Opinions Needed on Bumper

Help! I whacked a deer will be getting an insurance rebuild of the front and corner. The repair will not begin until all of the parts are sourced. I really want to use this opportunity to have the collision shop replace the bumper with something more substantial because I plan to keep this truck for a few more years. I believe I have another week or two to source a bumper.

This may sound lazy, but I researched a bit and now I'm paralyzed with all of the options. Looking for a full bumper with the hidden winch option. Not looking for super heavy duty, just something that wraps around, will do a better job of protecting against deer strikes and matches the "look" of the Sport front end. Thanks.

 

Well, I know about being paralyzed in the decision process. Can't help you with your dilemma as I will be fabricating my own bumpers when the decision process is done with... or not.

If you are really interested in deer avoidance or protection; possibly use the air/wind driven sonic makers that attach to the bumper and a bull bumper type of configuration.

 

If you own the truck outright, then you can dictate what parts you want or don't want. If it's still financed, the insurance company will mandate that you use OEM parts.

 

After doing a lot of my own research on front bumpers, here's some factors that I considered

Weight. How much do you care about weight? A full steel bumper will weigh ~80-100lbs, and adding even the lightest weight synthetic rope winch still adds another 70lb. Keep in mind how much payload you are willing to lose and if you want to do anything with the front suspension.

Cost. Regardless of whatever you think/hope to get net out the insurance claim, factor in the full cost of the bumper in your decision. How much are you willing to spend? Are other factors in your decision more important and thus worth a price premium?

Form. Do you like how it looks? check out various off-road online stores since they have a variety of manufacturers and narrow down your style. If you're thinking the full bumper and want options, CBI has nice offerings in various materials and styles

Function. What features do you want? A winch, per your post, sure. Do you care about a front lightbar? Shackle mounts? Better approach angle? More front tire clearance?

Lead Time. in your case your stuff is broke, so you probably don't want to wait 16+ weeks for a Southern Style Offroad bumper. They are sexy to be sure.

I personally chose the Greenlane offroad stump bumper for my truck, because I prioritized Weight and Wait, plus the form/function suits my use case. Have fun deciding!

 

I have the Sport with the Body Armor Desert Bumper. Not the bumper for most "normal" folks. I live out in the desert and the bumper knocks down the brush etc in the washes and places where slowing down is not really a good option. But understood it is not a look most are gonna love and I don't know how it is going up against deer etc. It only weights 108 pounds so it is not near as heavy as it looks. It does have the hidden winch also, I should say.

 

want some for deer protection, ARB

I did a Victory Blitz and deer alerts, I didn't want to ruin the aerodynamics too much. Had a Demello on myGX470 and lost 3mpg

 

Fkin deer. Stupidest animal ( short of mankind ) on earth.

 

Thanks all. I took the "wait vs weight" advice and will likely go this route. I have stock suspension and cannot go too heavy and this one ships right away.

 

For this particular one you are still going to need the oem front bumper as it still utilizes that plus that body armor you are adding. The body shop repair will likely go over whatever your insurance companies estimate is so keep that in mind. I would have them return your truck to stock conditions and then do your upgrade. You at least have the oem take takeoffs you can set aside, sell on here. Oem repair for the win.

 

Cbi makes oem looking however if u want any actual protection a wrap around full bumper is the way to go.

 

I would go with one of the C4 bumpers. Note - most aftermarket taco bumpers take several weeks to build. I hope you’re putting that into consideration.
No ARB bumper. It’s super strong but too heavy and too ugly.

 

yea and no. The stock bumper assembly is desigend to absorb the impact, keeping the frame from being damaged, not somuch with aftermarket bumpers.

I hit a big Mule Deer running across my path right in the ass going 45 mph. A lucky angle as the fender & hood were undamaged. ...not the grill though!! The internal bumper brackets bent & compressed as designed. I replaced it all myself with OEM parts

 

Me thinks this wouldn't have saved your passenger side damage.

 

Glad no one was hurt.

If you are considering our bumpers, just wanted to let you know we have aluminum and I think we have a couple steel in stock as well.

 

put a plow on the front end, that way it will deflect the deer. Seriously though, deer impacts even with a heavier duty front bumper still has the ability to damage the frame.

 

This might have helped a bit....