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Bumber question

climbon

climbon

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Utah
I am almost finished with my 99XJ and all I have left are my front & rear bumpers to complete all the money I have spent that has sent my wife over the edge. I have my selection down to three choices which are the following: Trailready - Bulletproof - Durango. I have called all of them and ofcourse they all have the strongest, best built and will take them back if I break em. How many of you out there are familiar with or have these on your rig and how have they held up. Thx Climbon
 
I don't know if the bumpers would be the same from the earlier years but BPI has a great bumper for $308 with a 2" receiver. They have ones for winches as well for a few bucks more. I have one. I rolled the XJ over and had the weight of the vehicle on the edge of the bumper and all it did was scratch the paint. The workmanship was superb and it is a great looking bumper.

Sorry if I complicated the thing, but I do a lot of high quality fab work and normally build all my own stuff, but theirs was just too nice and too cheap for me to even think of doing it myself. It is made of heavy steel and the welds are a thing of beauty.

Tom Houston
Loveland, Colorado
 
1052594027_Im000059.jpg


Here is my 96' with a BPI winchless bumper.


Justin
 
Thanks for the info I will check out BPI it looks good to me and it sits high for good approach. Also 96 is a great year for Cherokee I had one but lost it in a flood down in Arizona at a place called Red Creek.
 
Climbon,

Have you looked at the ARB Bullbar? It's a very nice bumper, but I do believe that they are expensive. Alot of times it pays to check into fabrication!! I fabbed my own rear bumper by kind of following the pattern on the Trailready because I couldn't afford their high prices. If you would like some pics, email me back. Maybe I will have some Ideas for you.
 
A good bumper is so easy to fab it'll bring tears to your eyes. For less than $50 you can get a piece of 1/8 wall 6x2 rectangular tubing that'll weigh less than 30 lbs and some C channel to mount it with that will be more than tough enough for trail use. Mine took an impact from a new Escalade that should have destroyed my XJ and you couldn't tell anything happened. The Escalade suffered $12,000 worth of damage.

Receiver tubing is cheap and will add a few pounds but what the hey?

If you don't have the tools, grab the metal and a pizza and head over to your buddy with a Sawzall and go to it! And if he has a welder- so much the better.

The ARB bumper is a great piece and is of the highest quality but is far too heavy for an XJ. When it comes to bumpers amd other types of armor, keep it simple, light and strong. If you start using 1/4" steel, you'll need to use 1/4" steel to deal with all the weight! I got rid of my heavy 1/4" bumpers and believe me- it's a burden I don't miss
 
Ditto Mistwolf. I shelled out a nice tax return for a Bulletproof rear with swingout. I'm pleased with it for the most part and it came with all of the options I was looking for. In 20/20 hind sight however, there where so many better ways I could have spent that much money!
 
I was told that the ARB has a problem bending in the corner of the brush gaurd, is this true? have you heard this. I think I will go with the bulletproof front end it has a nice flat bottom for high lift jacking points. As for the rear, Durango looks to have the corners well wraped in steel. I guess lazy me just wants to buy the product not make it myself. Thanks for all the info.
 
The BPI on my '99 is a thing of beauty and is admired everywhere I go. I am already ordering a matching rear when the side panels are done in mid June.
 
ditto on the BPI. the winchless w/o receiver hitch only weighs 53 lbs and gives you as much approach angle as is possible without modifing the radiator support. One of the best things I've done to mine. Check my profile for my webshots page if you want pictures....
 
I'll tell you what will be fun. meeting you guys at the 20 year XJ event in Moab and showing you what I finally chose to put on my rig. You can't miss me I am the only one in Utah with the plate "climbon" I will see you all there or elsewhere. Very good advice lots to choose from, like a candy store.
 
I have never had my arb bend in the corner or bend at all for that matter, I have even smashed into a Ford Tempo with out any noticable damage other than red paint on the bumper. The tempo wasn't as lucky however
 
I have never had any damage done to my ARB, except for bending the little ring connectors on the front because sometimes it does stick out a little bit too far. Overall, I'm tickled to death with it, currently I'm ordering the new synthetic rope for my 9500 HS Warn with the new fairlead!

Hope to see some of you in Tellico in July!!
 
I like the looks of the BPI... and fabbed one similar to it...

Weight can be a problem... only 1/4" was the mount... rest is 3/16"...

fside.jpg


f13.jpg


Working on the rear right now... will be an air tank too...

r8.jpg


r9.jpg


For amature fabbers... there's a lot of labor involved in making on of these... 20+ hours a piece... but that's with minimal equipment...

My fab shop...

FabShop.jpg
 
I think that the majority of these offroad bumpers will stand up to whatever you throw at them. What makes one better than the other is really just departure angles, features you want, and aesthetics, strength is really a non issue, I think the XJ will crush long before any of these bumpers will let you down. Personally, I think Trailready and Hanson make the best looking bumpers. My .02

XJguy
 
i have f&r tomken bumpers. i think they are really tough. i reworked the front brackets so the bumper sits super close to the body. its as almost the bumper isnt even there (approach angle wise). check them out.
 
Looks like alot of guys are making them, Saw a real nice one over the weekend DavidB has it on his XJ and I think I will go with that one. I am also looking for lighter weight with strength.
 
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