BSM and aftermarket rear bumpers

The BSM position is precise. A couple degrees deviation, and it will not function properly.
It also needs to be re-calibrated if it's removed.
An inaccurate reading could cause an accident. Huge liability for any company considering taking this on.

 

Interesting. What's involved in re-calibration? Do you know of any "self-check" procedure that will tell whether the BSM is functioning/calibrated correctly?

 

It requires special service tools and a techstream.

 

Too bad.

So the BSM is housed behind the plastic bumper covers. Say I bump that cover with my knee, dent it, and thus change the angle of the BSM sensor. Do you know whether the truck will alert me that something is wrong?

 

Not on the dash, but it will produce a DTC during a health check
The most important point is that if the sensor is not at the specified mounting points, and properly calibrated, it will not function properly, or give an inaccurate reading. It could cause an accident.

 

Interesting info. We will find out what happens when we get our bumper assembled and take it for a test drive. Thanks for posting up this info. I cant seem to find anyone who knows any specifics about the system.

 

No worries! The last thing you want is someone coming back to you because the angles were off a couple degrees, the system didn't pickup a car in their blind spot, and they caused an accident.
The sensors also won't read accurately thru metal, so you've got that to tackle.

 

I'd guess they're making cut-outs for the sensors - similar to what the other manufacturer did to support BSM.

This is why I'm hesitant to grow reliant on BSM - it's a nice helper feature, but there's no way I'd ever trust it 100% and chance lanes without manually checking the blind spots.

 

sub'd

 

I would love to have an aftermarket rear bumper that didn't defeat the BSM system, that would be cool. But if you rely on the BSM system to save you from an accident you need to revisit your local driving school. I've driven commercial vehicles that have REAL blind spots not the 'I drive a mid-sized truck and can't bother to put down my pumpkin spice frappe to head check the lane' blind spots y'all are worked up about.

 

Yes we have already figured out that it will not function behind basically anything but plastic. Our plan is to cut an opening in the corner of the bumper and create a plastic fill panel that can attach from the inside of the bumper to cover the opening and still allow the sensor to function. Hopefully we can get the angles close enough to still function.

 

Sounds great. That's what I was hoping someone would do.

 

@C4 Fabrication - I'm not seeing a regular rear bumper on your site for 2016+ Tacomas, only the high-clearance one. So, question: will your regular bumper have a hitch that bolts on from the bottom (like the 2nd gen Tacos version), or have an integrated one behind the license plate? Moving the hitch to behind the plate (and thus gaining that clearance) is my main reason for wanting a rear bumper, so I hope your product can do that. And I'm also not seeing any tire swingout options on that same 2nd gen regular bumper - will this be an option on the 2016 model?

 

Yes the direct replacement bumper will utilize the same hidden hitch setup. As for swing out options, we will be working on that once the final version of the direct replacement bumper is finished. The nice thing about the Hi-Clearance model is that it has an extra support arm by the rear tire that goes from the bumper to the frame. This gives a significant amount of extra strength to the corner of the bumper where the swing arm is mounted and helps stop the bumper from twisting or sagging at the corner when the swing arm is opened. We will have to add some extra support inside the corner of the direct replacement bumper to give it enough strength to hold the swing arm.

 

Here is the progress on our current BSM compatible bumper we have been working on. We took it for a test drive and the BSM is still functioning properly. Now we just need to figure out the best way to add a plastic cover piece to go in front of the sensor to cover the opening in the steel.

 

Nice to see progress pics!

Questions:
1. What are the angled cut-outs on both sides of the license plate for?
2. Is that a hitch-receiver cut-out under the license plate area? This seems like the hitch would be integrated into the bumper, but I thought you said the hitch would be separate?
3. The bumper "droops" down on the two ends, where the BSM sensors are - any chance of making the bottom of the bumper level for cleaner aesthetics?
4. Am I correct to assume that it'll be possible to get the bumper without all those extra cut-outs for parking sensors, rear lights, etc.?

As far as mounting the plastic cover piece, I think it'd be best to make it reasonably easily removable, and to also sell the plastic "filler" separately, in case someone damages theirs and needs a replacement. If there's room to access that area, make it so that it can be inserted from the inside, with a wider (than the hole) back-plate that would attach with some sort of removable hardware on the back side of the bumper.

 

The angled cutouts are for access to the receiver hitch pin and the trailer electrical plug in.
Yes there is an integrated hidden hitch behind the license plate and that is the only way we will be offering the bumper. I mentioned in the post above that it would utilize the same hidden hitch as our Hi-Clearance bumper. The whole center section of the bumper is the same design as our Hi-Clearance rear bumper.
Yes the bumper slopes down at the outside corners to fit around the BSM sensors. The bumper does not slope down any farther than other companies rear bumpers. It just appears that way because the center section of our bumper isn't as tall as other manufacturers. Our sloped license plate and hidden hitch design allows us to make that portion of the bumper only about 5 1/2" tall to maximize departure angle. Most other bumpers are about 7"-8" tall at the center.
Yes the customer will be able to order the bumper without all the extra sensor cutouts and light cutouts if they do not want them.
As for mounting the plastic cover over the sensor, we will be doing something very similar to how you suggested.

 

So ... I have a 2017 TRD OR with the tech package if anybody wants to experiment with bumper designs

 

Thanks for the info. I misunderstood your earlier answer re: hitch. Glad to see it's integrated behind the plate!

Looking forward to seeing the final version!

 

Definitely interested