Appljaxx's 2012 build

I used the one listed in this thread.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/4838-cheap-free-mods.html#post45412

 

Great looking truck and build!

 

Thanks!

 

Can you take a few pictures of the gaps on the bumper for the 2012. I am on the fence based on the pics Jason posted, and without being out west I will pretty much just have to hope for the best if I order it.

 

I second the request for detail pics of the bumper, and any comments you care to add about the install are appreciated.

 

Gnarly new look. Love it.

 

x3 for pics of the new bumper. Looks like a rubber gasket was added to close the gap.

Really like the direction of your build. I finally took delivery of my SR5 DBL cab MGM this past Saturday. The white looks real good with the black accents.

 

No rubber gaskets. You really can't close the gap and retain flex. The bumper and body can twist at different angles so you must have some room for the body to flex. I took some close ups yesterday, I'll post them up soon so you can see in detail.

 

From the pic you posted above it looks like something is between the bottom of the grille and bumper. That same spot looked different in Demellos pics.

You might want to lower your bumper a little more. Unless its just the picture. There doesn't look to be much of a gap under the headlights. That small plastic trim just under the headlight will pop off when the body flex's. I had an FJ with a Fabfour bumper. I needed a 1/4" of gap for it not to hit when flexing. Unless the body mounts don't flex as much as an FJ. Don't know yet. Only had mine for 3 days.

Thanks for more pics. Demellos front bumper is my top pick so far.

 

Yes. The thing under the grill is the grill/headlight support. It starts under each headlight and meets in the middle, this is different because of the model year (2012). All the pics demello has out right now are of 2011 and older. My plan is to hit that support with Bedliner to make it match the bumper. But I guess it won't matter when I mount a 20-30" led bar right in front of it.

Regarding the flexing; I installed the bumper very tight to the body and took it out for a shakedown and I was getting rub on the fender and the bumper was metal on metal under the head light. I lowered the bumper about 1/3" and trimmed the bumper under the headlight. I also removed 1-2 inches from the front of the center support for the grill/headlight support. It was a small section that was sticking out below the support you can see in the picture.

As of right now there is no rubbing from the bumper. The trim under the headlight is actually set back from the bumper and not directly over the top of it, as it may appear in the picture. I'll get pics up soon.

 

Here's Demello's pic of it mounted on a 2012 http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/demello-offroad/206876-2012-tacoma-bumper.html
I was thinking the same thing about adding a light bar to help block the gap. Like to see pics of that. Good to know the bumper sticks out from that trim piece so it doesn't break it off.

 

I have not seen those pictures before. Im very happy with the bumper, however, after reading that post I would concur with the masses and say that they could design this bumper specifically for the 2012. I find it kind of ridiculous that I was forced to cut the brand new bumper and the truck to get it to fit on my truck.

 

This is exactly what I wanted to hear man, thanks a ton for your honesty. I still think I will end up going with Demello or CBI, but I might wait a month or 2 until ARB finishes theirs specifically for the 12s just to see the potential difference. I know ARB doesn't have the aggressive look most of us want, but it might be worth the wait, who knows.

I don't expect some of these smaller operations to make a bumper specific for the 12s, just doesn't make sense financially, unless the changes are very minor and they can do it before it goes out the door.

 

Yep, I'm in this boat and want a properly fitted bumper. Whoever does it first has my money.

 

I hear ya. My Fabfour was solid, but the mounting points were weak. I spent $500 to have my local shop add a support on each side to keep it from moving when doing a pull. I didn't bother adding a winch till that was done.

After building up my FJ I felt like after one mod you needed two more to make it work. That's why I decided to keep my Tacoma simply. Of course TW is going to make it real hard for me to do that.

 

Please, do not quote this post in it's entirety (at least not all the pictures at the same time).

Here is a little info on the mounting of my Warn M8000 on my Demello bumper. This should give everyone asking a good idea of the gaps between the body and the Bumper. Since i took these pics i lowered the bumper another 1/3" and now i have zero rubbing issues and zero bashing of the bumper into the body, it has been tested off road.

I started by Modifying the mounting bracket for the control box. I moved it back about 3" using a flat piece of metal from HD.



Then i trimmed the center grill support. I removed 1 of the 2 screws so the support does not protrude. I also trimmed a little from the horizontal support under the headlights, just to clean it up a little.




Then i hit the horizontal support with a little bit of bed liner. Previously the support was hidden behind the stock bumper. Now that it is exposed i wanted it to match the bumper a little more closely.



Added a Warn Hawse fairlead that is rated for steel cable. Also, notice the lower portion of the grill was hollowed out to allow for easy access to the control box.



Then i took the mother F'r out in the snow to make sure nothing would fall off.



There a more pics in my gallery if you are interested.

 

Love the DO bumper, thats what I want eventually

 

Thanks, now that i got it on i'm really loving it. The build quality is top notch.

 

Fabbed some mounting plates for a set of Rigid dually LED in the round fog holes. A simple 3"x3" steel plate to extend the mounting bracket on the bumper. These little monsters are bright. The downside is they really highlight how pitiful the stock headlights are.





I don't think ill have the money to get everything done prior to moab. But i did order a set of 886s and a CO2 tank. If you have extra money laying around send it to me and promise to spend it on cool tacoma shit.