High clearance rear bumper as anti-traffic armor?

I've got a question for the armor-savvy folks in here. I'm considering an aftermarket rear bumper, and the high clearance (HC) types have caught my eye. Not because I need an improved departure angle, since this truck will rarely be taken offroad. It's more because I want 360 degree protection for my truck and HC bumpers are basically the only way to protect the bedsides.

My question is this: during a rear-end collision, wouldn't the average car slide under a HC bumper and hit something else on your truck? Maybe the spare tire or rear diff? I can only imagine that a component other than a bumper taking a hit would be bad, since bumpers are the only components that are designed to take a hit.

If I'm totally wrong, tell me. If you think I'm on to something, please say so. After-accident pics would be awesome, but any input is welcome.

 

Our trucks are already fairly high up compared to most cars hoods. I think you risk a car damaging the underside of your truck in almost any rear end collision. I don't think a high clearance rear bumper helps or hurts in a rear end collision but I think it would depend on the vehicle ramming you.

 

If you get rear ended or size swiped with a steel bumper then all that force goes straight into your frame, greatly increasing the chances of totalling the truck. If you're realky wanting to spend 1k+ on protecting your truck, then invest it in better insurance.

 

Way ahead of you guys on the insurance thing. I have as much as I can afford, which is great for peace of mind. Now that the administrative preparations are done, I'd like to put some effort into actually physically protecting my truck.

@ericvega, you think steel bumpers act as damage multipliers? That's something I haven't heard before. Would you care to elaborate?

 

Do you have a tow hitch? That stops them dead. If not, you won't want the truck anyway. Since you have the coverage, why not just wait until someone hits you. Free mod!

 

I've read that - sometimes - the frame can get pretty bent up after the tow hitch takes a whack. I can see why, since there's a lot of force getting concentrated on one small part of the truck with a sizable moment arm. Not a solid recipe to avoid damage.

 

Modern cars are designed to crush everywhere except the passenger compartment. They are called crumple zones.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=crump...a10084f74c1f3b24c85c2efd7&cc=US&setlang=en-US


As the car crushes it reduces the forces of the impact and helps protect the passengers. It doesn't take much of a hit for most modern cars to crush in an impact compared to old school cars. But the passengers suffer fewer injuries. When you replace components with heavy steel bumpers they do reduce vehicle damage in minor accidents, but increase the chances of serious injury or death from more serous accidents.

 

There's many threads on here of people with frame damage from being rear ended with steel bumpers. The rear end of the 3g frames are not boxed--they are open c-channel. As such, they crush quite easily. Additionally, by removing the crumple zone--the area designed to absorb and dissipate energy from a collision--then that energy will go somewhere else in the event of a collision, ie. the frame.

As you can see from these threads, it doesn't take much to damage the frame even with the stock bumper.


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rear-ended-frame-damage.584811/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/frame-damage.611770/#post-20722576

So while odds are you're screwed for a faster collision either way, at least you'll be better off in a low-speed collision with the stock safety hardware.

It's the same deal with a steel bumper. They mount in almost exactly the same spot.

 

Do these trucks have rear crumple zones? As far as I understand, there isn't any sort of "crush area" built in for rear-end collisions beyond the frame itself crumpling.

I accept that there really isn't anything that will save the truck in a high-speed collision. You really think that the truck would be better off in a low-speed collision with the stock bumper? I've seen a good few pictures that seem to indicate otherwise.

I mean, yes and no. Yes, steel bumpers generally use the same mounting points as the stock bumper. No, many HC bumpers don't have an underslung hitch, removing the aforementioned moment arm and potentially reducing the chances of bending the frame.