weight of bumper/winch combo on IFS rigs?

[hillbillyjake]

been trying to find the fine line between strength and weight for the front of the 4 runner. it seems to me that if i make some thing strong enough for a worst case scenerio, it would be extremely heavy. if i build something that i think won't kill my 21 year old torsion bars and cvs from alot of weight on the front end, it doesn't seem to be strong enough to handle a pull from a 8k or 10k winch.

am i over thinking this? pics of what people are running would be great because i am open to suggestions.

and as always, trying to go on a budget. thaks in advance.

 

[cruiserfred]

lite but tough

i put an aluminess front bumper w/the loop between the head lights on my FJ w/the 9500 lightweight rock crawler superwinch . lightweight but works well Fred

 

[hillbillyjake]

right. i agree with your approach, but at what cost. i understand that my budget may not allow the total best of both worlds. thanks for the reply.

what would be considered to be an accecptable weight for an ifs front end rig considering both bumper and winch? i know that i'm going to be about 80 to 90 pounds for a winch and it seems to be atleast 50 to 60 for the bumper. an extra 130 to 150pounds constantly on the front end of the truck seem slike a lot to me. or maybe not. i don't know

 

[Lichen]

On my '97 Tacoma with 10-year old crappy Rancho suspension, I installed an Arb bumber and Warn M5000 (the winch was free). The front didn't seem to droop at all and it handles the rocks just fine.

 

[Arvin G]

Great question! I'm always thinking about the weight up front and going back and forth between getting a lighter bumper. I currently have an 02 taco with shrockworks front bumper, hella 4000, Warn M8000 and Piaa 510s. Its a lot of weight up front and I've had no issues so far. But again, it does bug me!

Shrockworks Bumper approx 118lbs
Warn Winch M8000 approx 74lbs
Hella 4000s approx 12lbs
Piaa 510s approx 3lbs

Total 207 lbs:Wow1:

 

[hillbillyjake]

i got on the front end last night and dropped the front about 1". i'm about 200 lbs. the 4 runner sits a liitle high in the front any way so it may level it out for now. my concern is over the long haul. i'll throw this out there. does any body have any long term measurements of there front end? meaning the height before the bumper, winch, lights, hi-lift,....... and then after an extended period of use off road?

ya ya i know, i'm not asking for much, huh! it just seems to me that examples like arvin's truck (no offense) would be more likely to experience fatigue or failure on the front end due to the weight over a period of time. but, is the weight worth having on the trail and the road for the greatly added protection?

ramble off. lichen i like you rtruck

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

I added the 25mm Sway~A~Way torsion bars to my '88 4Runner.

http://www.swayaway.com/VehicleMake_4.php

Call them up, I bet they have your answer.



.

 

[hillbillyjake]

how long have you had your truck like that arvin? has the better protection of the bumper and the added insurance of the winch been worth it

 

[alexrex20]

there are TONS of people on this forum, and on the road, with a 200lb winch/bumper combo on the front of their IFS rig, including my Nissan and Chevy. i've had mine on the Nissan for 2 years now and have experienced no ill effects. sure, the nose sits a little bit lower, but it's not a big deal.

is the added weight worth the extra protection and peace of mind of having a winch? HELL YES.

 

[xcmountain80]

I'd suggest going with aftermarket torsion bars if you are indeed worried about it. TJM had AL and Steel bumpers for you model for a while but they will be few and far between as they are not in the US anymore.

A

 

[greentruck]

Not currently suffering from IFS myself, but from my years lost in Isuzuvania...

Torsion bars and coil springs sag with use and age. It's inevitable. Any issues with this are usually best dealt with by R&R the sagging part. If you add 200 pounds up front and it handles OK, then you're only going to incrementally quicken the regular sagging that occurs. You won't hurt anything.

This comes from 9 years experience with a 84 TrooperII with a 6k winch on a Garvin bumper and 13 years experience with a 93 Rodeo with the OEM big tire option (31x10.5 15).

On the other hand, if you add the weight to the front of your truck and it seems squirrelly, then there are aftermarket options and you should use them. You don't want bad handling in normal driving turn into fatal excess in a accident situation.

Also, whether stock or aftermarket, fix stuff when it needs fixing. If you let things go so that you start hitting the bumpstops regularly, yes, you will damage things that are costly to replace. IFS suspensions need regular love, as they are very dependent on bushings and control arms being in good working order. Slop in them will lead to damage.

Take home message:
At most, it's just slightly quicker wear-and-tear, not damage, unless you're abusive or don't properly deal with what your vehicle is telling you once you get things mounted up -- within reason. No 12k winches on Geo Trackers, etc, for instance:Wow1:

Now to quit gloating:victory:, I was very much surprised about how an ARB and 12k winch will change the handling of an 80 series LC. Not dangerous, but I'm looking forward to getting a tired and now hard-working suspension some help.:smiley_drive:

 

[hillbillyjake]

i think tha ti have been pretty well convinced that a heavy bumper is a good bumper. i'm kinda new to buildin the toyota. used to full size and leaf springs. thanks for the advice fellas. fab should start within a couple weeks. i'll try to bring this post back up with some pictures.

 

[xcmountain80]

Perhaps we should skip the torsion bars and go for a SAS .

A

 

[hillbillyjake]

:ylsmoke: boy we made it a lot longer than i thought we would.:ylsmoke:

maybe in the future but not in the near future. i'm running the 33's now and everything is working good. if i some day decide to go 35's then i'll do the swap. maybe i should say when.:wings:

 

[Loober]

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.