XJ Winch Bumper

[98dango]

on a Xj that dose not have a frame. Tie it in as much as possable. The fact of having a bumper there at all has just affected your crumple zone. The reason for crumple zones is a 5mph crash. This will happen a lot in off road situations. Its my experance with XJ that if you tie in the whole truck lasts longer. Also the sterring box is a week mount area and if you reinforce this with the bumper mount you cure a problem with a stronger truck. Yes in a on road crash your truck will be affected diffrently but so will what you hit. With a good bumper tied in correctly you may need less body work than the Honda you hit. In my opinion after a XJ will fair better in a crash with frame tie ins due to the fact this puts the stress farther back where the suspension mounts and the unibody is doubble wall there. I do have some body shop experance and a lot of hard core wheeling under my belt.

 

[XJLI]

I'm a little skeptical of the massive frame tie-in type bumpers. An old body shop guy once told me that a even a light collision with that type of bumper can seriously tweak your frame, or unibody. I trust ARB's design. They have probably sold more than anyone else, and the Aussies offroad as a way of life.

Thats all fine and dandy, but you wont be skeptical when the ARB either rips out of your jeep during winching, or you realize it has no solid recovery points.and if you did yank on it hard it would just rip out anyway.

As with everything there is a compromise. The tie-ins will affect the crumple zones of the "frame". However, the bumper will not pull off in a recovery situation. For every modification these type of things need to be weighed out. Personally I prefer to have confidence in the ability of my equipment to get me where I want to go and get me out of a bad situation (winch out) with confidence when needed.

I recommended AJ's bumper because I know from experience (mine and others) that it will hold up.

bumpers (and other tow points) on XJs will rip out if not tied in properly. end of story. AJ knows this which is why his bumpers use those massive tie ins.

 

[MTNTECH]

Thats all fine and dandy, but you wont be skeptical when the ARB either rips out of your jeep during winching, or you realize it has no solid recovery points.and if you did yank on it hard it would just rip out anyway.



bumpers (and other tow points) on XJs will rip out if not tied in properly. end of story. AJ knows this which is why his bumpers use those massive tie ins.

DaJudge and XJLI know what they are talking about, also check C-ROK http://www.c-rok.com/, the front end of a Cherokee requires re-enforcement to withstand winching.

 

[IH8RDS]

Hmmm, I am curious if all you guys that talk about ARBs ripping off have actually seen it in person or actually witnesses this phenomenon? Or did you read it on line somewhere?

arb bumpers are nice, but a little bit of a poser thing if you ask me. get one with the winch exposed, and enjoy your winch, a well designed winch bumper will have the winch exposed, and the mounting bolts inside the bumper to help deter theft.

.

I never heard that poser comment before either. I prefer the enclosed design. Keeps it all tucked away for less drag and away from the elements. I don't know about you, but when I use my winch it is from inside the vehicle or behind an open door. I am never in sight of the winch spool when it is winding. The only time I am in front is when I am loosely spooling after use, and you can plainly see the spool through the two openings.

I have had my ARB for 6 years now and have done some pretty massive winching. I have pulled an 11K truck up an steep incline and allot of tough recoveries. The darn thing is still attached. :Wow1:

 

[Jay S.]

I like my ARB....but I wanted to run a Warn 9.5XP and was told it's too big to fit, so I dropped down to a XD9000 and love it! If I was going to do it over, I might consider the Warn front bumper with the brush guard and run a Powerplant winch with the air compressor built-in.

 

[Purple People Eater]

Nates4x4 dot com is having a big sale right now. The slimline recessed winch bumper is only $300 right now. I saw the sale and thought of this thread.

 

[ExpoMike]

Nates4x4 dot com is having a big sale right now. The slimline recessed winch bumper is only $300 right now. I saw the sale and thought of this thread.

Man, that's an awesome price. Wish I had the cash and I would buy that one and sell my current bumper.

 

[IH8RDS]

That is a good price for allot of bumper. :Wow1:

 

[saburai]

Thanks!

Nates4x4 dot com is having a big sale right now. The slimline recessed winch bumper is only $300 right now. I saw the sale and thought of this thread.

First I want to say thanks for looking out for me:bowdown:
On the surface it looks like a geat deal...

I think its to good to be true!

I did a little research and it seem from what I garner on the forums, that Nate makes a good bumper. It also seem that he, to put it lightly has some customer service issues.

If one of you knows better please let us know.

I'm just trying to watch out for me and everyone else here...

I hope it o.k. to link to other forums...

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=981418
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=910923&highlight=Nates4x4
http://www.greatlakes4x4.com/showthread.php?p=1485950#post1485950
This last one convinced me that I wouldn't risk it. Nate responds to one of the posters. He makes a blanket statement that "returns are easy" ******? That should not be an issue if you stand behind your work...
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=519168
Price is great, stuff looks to be pretty good but with some mention of misalignment and such... Timely delivery and having a good rapport with your customers is paramount!

