Stubby Bumper Suggestions
06-09-2015, 08:16 PM
#61
JK Junkie
Good advice, I saw a dodge ram pickup today at the dealership, it had a chrome stamped steel bumper with a bull bar, someone in a car had backed into it and it looked liked a crushed soda can!
I love my heavy Ace stuff, nothing modular about it, other than the spare fuel carrier for the rear bumper
Matthew
I love my heavy Ace stuff, nothing modular about it, other than the spare fuel carrier for the rear bumper
Matthew
I would say be careful on any stamped steel or modular bumpers unless you mostly crawl malls. If you are really gonna use that winch you want your front end to be as strong as possible. Would care more about the welds and steel thickness than keeping the factory fog lights. With a drill bit any bumper can sport a pair of bolt on fogs. Would really only consider 1/4 inch steel or thicker that mounts directly to the frame rails. I like the winch mounted as low as the frame rails for strength. Stubbys are nice if you plan on going bigger tires as they just plain don't get in the way.
Had similar requirements in a bumper back in 2011, and ended up with the 1/4 pounder Evo bumper and stinger. Their stinger puts it over your price point , but the basic bumper is very solid and never had issues, Have had the entire weight of the jeep on it several times stinger has done its job. Cant imagine doing that with a stamped steel modular bumper. Install was kinda a pain, Since i wanted my winch to stay mine, did a couple little welds to keep the winch in the bumper. Feel a bit safer parking in the City , it not an easy target for theft. Close contenders for me were the JRC and Ace as mention in this thread.
Conversely, My little brother just got his first jeep 2015 and stretched himself financially to get a new JK. He also has the disadvantage of a wife who wants it to look like a nice new shinny car. He's not gonna wheel it hard until its paid off. On his we stubbed the factory bumper and bolted in a winch bracket and donated him my old warn(1990's) and he bought a new cover for it. Under $100 and will get him out of any situation he would get in with a brand new JK daily driver with 60 more payments to go. His JK will not gonna get beat on hard for years. His setup is functional but would not want to use it on a heavy jeep stuck in 2 feet of mud every weekend. I tend to pull cable several times a week on mine.... I guess what Im saying is buy it for purpose your gonna use it for, if your gonna really wheel it you will want anchor points that are solid. Also consider weight if on factory shocks or bb lift kits you will most likely sit 1/2 to 1 inch lower after you throw 100-200lbs of winch and bumper on the nose of your JK, we countered his with a 2 inch spacer up front and 1 inch spacer in the rear. Heavy bumper/winch combos can and will affect handling, not much of an issue once you go aftermarket suspension, but if your just starting to build up a JK it is something to consider.
Had similar requirements in a bumper back in 2011, and ended up with the 1/4 pounder Evo bumper and stinger. Their stinger puts it over your price point , but the basic bumper is very solid and never had issues, Have had the entire weight of the jeep on it several times stinger has done its job. Cant imagine doing that with a stamped steel modular bumper. Install was kinda a pain, Since i wanted my winch to stay mine, did a couple little welds to keep the winch in the bumper. Feel a bit safer parking in the City , it not an easy target for theft. Close contenders for me were the JRC and Ace as mention in this thread.
Conversely, My little brother just got his first jeep 2015 and stretched himself financially to get a new JK. He also has the disadvantage of a wife who wants it to look like a nice new shinny car. He's not gonna wheel it hard until its paid off. On his we stubbed the factory bumper and bolted in a winch bracket and donated him my old warn(1990's) and he bought a new cover for it. Under $100 and will get him out of any situation he would get in with a brand new JK daily driver with 60 more payments to go. His JK will not gonna get beat on hard for years. His setup is functional but would not want to use it on a heavy jeep stuck in 2 feet of mud every weekend. I tend to pull cable several times a week on mine.... I guess what Im saying is buy it for purpose your gonna use it for, if your gonna really wheel it you will want anchor points that are solid. Also consider weight if on factory shocks or bb lift kits you will most likely sit 1/2 to 1 inch lower after you throw 100-200lbs of winch and bumper on the nose of your JK, we countered his with a 2 inch spacer up front and 1 inch spacer in the rear. Heavy bumper/winch combos can and will affect handling, not much of an issue once you go aftermarket suspension, but if your just starting to build up a JK it is something to consider.
