$275 Off Road Bumper Upgrade

[509bercler]

Final pics with LED fogs and LED bar installed. All in under $500 for bumper set up, lights, and wiring.

 

[flightcancled]

Sweet deal man!

 

[CrabbyMcNab]

Looks great. What lights did you go with?

 

[tgreening]

For the cost, that might be worth trying on my Astro van. Little narrower to start with. If it didn't work out, I could get most of my money back on CL I bet. Have a nice winch that's been sitting in the box for a few years now.. I think it look good on the fornt of an Astro van. Neighbor has a Wrangler, need to go measure the mounting points on it.. (-:}

Plus one on the cost aspect. I'm fair with a welder and a grinder and I'm with you guys. Those bumpers like Aluminess are nice and all, but it's still just a bumper and I'll be danged if I'll drop multi-thousands on one just on general principal.


509: How did you end up mounting those side fogs to the bumper?

 

[509bercler]

Looks great. What lights did you go with?

I went with a 22" CREE LED Bar and 4 -4" CREE LED fogs. They had good reviews on amazon and for the price they seem to be very well made. I purchased 6 of the 4" fogs(4 up front and 2 for reverse) for $115 and the 22" light bar for $93.
Ebay links:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/22-inch-144...Parts_Accessories&hash=item48761e2fb3&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6pcs-4-18W-...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c402c231b

Plus one on the cost aspect. I'm fair with a welder and a grinder and I'm with you guys. Those bumpers like Aluminess are nice and all, but it's still just a bumper and I'll be danged if I'll drop multi-thousands on one just on general principal.


509: How did you end up mounting those side fogs to the bumper?

I mounted the lights directly up into the vans body, there is a nice little lip under there that was perfect for mounting.

 

[flightcancled]

What year models is that bumper designed for? I'm noticing some differences in mounting plates and whatnot.

Edit:

Here is the actual manufacturer website for most of the Ebay bumpers. Click on the image and you will get dimension info. Paramount Restyling Website

Wrangler owners seem to have positive - mixed reviews on them. Although it does seem that mostly guys that shelled out for the expensive ones are poo-pooing the cheaper option, and light use users love the looks for the cost. Consensus of the rumor mill is that these come out of the same factory as Smittybuilt, which actually doesn't build anything and is a distributor of Chinese goods themselves. Ironic huh?

http://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-show-tell-33/e-auto-grilles-bumpers-info-189679/page16/

 

[86scotty]

Very cool mod and kudos on thinking outside the home equity loan. Could you post some angle and side shots? I would love to see more.

 

[509bercler]

What year models is that bumper designed for? I'm noticing some differences in mounting plates and whatnot.

Edit:

Here is the actual manufacturer website for most of the Ebay bumpers. Click on the image and you will get dimension info. Paramount Restyling Website

Wrangler owners seem to have positive - mixed reviews on them. Although it does seem that mostly guys that shelled out for the expensive ones are poo-pooing the cheaper option, and light use users love the looks for the cost. Consensus of the rumor mill is that these come out of the same factory as Smittybuilt, which actually doesn't build anything and is a distributor of Chinese goods themselves. Ironic huh?

http://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-show-tell-33/e-auto-grilles-bumpers-info-189679/page16/

This particular bumper is for a Jeep TJ (older body style) I believe 1996-2006.

Very cool mod and kudos on thinking outside the home equity loan. Could you post some angle and side shots? I would love to see more.

 

[flightcancled]

Gotcha. The newer ones have mounting plates with welded in studs to go directly into the frame of the wrangler. Would make for a stronger mount, and potentially eliminate the need for welding if the wrangler frame is narrower than the E series frame.

 

[225]

Or maybe get a used or new F-250 bumper and cut it down and weld it up.

I plan on building my own bumpers out of aluminum. I need to buy a tubing bender.

 

[509bercler]

Gotcha. The newer ones have mounting plates with welded in studs to go directly into the frame of the wrangler. Would make for a stronger mount, and potentially eliminate the need for welding if the wrangler frame is narrower than the E series frame.

Yes, initially thats what I was looking at, but this bumper style caught my eye and I went with it. I think you would use a similar approach to mounting a JK bumper with studs, as the JK frame is narrow enough to fit in between the E350 (I had the measurements somewhere). Possibly mount a plate between the van frame and then mount the Jeep bumper directly to the plate with the welded studs, without having to weld to the bumper. That was going to be my plan, but again, someone with good fabrication skills could probably do much better.

 

[flightcancled]

Or maybe get a used or new F-250 bumper and cut it down and weld it up.

I plan on building my own bumpers out of aluminum. I need to buy a tubing bender.

This is possible, but actually significantly more involved since you are trying to cram a larger bumper into a small space, and the mounts are less compatible.

 

[Gtdad]

I found this brand online IRon Cross
Anybody seen one in person?

http://mudflaps.com/i-15894133-iron-cross-20-405-92-winch-front-bumper-ford-van-e-150-250-350-450-1992-2007.html