Bumpers...

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el_chupo_

Member
Thats a good looking bumper too, thanks for the heads up. I am checking out their site now.

Can you give me an idea how far down (from the "top" of the bumper) the winch mounting plate sits?


Matt
 
AllAmericanInfidel

AllAmericanInfidel

Caught the Bug
el_chupo_ said:
Thats a good looking bumper too, thanks for the heads up. I am checking out their site now.

Can you give me an idea how far down (from the "top" of the bumper) the winch mounting plate sits?


Matt
Click to expand...

I just went out to measure, it looks like the plate is sunken around 2.5 inches from the top of the bumper. Not sure if that is going to be enough to make a difference with the big Powerplant winch. I believe the EVO Pro has a full sunken winch plate? Not sure on that though.

SAM_2170.jpg
SAM_2169.jpg
SAM_2172.jpg
 
Napalm

Napalm

New member
el_chupo_ said:
All good bumpers from the sound of it, but I really am narrowing in on the Evo Pro and the LOD Stubby.

And I really do like a stinger, but that winch hoop on the the Pro has me considering pretty strong.

Oh yeah, the wife hates a stinger 3 days ago. Today, she doesnt care. :crazyeyes:
Why do I bother asking?
Click to expand...

Mine hated the idea of the stinger until we got one. Now she "loves it"...
 
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el_chupo_

Member
Emailed Evo and they will be offering the Pro bumper with a stinger in the future, so I think that will settle my debate, as it solves the "too far out" look with the LOD, and I just really dig the looks of the Evo bumper.


In the mean time, I need to get this winch mounted and the rest of the jeep up to snuff for a trip I have planned for May.

Is there any reason not to grab something like the Rough Country Hybrid stubby for a temp setup? I could run that until the new Evo bumper comes out, then sell it off. That would give me a recessed winch mount, decent protection, and I can still use my stock tow hooks for front recovery points. Would prefer D rings, but I dont want to spend $300 on a rough country setup. Under 200, however, is acceptable, and it seems like a basic winch plate for a factory bumper will cost $150 or so...

Thanks!
 
Greg__Berger

Greg__Berger

Member
el_chupo_ said:
Is there any reason not to grab something like the Rough Country Hybrid stubby for a temp setup? I could run that until the new Evo bumper comes out, then sell it off. That would give me a recessed winch mount, decent protection, and I can still use my stock tow hooks for front recovery points. Would prefer D rings, but I dont want to spend $300 on a rough country setup. Under 200, however, is acceptable, and it seems like a basic winch plate for a factory bumper will cost $150 or so...
Click to expand...

If you need a cheapo temporary solution, you could go to Harbor Freight and get their universal winch plate. You can cut it to fit around the stock tow points and bolt it straight to the frame. You can then cut the factory bumper to be able to sit over it and bolt the winch on from there. If you don't mind cutting up the factory bumper, it works well as a cheap solution. Less than $50.
 
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el_chupo_

Member
Thanks Greg!

I am not sure if I like the look of the factory bumper enough to keep it, but its hard to argue with the cost...

Since you have done this on yours, I am going to ask a dumb question - when you had your bumper off to do the mod, did it look like you could have bolted the plate to the bottom of the frame horns, and done a recessed mount? Or was the mount on top like you did the best option?
 
cozdude

cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
I agree with Greg. If your going to get the Evo bumper just do a stubby bumper chop of the factory one and get a winch plate for the time being. It's cost effective and you can always resell the winch plate easily.
 
Greg__Berger

Greg__Berger

Member
el_chupo_ said:
Thanks Greg!

I am not sure if I like the look of the factory bumper enough to keep it, but its hard to argue with the cost...

Since you have done this on yours, I am going to ask a dumb question - when you had your bumper off to do the mod, did it look like you could have bolted the plate to the bottom of the frame horns, and done a recessed mount? Or was the mount on top like you did the best option?
Click to expand...

You could probably do that, yes. I know some guys have taken the plate and flipped it upside down to mount the winch in between the frame rails, but I didn't want to have the winch constantly getting covered in mud, salt, etc. sitting under the bumper and it would have been hard to manage the line and the clutch.

If you do it the way that you're thinking - you'll likely end up with more exposed edge from the part of the bumper that you had to cut away and it could be pretty unsightly. Essentially, I ended up mounting the plate to the top of the frame, the bumper over that, and then the winch sandwiched the plastic back down once I bolted it on which covered up much of the exposed edge.

I didn't get great pictures, but you can kind of see what I'm talking about with this one. Let me know if you need more and I'll go out and pull the cover off the winch and take some close-ups.

Winch.jpg
 
Greg__Berger

Greg__Berger

Member
cozdude said:
I agree with Greg. If your going to get the Evo bumper just do a stubby bumper chop of the factory one and get a winch plate for the time being. It's cost effective and you can always resell the winch plate easily.
Click to expand...

:thumb:

My stock one is pretty beat up now from rocks, but it's been a great interim solution.
 
lmaya

lmaya

Member
I have the Knuckles Off-road bumper and like the aggressive look and functionality it provides.....not sure you could run your stock fog lamps though, it may look funny with round lights behind square cut outs
 
Jake Wilson

Jake Wilson

New member
Smittybilt SRC Stinger

Hey does anyone run the Smittybilt SRC Stinger? If so how do you like it? Good? Bad? Pros and Cons?
 
AllAmericanInfidel

AllAmericanInfidel

Caught the Bug
Jake Wilson said:
Hey does anyone run the Smittybilt SRC Stinger? If so how do you like it? Good? Bad? Pros and Cons?
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While I do not have much experience with the SRC stinger, I can tell you that I would not put it on my rig. I persoanlly take pride in putting as many quality American made parts on my Jeep as possible. Smittybilt, which is owned by TA Auto Parts and has all of their parts built in China, is not known for their quality or durability. If I were in your position, Id stubby the stock bumper until I could get something of a better quality. Pay once, cry once!
 
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el_chupo_

Member
Just an update to this, I ended up going with the RC Hybrid Stubby as a temp setup. I decided to leave it up to the wife, and after view pics of a factory bumper cut to stubby with the winch plate, a stubby with the VDP endcaps, and the RC hybrid, she liked the RC hybrid. I wasnt confident that I could fit the winch plate from the bottom and get it looking good, and if I went to some sort of cap like the VDP setup, the cost difference made the RC hybrid worth the install ease.

Also picked up a vacuum pump relocation bracket to get it installed. Then the weather went to crap, so the bumper is in the kitchen...

I ended up selling my old cell phone the day before, so it was pretty much a wash. I will run that while waiting on a new Evo Pro bumper with stinger to come out, and will make the switch and sell the RC.

As far as the SmittyBuilt stuff - I see it a lot near me, and the local shops push it pretty hard. It looks decent when it doesn't rust (and not everyone has rust issues), but if I am going to spend good money on the Jeep, I am going to strive for the "better" option. For me, that is US made, and from a company that provides support. There are a ton of options available, so its pretty much pick your poison.
 
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