New tube bumper from Addicted Off Road is ON!

[Martinjmpr]

Well, after my little fender bender back in March, I now have my new bumper on.

Looks a little odd, but then I knew it would be like that (lots of "exposed" mechanical stuff that the factory bumper covers up.)

I'll probably take some snips to those liner pieces that are hanging down, just to clean it up a bit.

By contrast, here's what she looked like when I drover her home almost two years ago:

Next "mod": Tires. I'll probably stick with the BFG AT KOs but I may go to a taller/skinnier tire, 235/85/16.

I do have one "issue" which I'll post in a different section...

 

[TangoBlue]

Nice bumper.

Before you start cutting, that metal may be there for an engineering/structural reason other than to serve as a hanger for plastic garnish.

I recommend you strongly consider some rattle can black paint to mask what was underneath.

Or, just whack away at it, but remember you can't undo what you done did, or words to that effect... :coffeedrink:

 

[Martinjmpr]

Nice bumper.

Before you start cutting, that metal may be there for an engineering/structural reason other than to serve as a hanger for plastic garnish.

Uh, it's not metal, it's very thin plastic (basically, fender liner material.)

I really, really, really hope it's not "structural!" :Wow1:

 

[TangoBlue]

Uh, well, than what are you waiting for? Do you need me to motivate you, slacker?

I thought you were referring to the metal (hence why I said metal and paint it black) above the fender liners from your first and second picture...

Plans for a winch?

 

[Gerdo]

Yeah, just cut the plastic off. Tube bumpers do allow a view of a lot of junk. I just shoot mine with some black rattle can. After a while you don't even notice it.

Scotty makes nice bumpers. Now you need his rear to match the front.

 

[18seeds]

Nice. Are there heavier than an ARB bumper? How does it impact MPGs

 

[Martinjmpr]

Nice. Are there heavier than an ARB bumper? How does it impact MPGs

Quite a bit lighter, I think. Scotty says his bumper is 18lbs heavier than all the crap you have to remove to put it on. That's one of the reasons I went with a tube over a plate bumper. Cost was another factor, $580 vs. $800+ for an ARB.

 

[corax]

Quite a bit lighter, I think. Scotty says his bumper is 18lbs heavier than all the crap you have to remove to put it on. That's one of the reasons I went with a tube over a plate bumper. Cost was another factor, $580 vs. $800+ for an ARB.

I'm still waiting to see someone skin a tube bumper with fiberglass. I would think you'd get the best of both worlds that way - non-tube bumper look with all the weight savings (and less aero drag). I've seen these already, but they seem to be a bit different than what I'm thinking

 

[ywen]

looking at the before and after pic.. it looks like the truck is missing a big chunk up front...

What is the weight delta?

Oh and you should probably trim the wheel well panels?

 

[Martinjmpr]

looking at the before and after pic.. it looks like the truck is missing a big chunk up front...

Yup, it is.

What is the weight delta?

According to the fabricator, the new bumper weighs 18lb more than the factory setup. Total weight is about 68lbs.

Oh and you should probably trim the wheel well panels?

Yeah, they're a little messy. I have some work to do, for sure. I'm going to extend the wires for the turn signals so they aren't so obvious, then trim the interior fender well liners. I've also got a temp sensor for my thermometer somewhere up there that will need to be relocated or (more likely) removed.

 

[SOAZ]

Looks functional. I like it. I built a prerunner bumper for my old tacoma and painting the background black really helps to make it look cleaner.
Oh, and cutting is always fun too!! :elkgrin:

 

[Scott B.]

Martin,

The bumper looks good - plenty of room for a winch!

Maybe you can make a plate/shield out of aluminum (painted black, of course) to clean up the truck behind the bumper?

 

[AddictedOffroad]

Paint it and it all blends in:

 

[01tundra]

Looks good.

I dealt with the same issue on my Tundra. I ended up painting all the white sheet metal behind the bumper black, then slowly over the years I trimmed and hacked stuff off until I got it looking right......it's more of a evolutionary process .

 

[Martinjmpr]

You should definitely paint behind the bumper with black and post some pics! I'm considering this bumper but that was my concern cause of my white 4runner. I'd love to see what you're looks like if you shot it with black paint behind it. Keep us posted!

Well, it's Easter weekend and my wife has a bunch of activities planned with her 8 year old grandson so I may or may not get the chance to work on it. But I'll get some rattlecan flat black and see what I can do.

Also need to fix the turn signals as they are flashing too fast (LEDs.) I already have the replacement flasher but Toyota in its wisdom decided to hide the turn signal flasher behind a couple of plastic panels that will have to be removed.