Tacoma 2012 front bumper ideas?!??!

Soooo.... i don't have any idea how i can mod out my 2012 Tacoma's front center bumper underneath the grill... that plastic grey looks so cheesy to me and i don't know if i want to do a total off road conversion either... any idea or pictures of what you guys might do to yours? or any pictures of 2012 Tacoma's that you know of that has done anything with that plastic center peice?!? (note: have been looking online but can't find anything besides the full off road pro bumpers and whatnot)

 

This is my problem also I don't really want a full plate bumper but don't really like the stoke one either!

 

i know right... and i really have a hard time finding any kind of mods on a 2012 as well... i was even thinking about plasti-dip, any thoughts on how that would look?

 

You could get a bumber guard from Avid that will cover it up partially. Or maybe cut out the "grill" portion and set in some mesh??

 

I've been thinking about putting a bull bar on mine (yes, I know that inter-dimensional, ass-raping monkeys will fly down and fling poo on my Taco if I install a bull bar...I have nerf bars too..what of it?!!) but haven't committed to anything yet. Tagging along.

 

Get a Avid light bar

 

Usually the area under the bumper that's not body-color is called the valence, if that helps your searches.

Personally I can't think of common mods to that area except to paint it, usually with a rattle can bedliner to protect it better from road debris. Other than that, folks generally replace the whole thing if they're gonna do anything in that area, unless you wanted to do an undercover winch mount. For that you need to modify the bumper to clear the fairlead...

 

OOooOoOo mesh?!??! that sounds sexy, i wonder what that would look like

 

i have nerf bars on mine too actually and was thinking about putting in a bull bar but i've been trying to think of alternatives

 

color match?

 

Are there light bars already available for the 2012 tacos yet?

I'm thinking about painting my lower valance black or getting rhino lined. I just don't know how to take it off. Haven't looked under there yet either though.

 

It's pretty easy to take off, yeah. And yeah Avid Offroad has a light bar for the 2012 already.I should be getting mine along with the RBG in about a week!

 

I hacked out a hole in mine, looks better already.....

 

INTERESTING!!! i like that, it does have a better look!!!

 

thanks for the suggestion! i had no idea they came out with one already, i actually like this look better than the bull bars i was debating on! thanks for the advice, i didn't even know how pricey it was until i took a look

 

DAMN! Now I want that light bar powder-coated black on my truck!!!

 

I just got done showing my truck to a good friend who does metal fab for a living and between the two of us, I think we have a few cool ideas for the front end. One of the ideas is to integrate a skip plate into the rework of the front end as well, which to me makes sense since I appreciate it when design considers how it will integrate itself in with the vehicle and it's function.

It looks like we will be doing some work on the design and identifying the location for mounting hopefully this weekend and early next week.

Some options we talked about were mounting for lights and a light duty winch.

As soon as I have something to share, I'll start a bumper build thread.

BTW: my buddy's experience is with 4WD and heavy duty equipment, so this shouldn't be too tough for him.

 

oh that's cool!!! keep me posted, im excited to see what you guys come up with!

 

Any progress on the '12 front end rework?

 

Im going to be taking my lower Valence off and plasti-diping it.. Protects it and gives it a better look. Actually shiny black not dull black or gray like it is now....