Rear Hidden Hitch Bumpers (not high-clearance)

Hey TW,

I'm currently in the selection phase for a rear steel bumper and need your assistance.

I don't want a high-clearance bumper, as I have no interest in cutting my bedsides off and honestly, I just don't wheel that hard. I'm also not interested in swing-outs.

What I am looking for, is a bumper with an incorporated (hidden) hitch. The last time I went wheeling, I kept dragging my hitch on the ground, so gaining 4" back there ought to help. I'm also interested in a bumper that has auxiliary reverse lights, but this isn't a requirement.

So far, I've found the following options:

• RCI - https://rcimetalworks.com/product/2016-tacoma-rear-bumper/
• CBI T3 - https://cbioffroadfab.com/product/t3-rear-bumper/
• Mobtown - https://mobtownoffroad.com/product/bumper-3/

Unfortunately, the photos of these bumpers on the manufacturer's website suck. This is where ya'll come in...

Can you please post photos and experiences with these bumpers on your truck? I've tried searching TW and I'm not finding a whole lot.

Additionally, if you see or know of brands that meet my requirements and I haven't listed them above, please speak up.

Thanks

 

I did find these for the CBI (Thanks @snowy taco)

 

And I found these for RCI (thanks @Stocklocker)

 

It’s an awesome bumper. No regrets.

 

I think the RCI looks phenomenal. Stocklocker's write up and pics of installation of this bumper were great. It gets my vote.

 

I 100% agree and that was my hands down choice, until I read a post from @kystnTRD voicing some dissatisfaction with it (see link below)... not sure if it was an isolated incident, there's more to the story, or if there's a quality control issue with RCI. To be honest, I don't see many reviews for RCI's gear, so I don't know much about them.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/my-experience-with-rci-offroad.507087/

 

Whatever those issues were, I had none of them. The bumper fits beautifully. Maybe there was some tweeks in the early days after the prototype?

 

These are all Mobtown bumper pics. All bumpers relocate the trailer harness, as well as include a flip up license plate bracket (hitch sits behind license plate). Let me know if you have any questions.
















Ignore swingout in this pic. Just to show you a backed up view of the standard bumper.

 

Bumpers made 1.5 hours north of Seattle. Just have to cross a border. Might benefit a bit from the dollar exchange at the same time.

 

I need one of these in nice shiny chrome. That would look way cool.

 

I hope for others it was an isolated incident but regardless they will never get my business again based purely on the way they dealt with the issues, or should I say didnt deal with it at all. It's not even on the truck anymore, screw those guys.

 

If I were to do it all over again. These guys would get my money.

 

About a year ago I was talking to a guy with a cbi and it looks great but apparently the hitch harness was not long enough to mount into the bumper.
Also the deal breaker for me on all of these is none work with the blind spot monitoring, I like that and not ready to give it up.

 

Yeah, sucks to lose BSM, and more importantly, cross traffic alerts. However, I've lived without it for my entire driving career before this truck, and will be fine without it.

I think it would be much more devastating to catch this flimsy and expensive bumper in the dirt and have to pay to fix it...

 

Holy cow... how is the tailgate not contacting the bumper? Is there contact if you put weight on it? If it drops too quickly? Or is it just an optical illusion?

 

Maybe your case caused some redesign? My bumper had the proper amount of adjustment so I could set it as tight to the body, or as far away from the body as I wanted. There was no issue with metal to metal contact or interference with the tailgate. It all fit really nice, and the gaps are what they should be in comparison to the OEM bumper. I took my time with a car jack and using spacers to get the bumper perfectly level, square, and tucked as close to the lights as I thought was safe before tightening it down. Most people think the bumper is stock.

I am thinking maybe RCI learned something from your grief and tweaked the waterjet program. They were also really kind and helpful in getting me the bumper up to where I live in Canada. When things go wrong it is sometimes just a “perfect storm” of catching the sales department on a bad day to discuss an unfortunately flawed product, and everything spirals from there. I plan on ordering sliders from them next, so we’ll see if they take care of me as well with those.

I think @tacopromatt has the same bumper. Maybe he can chime in?

 

Not a killer deal by any means... but no lead time and I'm sure its negotiable. Road trip to Seattle? I'll check out your bumper.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/pts/d/lake-stevens-toyota-tacoma-rci-sliders/6803119564.html

Edit: that sounds dirty... I'll check out your truck's bumper

 

Ha! Are you selling those sliders?

 

Not mine, someone just linked them in the PNW CL thread... when you mentioned RCI sliders, I remembered seeing those.

 

The bumper has some adjustability as far as height goes, and if mounted up higher, the first version of the bumper was a little too close for comfort. The owner of the truck in those pics moved it down shortly thereafter and it has enough space to be comfortable.

Joe took note of that and revised future bumpers so that there wasn’t even the possibility of mounting too close anymore. With that said, there were never any reports of anyone’s tailgate contacting the bumper.