weight of bumper/winch combo on IFS rigs?

[TangoBlue]

Replace the steel winch cable and steel roller guide with synthetic and a Hawse fairlead; saves a metric butt-load of weight while you're thinking about how to trim the beef.

 

[TangoBlue]

Think twice about putting really heavy setups on the front of a vehicle, this is what happened to me couple weeks ago, the arb bumper sheared off its mounts completely and swung underneath my truck and i dont even have a winch. Granted I hit a pretty big dip and actually caught air and upon landing the bumper broke off.

WOW! There has to be more to that story, including that featherweight HiLift jack mounted to the ARB.

 

[xcmountain80]

WOW! There has to be more to that story, including that featherweight HiLift jack mounted to the ARB.

X2 ARB's don't just break off.

A

 

[Loober]

Not much more to it, i was hauling down a trail 40-50mph in borrego springs, it was fairly smooth with mild rollers that the suspension was soacking up fine, then a large dip came up, it was too late for breaks so i tried to power thru it, but it was too big it ended up launching me, the landing was hard, i came out to inspect to find the bumper underneath the truck, i still dont know how it managed to get there since it had to clear one of my tires. You can see where the bolts that attach to the butt end of the frame was completely ripped out which doesnt surprise me. Yes i do have the hilift mounted on it, like many, which is still lighter then a winch...Ive had the bumper on there for over 2 years so i think over time the metal fatigued and the hard hit was enough to fail it.

Bottom line is, yes you should be concerned of weight up front, because everything has its limitations...even toyotas and arb bumpers.

 

[hillbillyjake]

it looks loke the weld broke loose to me. more like a frame issue than a heavy bumper issue

 

[xcmountain80]

How did the ARB hold up to the crash? What are you running for suspension in the front?

A

 

[Loober]

Yes, the weld on the frame did break, and I am amazed it held this long, even when putting this on 2 years ago that piece of sheet metal on the butt end of the frame with the welded nut looked very flimsy. I know of others to whom this has happened not as severe as mine, but the welds broke and the bumper sagged.

Since then I had totally redone the mount to the frame and trimmed the arb bumper of "fat" to make it half the weight, will post some pics soon.

I am running 2.5 SAW's with 700lbs springs.

The bumper held up fine, just some scratches, even the 3 hella 4000's didnt get damaged.

I would highly recommened reinforcing the frame mounts, especially if you run a winch...