Source for replacement front & rear bumpers (2003)

So like most of the first-gens I've seen, my bumpers have given in to rust. Started as a small spot and now they're pretty ugly haha. The rear is "fish scaled" across the surface of whole section that dips down to see the license plate, and that a ball hitch can go through. The front one has both corners flaked away to fist-sized holes now.

Is there a specific term I should search? When I search "front bumper" for 2003 tacos I get a lot of results for the actual structural bumper that sits BEHIND the chrome that is rusting. Also, it looks as if the chrome piece and the plastic section under it are two pieces. well, obviously they are if they're two different materials haha, but are they two seperate pieces when it comes to replacement, because I really just need to replace the rusting chrome part, the black plastic underneath that section is fine.

 

Pm me. Im putting a new offroad bumper on my 02 and all my front pieces are in good condition. might be able to make a deal and ship to you.

Tim

 

beat me too it I was going to say the same thing
mine is also off an 02

 

Although I am sometimes off road with the truck, I bought an OEM style front and rear bumper off eBay. There seems to be a lot of cheaply made ones there though. The rear bumper is a Westin. Don't know who made the front strip. I went with black and repainted the insides to try to hold off the rust. After two winters, there is some light surface rust on the inside of the rear bumper. The front piece was around $100, so if it does not last, it's not the end of the world.

I really got tired of the rusty chrome. There were also some used OEM bumpers out there, which were in good condition.

 

yep, those cheap bumpers you find are just that CHEAP, there is a reason an oem bumper cost you $500 and last rust free for 20 years, its because its made of thicker stronger metal that is triple chrome plated unlike the aftermarkets that just get one dip and look great at first but then a year later you have rust pits breaking out all over it. been there done that. I have bought around 8 or 9 aftermarket bumpers over the past 10 years hoping they would start making them better but none was worth buying again.

if you want a painted bumper then the aftermarkets are fine for that but completely repaint then or they too will start rusting right away.

another note on aftermarket bumpers is the edges are not cleaned up and smoothed out before chroming so very sharp edges will cut you when washing the truck and these sharp edges are also where the rust will be worst since the chrome doesn't bond well to the rough edges that may not be completely clean.

bottom line is if you want chrome then buy new oem or salvage yard one or your just wasting your money to buy a bumper that starts rusting as soon as you install it.