WreckDiver1321's 2003 Frontier CC SC

[Allof75]

Haha you make a good point. But then I've pulled people out in my GF's Forester too. Just in my nature I guess.

Ha, that's interesting, my gf has a forester too! What year's hers?

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Ha, that's interesting, my gf has a forester too! What year's hers?

2009.

Well, it's been a hell of a day. The Ironman bumper didn't work out. Huge fitment issues. Wouldn't even bolt up correctly. If it did, I don't actually think that it would line up right. Doesn't match the body lines at all. What a waste of time. To add to that, our house has exposed pipes in the crawlspace underneath. The cold weather has caused the water to freeze up. We caught it before the pipes burst, but we're just waiting for the heat tape to get them warmed up again.

A pretty crap day, if you ask me.

 

[mortonm]

Damn! I'm surprised its so far off, didn't you talk to Ironman directly?

Hopefully you get something figured out!

 

[Allof75]

Huh, much more of an upgrade from the one I know, my gf's is an 03. Does fire trails pretty well, handles a lot of abuse.

Also I'm really sorry to hear about that,
Jeez, another bummer! So then what's your gameplan now? Would you keep the ARB and then send the ironman back? Or is the ARB one so bad you'd rather just go custom?

 

[Ryan Rogers]

2009.

Well, it's been a hell of a day. The Ironman bumper didn't work out. Huge fitment issues. Wouldn't even bolt up correctly. If it did, I don't actually think that it would line up right. Doesn't match the body lines at all. What a waste of time. To add to that, our house has exposed pipes in the crawlspace underneath. The cold weather has caused the water to freeze up. We caught it before the pipes burst, but we're just waiting for the heat tape to get them warmed up again.

A pretty crap day, if you ask me.

Sucks man!

The ARB doesn't look bad. A little generic maybe, but not bad. I'm curious to hear what Ironman had to say about it not fitting?

We've been battling busted pipes all over the place today (fish hatchery). But we're pretty unprepared; we don't get temps in the teens and twenties very often this far south...

 

[richard310]

2009.

Well, it's been a hell of a day. The Ironman bumper didn't work out. Huge fitment issues. Wouldn't even bolt up correctly. If it did, I don't actually think that it would line up right. Doesn't match the body lines at all. What a waste of time. To add to that, our house has exposed pipes in the crawlspace underneath. The cold weather has caused the water to freeze up. We caught it before the pipes burst, but we're just waiting for the heat tape to get them warmed up again.

A pretty crap day, if you ask me.

A complete bummer dude. Sorry to hear that... good luck with the ironman bumper fiasco and your water pipes.

 

[stioc]

Ouch, that sucks - what a PITA. I do think your ARB bumper looks good on the truck. I never saw the close up pics of the issues you had with the fitment but from over here it looks 100% normal to me- that is not to say that there aren't any gaps or things that don't line up perfectly but for the most part only you know what they are. I vote keeping the ARB one, that is of course if you can fix or ignore the fitment issues. Hopefully you can at least easily return the IronMan one and get your money back.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Hey guys, thanks for the concerned replies. Yeah, the situation is pretty crummy, but I've managed to work through it.

Sadly, I'll have to send the Ironman back. Luckily for me, I got assurances from both Rugged Rocks and Ironman that they will fully refund the bumper (including shipping costs). So, I am going to send it back. and get my money back.

We were able, by some miracle, to get the ARB wrestled back on there. I'm pretty upset that I've got to keep it on there. I don't feel very confident in it. It doesn't actually line up anywhere. The whole thing is actually a bit twisted and under tension just sitting there. It's dangerously close to rubbing in a lot of places. I really don't feel it would hold up under winching or an impact. The other thing is I am super anal about this kind of thing. It's just not quite right. And that will drive me bonkers.

I do have a plan, though. With the money I get back, I'll be ordering a replacement that I know will fit 100%. I've gone back and forth on a couple of options. Originally, I thought I was going to go with Tactical Armor Group, but after reading a lot of really bad reviews, I'm going to stay away from that one. I thought about going a fully custom route from a guy in town, but I know it'd take forever to get done. I also saw Calmini makes a bumper for the Frontier, but I've heard some bad build quality complaints about some of their products, and they don't have headlight guards. And I'm not a huge fan of the cradle style winch mount, where the winch is out in the open vs. the hidden winch mount. (Good God I'm picky)

So, it's come down to this: TJM vs. Shrockworks.

I've had great luck with TJM in the past, and I know the bumper would fit. I know it's tough, and I know I could have it pretty soon. However, I don't think I like the way the lines of the bumper look with the lines of the truck. This might not make much sense, but I think (no offense meant to partsflyin, sorry man!) it's too "sharp" for my taste. I also feel like the grille guard tubing sticks up way far.

The Shrock bumper looks super well made. The welds and coating are beautiful, and they have a pretty solid reputation for making some seriously rugged stuff. The bumpers are built to mount a winch, and they are made for US spec Frontiers, not the Navara. Crucially, I think they look pretty good. The actual bumper is just "bulbous" enough without sticking out too far or too low. Actually, they offer a huge increase in approach angle. If you take a look at them, they actually tuck way up. It actually sits 3" higher at the bottom than an ARB bar, so it clears obstacles better. It also makes the truck look really tall in the front. I also like the grille/headlight guard tubing. It mimics the curves in the face of the truck, and keeps the bars low enough that it doesn't look like a big stinger bar is hanging off the front. Downside is long wait times.

