will need to upgrade your suspension if you add the bumper, especially if you put a winch in it.

Welding anything over the light bars will at least partially reduce your light and make it harder to get to the lights when you need to change them- all of these crappy plastic lenses start fogging over time.

 

Figured I'd post some pics.





There's also a crease under the front door in the rocker panel where it bends around, and a small dent in the front lower corner of the rear door. Insurance adjuster told me that there is also some damage to the A pillar, but I didn't see it. Damn deer.

 

The pics above are why I'm glad I ran an ARB on my 07, saved me from paying deductibles from deer strikes (twice in one year!) multiple times. It paid for itself, and the winch was useful several times as well. Protected me from day to day scratches ( trash cans, absent-mindedly tapping fences, other vehicles when parking, etc..) My 2015 is getting a pelfreybilt aluminum front bumper, I hope it is as resilient to front end damage.

 

I love my ARB. Havent had issues with the coating on it, but Its only been on for about a year. Winched a few vehicles no problem. Bumped a couple things too :/

I saved these photo's from another thread about toughness with plate bumpers. Looks to hold up pretty well in the event of a collision.

 

I also have a Relentless aluminum plate bumper. Since I have a 4 cyl the weight savings was big for me. The bumper is well designed and very solid. The center section that bolts to the frame is very solid. Any impact hard enough to significantly bend the center section will probably result in some bending of the frame. I think the wings are the weak point in any design. I'm sure the steel one is stronger but it weighs twice as much. The aluminum version is 1/4" 5052 while the steel version is 3/16" mild steel plate. The Pelfreybilt bumpers are also super nice.

 

Picked up a friend and a couple of her trail buddies off the Appalachian Trail yesterday and drove them to another trailhead where one of them had parked their ride. Drove probably 200 miles on I-81 and 77. The deer were EVERYWHERE. I knew I was going to hit one. I didn't, but decided I had to get a bumper ASAP.

Decided to go with the good old ARB deluxe. Ordered it today at the lowest price I could find, on bumperstore.com. Got the fog light kit as well. It'll be open season on the little bastards as soon as I get it put on!!!

The main reason I decided on the ARB is that I had one on an 03 Tacoma before, and it was a beast. I also wanted one that I didn't have to wait to be built after ordering. I'm going to upgrade the suspension next, so the extra weight is less of a concern.

I probably just opened Pandora's box...

 

I'm sure it'll be strong enough for the majority of what people will use it for, and look great.

However, aluminum won't be as strong as steel.

 

Steel for bumpers if you want impact resistance!!

Only thing I've impacted was a rock... in Moab. Was doing less than 5mph. But the rock was bigger than my truck so... Pelfreybilt Steel bumper.


The ARB bumpers provide more protection for your tires/wheels. However, most off-road designed bumpers (Like Pelfreybilt) expose the tire on purpose so you can crawl the tire up onto obstacles without catching the bumper as easily.

 

my arb is by now probably 5 years old, paint is still good and no rust. Good quality powdercoat. THe only issue is the winch mounting location, had to reclock mine to clear the winch handle. Also you need an offset fairlead if you go synthetic.

 

I have a Tactical Armor Group bumper (yeah, I know... it took SIX MONTHS to build...) that I got after nailing a deer doing 70. This thing is STOUT, but it must weigh a ton with the winch (and sliders, skid plates, camper shell, etc.) Actually just weighed on scales last week: 5300 lbs, 2920 on the front and 2380 rear. I wish I knew what the bumper weights. I'm having to replace my ToyTec adjustable lift kit & AAL with OME 886 & Dakar kit. Averaging 18 mpg.