I think I go with AJ. I'm not a customer and he returned calls and emails offering advice and sending pictures very promptly

 

[w_b]

...
http://www.greatlakes4x4.com/showthread.php?p=1485950#post1485950
This last one convinced me that I wouldn't risk it. Nate responds to one of the posters. He makes a blanket statement that "returns are easy" ******? That should not be an issue if you stand behind your work...
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=519168
Price is great, stuff looks to be pretty good but with some mention of misalignment and such... Timely delivery and having a good rapport with your customers is paramount!...

While I agree customer service is critical, and while I don't disagree with your decision to go with AJ's, I read the threads you linked to, some of which are over a year old. The one complaint about misalignment appears to have been due to a transition to plasma. Stuff happens. The 'returns are easy' posting was an answer to another post where the guy wanted to return his bumper. While there were negative posts, there were positive posts too -- in those linked threads.

The lack of communication is a valid and real concern. I guess he could hire someone to answer the e-mails and the phone. But then he'd have to pay their salary, and pay all the other unseen costs the state and feds require an employer to pay for an employee. Wonder how much that would drive up the cost of his products...

Like Nate said, "Going to work at 7am and coming home at 9pm every night unfortunately does not provide me with a lot of time..." There's a balance, and it appears he's not making it in the customer service department, but a solid product for a very reasonable price may be worth the wait for some.

Oh, and in my limited experience of bolting on aftermarket accessories (even from companies that enjoy a very good reputation), it is rarely a plug and play operation. Some modification has been required every time. If there are differences from one side of my XJ to the other (and there is) I'm willing to bet my XJ is different than your XJ is different than the XJ the manufacturer used as a model to build his bumper, lift etc.

I hope this makes sense.

 

[saburai]

Bad Business

Sure it makes sense!

On the other hand...

AJ answers his phone or calls right back and apologizes for missing your call. He is a small shop too, but some how he manages to be prompt and respectful!
Bad business practices are just that, your customer pays you bills and you need to treat them as such.

I called and left a message for Nate, lets see when he gets back to me.

There are many more post out there and they are mostly negitive.

Apparently he just slaps a shipping label on an unpainted bumper w/o any packaging...

A lot of folks getting jerked around about when their stuff will get there - if he is good enough to even reply to his customers inquiries!

The $300 winch bumper - if he could sell it with even a remotely accurate estimate of delivery is certainly a nice deal.

On the other hand at his regular price of $495, when compared to AJ's bumper at $490...

Well, I know what I would do...

Nate's:

AJ's:

 

[IXNAYXJ]

I've run an AJ's (actually one of his prototype XJ designs from waay back in the day) and it was great. I have a Moab 4x4 Outpost bumper now, though, and it is superior in every respect. For me, approach angle is a major issue and the M40 bumper is unsurpassed in this.

As to the ARB, I installed one on a friends rig because that's what he's always wanted. On the first trip out, he tagged a small rock and it puched the bumper into his corner marker and shattered it. Not a fan.

Here's a pic of the Moab bumper:

-----Matt-----

 

[Purple People Eater]

I've gone Nate's before, and I'll go with him again. I was told it saved my life:



And when I was dealing with him, I never had an issue with customer service. He replied to both of my emails within 48 hours, apologizing for the delay in response due to highly increased business. I can't suggest it OVER aj's, since I have never owned any of his products or dealt with him business-wise, but I was extremely happy with Nate's.

 

[Root Moose]

As to the ARB, I installed one on a friends rig because that's what he's always wanted. On the first trip out, he tagged a small rock and it puched the bumper into his corner marker and shattered it.

I've seen the same kind of thing happen. A Disco dropped its nose on a rock and the whole bumper moved independently of the rest of the truck. It didn't wreck anything on the truck to my knowledge but it shouldn't have done that. Hence my wanting to beef up mine.

 

[OverlandZJ]

I'v also seen the ARB bumper damaged first hand. It's a bumper i wouldnt consider if rockcrawling was your thing. For Overlanding it seems very adequate.

AJ has a great reputation for his customer service and his products are priced well for the quality of his product. My opinion is based on reading owner reports.

Nates. He sells on ebay alot as well. Owners seem satisfied with his product once received. I'm awaiting one i have to install on a friend of a friends rig.

Custom 4x4. I had their bumper on my previous rig.. for about a month. Consists of a decent designed winch tray with thinner material that does not hold up well to trail obstructions.

Hanson. I run this bumper now. Solid, but mounting could use improvement. Mine will get this shortly.


I think AJ's would be my choice considering your desire for location and vendor feedback. Thats if i could get over the "prerunner" style bar, not a fan of that... but it's just cosmetics right?