Right now I'm heavily leaning towards the Shrockworks. I feel like it would best suit the look I'm going for, and it would be a strong and versatile option, and I'm willing to wait for a great product that I will really like.

 

[mortonm]

Nothing wrong with being picky, its going to have to sit on the front of your truck for a long time. If you settled with the ARB you would see it everytime you got in and it would piss you off.

I like the shrock stuff as well, you will just have to wait for it, hopefully not too long!

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Nothing wrong with being picky, its going to have to sit on the front of your truck for a long time. If you settled with the ARB you would see it everytime you got in and it would piss you off.

I like the shrock stuff as well, you will just have to wait for it, hopefully not too long!

Exactly this.

I know I'll have to wait. I'm hoping that ordering it in the winter when there's not as much going on will help keep time down.

 

[richard310]

Exactly this.

I know I'll have to wait. I'm hoping that ordering it in the winter when there's not as much going on will help keep time down.

It's the holidays. I believe, if anything, wait times will increase. Company will have days off, and people will probably be ordering "presents" for themselves. It might just be the luck of the draw if you get it quickly.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

It's the holidays. I believe, if anything, wait times will increase. Company will have days off, and people will probably be ordering "presents" for themselves. It might just be the luck of the draw if you get it quickly.

We shall see. Maybe I'll get lucky. Waiting a month wouldn't be horrible.

 

[partsflyin]

Hey guys, thanks for the concerned replies. Yeah, the situation is pretty crummy, but I've managed to work through it.

Sadly, I'll have to send the Ironman back. Luckily for me, I got assurances from both Rugged Rocks and Ironman that they will fully refund the bumper (including shipping costs). So, I am going to send it back. and get my money back.

We were able, by some miracle, to get the ARB wrestled back on there. I'm pretty upset that I've got to keep it on there. I don't feel very confident in it. It doesn't actually line up anywhere. The whole thing is actually a bit twisted and under tension just sitting there. It's dangerously close to rubbing in a lot of places. I really don't feel it would hold up under winching or an impact. The other thing is I am super anal about this kind of thing. It's just not quite right. And that will drive me bonkers.

I do have a plan, though. With the money I get back, I'll be ordering a replacement that I know will fit 100%. I've gone back and forth on a couple of options. Originally, I thought I was going to go with Tactical Armor Group, but after reading a lot of really bad reviews, I'm going to stay away from that one. I thought about going a fully custom route from a guy in town, but I know it'd take forever to get done. I also saw Calmini makes a bumper for the Frontier, but I've heard some bad build quality complaints about some of their products, and they don't have headlight guards. And I'm not a huge fan of the cradle style winch mount, where the winch is out in the open vs. the hidden winch mount. (Good God I'm picky)

So, it's come down to this: TJM vs. Shrockworks.

I've had great luck with TJM in the past, and I know the bumper would fit. I know it's tough, and I know I could have it pretty soon. However, I don't think I like the way the lines of the bumper look with the lines of the truck. This might not make much sense, but I think (no offense meant to partsflyin, sorry man!) it's too "sharp" for my taste. I also feel like the grille guard tubing sticks up way far.

The Shrock bumper looks super well made. The welds and coating are beautiful, and they have a pretty solid reputation for making some seriously rugged stuff. The bumpers are built to mount a winch, and they are made for US spec Frontiers, not the Navara. Crucially, I think they look pretty good. The actual bumper is just "bulbous" enough without sticking out too far or too low. Actually, they offer a huge increase in approach angle. If you take a look at them, they actually tuck way up. It actually sits 3" higher at the bottom than an ARB bar, so it clears obstacles better. It also makes the truck look really tall in the front. I also like the grille/headlight guard tubing. It mimics the curves in the face of the truck, and keeps the bars low enough that it doesn't look like a big stinger bar is hanging off the front. Downside is long wait times.

Right now I'm heavily leaning towards the Shrockworks. I feel like it would best suit the look I'm going for, and it would be a strong and versatile option, and I'm willing to wait for a great product that I will really like.

LOL ! No offense taken man , I'm old enough these days to completely understand personal preference. The guy's I work with and I talk about this all the time. I am always aware that I have my own sense of style. I always appreciate anyone that takes pride in having a well built ride, no matter if its "my" style or not a fellow gearhead is a fellow gearhead no matter what style car or truck he chooses to build or how they choose to build it.

I love my TJM, very high quality bumper. I did however have fitment issues as well. Nothing I couldn't take care of , BUT in order for the TJM would fit the way I wanted it to there was welding and mill work involved. i am confident its on there for the long haul and after some modification it is now a "bolt on".

I feel super bummed out for you bro, sounds like you have a good attitude about it though for sure.

I do agree with you on the Shrock bumper though. i really love the look of their bumper , but after reading all the horror stories about turnaround on their bumpers i couldn't bring myself to spend money with them.

Good luck getting everything sorted out !!

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Have a bit to tell about Saturday's adventures through Red Lodge. Here's a teaser:

 

[stioc]

Looks nice, can't wait for the rest. How bad is the glare from those lights up top?