New Low Profile Option FBTT1-05

Had a slow speed collision with the ass-end of a Jeep last week, and his spare tire caught the front end of my truck. My hood is buckled, braces are a bit tweaked, grill destroyed, and my passenger side headlight tabs are busted. Jeep was unharmed, and this Toyota is a very crumple-able truck. If I were repairing in a shop, the repair would easily be $3-4K.

This will be a driveway fix on a budget, so I opted to be the guinea pig on a new low profile option that I haven't seen anyone install yet. The DV8

$570 FBTT1-05 Center Mount Front Bumper for 2016-2023 Toyota Tacoma | No Cutting Required | Winch Mount Included | Integrated Bull Bar | Welded Light Tabs | Optional Light Hoop 20" Slim LED Light Bar | DV8 Offroad

FBTT1-05. Total price to the door was $345, and I think I bought the first one (on ebay at least). I was skeptical, but noticed a phone number in the listing which I called. Cool guy picked up on the first ring, and answered all of my questions. Strangely enough, the guy who answered was the actual installer! Said it's strong as hell and looks great on his buddy's grey Tacoma. He's been running one on his jeep for a long time and is really happy with function/ form. I have Rock Steps on my truck which compliment the bumper nicely. I also went bought the EAG replacement grill. Reviews on TW are good, and Toyota wont sell the color matched upper grill by itself. I'm going to try it out with the Land Cruiser TOYOTA on the front and see if I like it.

I'm still on the hunt for a passenger side headlight and a Quicksand hood. PM me if you have any for sale. Money is tight at the moment and trying to minimize the pain.

Pics from ebay/ Amazon below:

 

subscribed to see how it goes for you. sounds unexpectedly good so far. good luck with the bumper. but do take notice that those top pics you posted from ebay is showing that bumper misaligned quite obviously.

 

Thanks man. I noticed that too. Hopefully there's some adjustability, as that would drive me nuts. My main concern is the usability of the shackle mounts, given that you have to lose your tow hook. If they're just welded onto 18ga and not usable, it's going back.

Looks a little better in the front shot, but hard to say. I will say that the front end of the 3rd gen is like a house of cards. It takes some work to get everything lined up and every part seems to be in some way load bearing. If I had any welding skills, I'd fab parts to replace a couple of things, although I know Toyota's engineers make the stuff flimsy to prevent damage to the core support. The shit is just MADE to buckle, and when it does - bye bye headlight tabs.

 

I don't know why but that front bumper looks crooked to me, I can't unsee it!

Good luck with your repair, I'm all for DIY when you have the ambition and knack to do it right.

 

It's definitely off a hair, but mine will not be.

 

I lost my valence somewhere in the flooded streets of Beaumont TX two weeks ago. I ordered this from E-Bay as well. It was delivered in less than a week. I haven't installed it yet, but hopefully this week I will get a chance to. I will post pics once I have it done.

 

subscribing

 

Looks cool. Would look alot cooler without that light bar. But also dont forget youll have to mount the big ugly Texas license plate on there somewhere which will definitely take away from the look of it.

 

It’s the light bar that’s crooked. It sits like a 1/4” lower on the left. It’s welded lower on that side

 

Probably the most competitive price for a low profile bumper I've seen. I'm interested to see how it fits.

 

Interesting. From the most part I like it, just the light bar hoop that throws it off. Almost looks like it was an afterthought. If they offered the option without the hoop, I’d give it a shot for 300ish

 

That bumper looks like some of the stuff I have seen from EAG. They make a lot of jeep bumpers and fenders. They have a store (Vicious Off Road) and manufacturing facility down the street from where I work. They also have a manufacturing facility in China where they market to others who want to put their name on the products. They guy I was talking with said they are going to release their truck line in November. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same maker.

I would like something similar to that design, maybe without the light, to harden the front end without a full armor-up solution. The down side may be a higher propensity to bend the frame when you eliminate the crush zones.

 

Mines at UPS so should pick up this afternoon. It’s showing 108 lbs! Did you get yours done?

 

no. I went to open the box and noticed a bolt laying on the ground. The small bag of nuts, bolts, and washers was open. I tried to find the instructions to see if anything was missing, and couldn't find them. So I called and they are sending me a new bag of bolts and instructions. When you get yours, if you can scan the instructions and send them to me, so I can see what I am missing and can get it installed this weekend.

And yeah..its heavy

 

Will do. I’ll likely make a trip to fastenal to replace with better bolts anyways. I’m picky.

I also stopped by 4wheel parts today to see if they had any info. They called the manufacturer who said they would send over install instructions so I’ll shoot those your way when I get them. They also got the model number of the light bar but I didn’t write it down. Decided to just wait and measure to see what I can fit.

 

I think someone’s messing with us. They sold the first 2 pieces to a couple of Golden Triangle boys with no instructions and loose nuts and bolts.

The good part is that this thing is built really really well. Welds and powder coat look great and it’s all 1/4” steel with the exception of the light bar part. That makes a lot of sense to me. Should you bump something with that light bar, it will give before the frame begins to twist (ideally). Part weighs about 100 pounds, and was packed pretty well with the exception of the installation hardware. Every piece appears to be hecho en Mexico by someone who takes a lot of pride in their work.

Including a few pics of the unboxing and going to look online for some instructions. Guess I’ll be calling them too. Not sure I’ll get this licked tonight, but so far I’m really pleased with the purchase. Stay tuned.

 

Well you got more bolts, I got more washers and these two brackets that I don't see in your pictures.

 

Also what is this?

 

You shove it up your ass, pass through customs, and collect a prize.

 

Not doing that again...