Poll- Tube vs Plate front bumper

Yeah BF still makes it, just have to call em up. I've got a ton of pics in my build of the bumper. I'll post some better ones here

 

Sub'd. I like the look of the smaller plate bumpers but want to keep it light.

 

Oh yeah I've definitely lurked plenty of times on his build thread, I totally forgot about his Brute force bumper though. Maybe I'll call them up and get some pricing info.

 

Yeah, that BF hybrid is the only other bumper I’d want on my truck. If Pelfrey comes out with a 1st Gen hybrid at some point, I might change my mind, but we’ll see about that. They’re just now getting ready to release their plate bumpers for Gen 1.

 

It wasn't too much. Fairly cheap plus shipping to the East Coast. It was a couple months since he has made a first gen prior to mine and it turned out great. Didn't have to modify the bumper at all, he does excellent work

 

f-in drooling all over

 

*drops the mic......

 

Giant plates with all the headlight/grill guards etc... IMO are fugly. Might as well throw a bumper from an aussie 18 wheeler on there, lol...

I like the look of a good minimalist plate bumper, like CBI. They still give the "look" of a stock(ish) bumper, but cut away the parts that drag on the ground, and room for a winch. You can also maintain clean lines if you install lights in the bumper. Lights on a tube bumper just look like an afterthought.

Just seems like tubes don't offer as much protection as a plate, either. There's a lot of junk back there that's now exposed.

Too bad plate bumpers are redonk expensive. Good thing CBI offers a DIY kit, and good thing I have a welder...

 

Yeah that CBI bumper is one of my favorites, and the DIY kit would only be 510 shipped. That just sounds like hours and hours of grinding though.

 

I'm a welder, not a grinder.

Actually, just kidding, I'm a terrible welder. That's the line I hear from actual welders, though...

I expect the cost savings in a DIY kit to be made up in grinding disks. But I like the idea of doing it myself. I like the project aspect of it.

 

That fairlead has done some work, Ben!

 

Have a spare if you are interested

 

I have the same bumper as @m3bassman, he is right tube bumpers are typically stronger and simpler. Really solid piece and won't break the bank. That said many of them don't do much in the looks department. I may still have some post rollover regret or something but I don't fancy the look of my truck at all with a tube bumper so I'll probably be hitting up Billy at Bruteforce for a full plate bumper soon. Really every bumper out there will be Overkill for these little trucks so pick something you really like the look of and works well with your winch. My Relentless worked like shit with my winch, barely enough room in there for much. It had some lapses in internal structure too that could do with shoring up. My Badland has plenty of winch room but it also exposes way more than I like and lights on it don't look like they belong. Haven't even put turn signals on because I can't come up with something that looks decent. Fits the bill for utility and considering the time constraint I was on at the time it was a decent value too being a local builder and one of the lowest price build to order bumpers.

My whole point, pick something you really like the look of, and meets all your requirements because none of the choices out there are bad ones. Or you can bounce around like me and change em out (not financially advisable)

 

I'm confused, do you consider a rollover "normal use" or were you referring to different bumpers?

I've never seen much of an issue with tube or plate bumpers bending, even under extreme loads - that must have been either a crappy bumper or one hell of a rollover. I've seen bumpers after a head-on collision (orders of magnitude more force than anything from "normal" off-road use), and usually what you see bent is the frame (and the other car, lol).

In the end, it's more about the look you want, with maybe some minor differences in where you want protection.

They are all pretty much bombproof.

 

I think you can mention Elite, its dead anyway.

 

Those elite bumpers were so sexy I wouldn't care if a strong breeze caused it to bend.

 

So much sexiness contained in one thread...

I'm jealous as hell, I don't know of any good 4x4 (2x4 in my case) trails anywhere in upstate SC. Maybe I should look harder, the local dam has gotten boring.

 

Another +1 for Badland Bumper/tube bumpers.

 

I think this thread has become way to 'tube' centric and need some 'plate' infusion.

I will admit that the choices are limited (more so than tube) but I am hoping the new pelfreybuilt one will carry on the Elite tradition.

DeTour-51.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_5379 by Benjamin Springli, on Flickr

SOS Trip by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

SOSMeet-23.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

 

There are more plate votes then tube