High Clearance Rear Bumper

Email sent with pics.

 

PM sent.

 

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Shipping Chris' bumper without the tire carrier was the biggest mistake. He was on a deadline for getting the bumper and we couldn't meet that with both pieces. This won't happen again. As for it sitting at an angle now, I can't speculate because I can not look at the bumper in person and I have not been with the bumper it's entire life. We did bring the tire carrier back and repair the latch. this involved lowering the carrier by 3/16". This repair was performed in house, on a bumper we have here so I know for a fact that we did not lower the tire carrier as much as the angle in those photos.

 

We have made several new improvements to the tire carriers a couple of months ago.

First off we've changed the assembly process to compensate for issues with weld warp that were the problem with the first production units. I'm honestly not sure what happened with the first few. We built the tire carrier for the shop show truck the same way we built all of the others and we have had no problems with it. But we changed the process anyway to be sure there are no more problems there.

Second, the fixed portion of the latch has been extended and a relief added to fully capture the catch stud. This ensures that the only way for the latch to come open is by physically breaking the latch. This also holds the gate tight to eliminate rattles.

Third, the main latch plate now has a deeper slot, which still has the interference fit locking notch at the bottom of the latch movement. This is a fairly minor change.

Fourth, latch studs are slightly longer and rest into a rubber bumper on the tire carrier side of the latch. This preloads the latch to again insure the latch will not rattle.

Fifth, a nylon skid pad has been added to the height alignment pad. This eliminates another metal on metal contact point but is primarily intended to reduce friction when closing the gate. This nearly eliminates wear between the two parts and will help protect the paint in this area of the bumper.

Sixth, we've redesigned the hinge mounting base, extending the lower flange to allow the open position holding pin to have two potential functions in the closed position. Option one is to have the flange solid where the pin rests in the closed position. This holds the pin up so there is no need to pull the spring pin up to get the gate into the fully open position. The other option is to drill out the flange in the closed position location of the locking pin (a laser cut pierce point is provided for location). The pin then acts as a secondary backup holding the gate in the closed position. By drilling this hole you would have to pull on the spring pin at the hinge to open the gate. So far we have been shipping all tire carriers with this hole not drilled but we can drill them here if requested.

These upgrades have raised the quality of this tire carrier to a whole new level that I feel is not being matched by any other manufacture. The latch is as simple and quick to use as it comes and now has no chance to pop open and is rubberized to eliminate rattles. The hinge is hands down the strongest available anywhere and has the option of 3 locking positions.


Note the nylon washer between the fixed and pivot portions of the latch has always been included.

 

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Man I hope Adam can get this taken care of Chris. I am the one that pushed you on this bumper because of how much I love mine. However, either Kevin didn't give Adam the most updated specs or Adam tweeked them some. Regardless, Adam has always been great for me to deal with during my shackle flip setup. Give him a chance and I am confident he will get it taken care of! After installing Matts for him, although I am not a fan of any of the differences, his is definitely a much better design than the one you received....

 

Not your fault. I thought I was getting one like the original ATO but definitely not, the only thing the same is the shape of the bumper itself.

 

Here's some more info for anyone looking at this bumper and tire gate.

ATO Swing-Out

Level garage floor...

Unloaded:

Measured at spindle: 35"
Measured at latch: 34 7/16"

Difference: 9/16"

Loaded (255 spare tire, 1 full water Jerry can, 1 full fuel Jerry can):
Measured at spindle: 33 3/16"
Measured at latch: 30 15/16"

Difference: 2 1/4"

 

I'll have to try this myself, but one flaw in your measurement is that without locking the suspension (i.e. jackstands) out of the equation these numbers are meaningless.

I had a long explanation, but I drew a picture instead (see attached).

To the extent that the truck squats on the rear axle around the front axle the measurement at the spindle (blue line) will always be less than the measurement at the latch (green line).

I don't disagree that the angle of you spindle seems to be off level from the pictures you've shown. How much of that is from the deflection isn't demonstrated by your test, however.

 

That makes sense was thinking about that concept this morning.

 

couple of questions for those of you running the ato hc bumper, how are you wiring the license plate lights? are you using the stock harness/bulbs and modifying them to work or are you splicing in with a whole different lighting setup or maybe using something similar to these?

Krator MT250B Black License Plate Light (2X White Led License Plate Bolt Lights Fender Motorcycle Eliminators Tidy Tails)

http://www.amazon.com/License-Plate-Bolt-Lights-Black/dp/B004PC49ZQ

just trying to get my ducks in a row before i dive into an unknown purchase. thanks

 

Still on sale for $673?

 

Dan, Our bumpers include new LED bolt lights that both hold the plate on and have led lights built into them to light the plate. There's no need for any other sort of accessory light to be added after you order a bumper from us.

Sorry no I have not been able to be on the forums much lately. Email or phone is the fastest, more reliable way to get in touch with me currently. But we did chat about it.

 

For those of you that have this bumper, is there provisions for connecting the "safety chains" while towing a trailer? I can't see anything in the pictures or description.

 

Yes there are hook mounts on the inside (front, towards the stock spare tire location) of the hitch tube.

 

making me think twice...

 

I'm sorry to hear you feel this way. We use a standard Curt receiver tube, it still has the factory mounting point, which IS accessible. All be it not easily, a fact I have not once tried to hide. People asked to have another point available so we did that also.

Can you drill a new hole farther forward on your ball mount?

You guys want a rated hitch receiver but don't want it to stick out behind the high clearance off road bumper because it decreases departure angle. I'm all ears for suggestions for what you want done with the hitch tubes. I will not sell a bumper without those hitch supports. It would be a huge liability for me and for you to tow with a hitch that is not strong enough to meet the federal guide lines!

 

Adam, do you have a picture of the receiver area in question? I want to be as educated as possible before I make my choice on HC Rear.

 

hitch pin access. It is tight but it is doable. Just as with the Style 2 Hidden Hitch, if you will be changing out a ball mount a lot (taking it on/off to go off road), this isn't the bumper for you. You would want the Style 1 or Style 2 standard hitch. If you're doing it once and a while, it should not be a big deal with the HC or Style 2 Hidden Hitch.