bumper second guessing.. what’s your opinion?

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jpswapmohn
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bumper second guessing.. what’s your opinion?

Post by jpswapmohn »

I know, opinions are like.. well, fill in the blank.

I am in the process of recovering “Jeep Funds” to continue my WT GW. At the moment, all I can do is sit and stare and admire it.. But the more i look at it, the more i am second guessing the plans I had for it..

I planned on putting a customized version of the BJ Crawler bumpers on it. I want (ed) a rear swing out tire carrier on it along with a winch bumper with driving lights.. The more I look at it (and am still amazed it is in my garage) I am beginning to think a clean set of plain black bumpers might be a better route.

I do require a 2” hitch on the back as i intend to eventually tow a car trailer with one of the baby jeeps or a reasonable camper with it.

It won’t see real trails at this point, but will get my YJ mutt to the camp ground or trail head. The reality is that I am beginning to think the thing is just too nice to put big bumpers and a large roof rack on.

So, if it were sitting in your driveway, what bumpers would you put on her?

Right this moment, I am between the original plans and a set of black smooth bumpers like on the mid-70’s rigs..
What would you put on it?

The wheels will be changed..those are just rollers i had from my 2500hd for the J20 axles.
Image
One day I will wake up and realize that my jeep is complete...one day, I just know it.
88Wag, LT1/4L60E/NP242, J20 axles, etc. http://imgbox.com/g/rNuIasKYrS
95YJ, STaK, D44's, SOA, ARB's, Bilstein 5150s, 35" KM2's
50 CJ3A
77 J-10 (sold)
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Stuka
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Re: bumper second guessing.. what’s your opinion?

Post by Stuka »

The original 3 piece bumpers painted like the grill would look pretty good I think. The crawler bumpers are nice, but also bulky. For the back if it was me, I would go with a Dozer bumper over the Crawler. No tire carrier, but its a clean looking bumper.
2017 JKU Rubicon
Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ
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Re: bumper second guessing.. what’s your opinion?

Post by jpswapmohn »

Thanks Stuka. I have looked at the 3-piece and the clean 1-piece WT bumpers online. I like both.
My other concern is that a 33-34" tire/wheel would take up a ton of space inside the jeep. The fuel tank is in the original spare location. Along the same thought, the original bumper jack is all but useless now.. 8^)
One day I will wake up and realize that my jeep is complete...one day, I just know it.
88Wag, LT1/4L60E/NP242, J20 axles, etc. http://imgbox.com/g/rNuIasKYrS
95YJ, STaK, D44's, SOA, ARB's, Bilstein 5150s, 35" KM2's
50 CJ3A
77 J-10 (sold)
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Stuka
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Re: bumper second guessing.. what’s your opinion?

Post by Stuka »

The one piece bumper was 79+. Mid 70’s was 3-piece.

The other thing to be aware of is towing with a tire carrier can be tricky. Some will hit the spare when turning because of how far it sits out.
2017 JKU Rubicon
Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ

letank
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Re: bumper second guessing.. what’s your opinion?

Post by letank »

very nice built and attention to details, I like the AC upgrade for the vents.
As for the 3 piece bumper, it was installed with a series of brackets, because the early years did not have the frame extensions or frame horns which are present in the latter vintage which have the 1 piece bumper, which can be seen in your pict.
The 1 piece is sturdier when used as a jacking point, the 3 piece will lift up a bit until the frame starts to raise from the suspension... yes, I know bumper jacks are not good... but at some point we forget the bottle or better jack
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)

will e
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Re: bumper second guessing.. what’s your opinion?

Post by will e »

Some thoughts:
You mention 'in my garage' but also 'if it was in your driveway'. Are you going to park it in the garage? My Jeep would not fit in my garage with a spare tire on the back. We put in some cabinets and that shortened the available space. So first thought, will it 'fit' where you plan on parking it with a tire carrier? I park in the garage, so no tire carrier in the back.

What size tires will you run and if you don't have a carrier, where will you put the spare? I run 37's, too big for underneath, so I ended up putting it in the cab. I had to remove the rear seat to make it fit, but that was part of my overall plan. I doubt you plan on 37's, especially if this is a tow rig, but you get my point. Since this is a converted 4 door to a wide track I assume you don't want to get rid of the rear seat.

If you are not going to wheel it hard, there isn't really a need for a winch, especially if you are not wheeling alone. They are nice to have, I have one and have used it a few times. Also, the winch bumper adds length and may cause a problem fitting it into a garage as well.

Careful with the roof rack, make sure it will clear the garage as well. With a 2" lift this shouldn't be too much of a concern. I had to get a rack made so I could just barely clear the garage opening.

A roof rack and big bumper will add a lot of weight. If your not going to be wheeling it hard and you plan on using it to tow things then you should avoid adding weight to the back of the jeep as much as reasonably possible.

Frankly, I think it would look good with stock bumpers. If you add the hitch for towing you have an instant 'recovery point'. That's a nice looking Waggy wide track. ;)
81 Waggy 'WILL E' Retired
82 Cherokee WT - SOA/SF/high steer/Alcan springs/agr box/Borgeson steering shaft/AMC 401/performer/holley TA/HEI/BeCool/727/ALTAS (2.0/2.72/5.44)/D60 Snofighter(Yukon Zip,hubs,stubs,4.56)/14 Bolt (FF,BF shave, Discs, ARB,Artec Truss)/MTR 37X12.5/Corbeau XRS Baja & 5 point retractable harness/Hella Aux lights/tuffy console/killer32 sliders/Evil Twin bumpers, rack and roll cage/WARN 8000/TT Fabworks steering brace/dual batts/custom TC skid plate/ARB fridge
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Re: bumper second guessing.. what’s your opinion?

Post by jpswapmohn »

Right now, it is in the garage. It will be stored in a garage for the foreseeable future, but parked in the drive when in use. When the weather turns bad, once they start to spray/treat the roads, it will go into hibernation. As it currently sits, it has no issue getting into our garage. If i put a rack on it, I would have to remove it to get into the garage.

We will be relocating in the next several months and garage size will definitely be a consideration for the next abode. This poor excuse for a 2-car garage on our current house is actually about a 1 1/2 Jeep.

Plans for wheels/tires are 285/75r17 or there about. I have a couple sets of H2 wheels of different designs and plan on initially using them. We will see. I think 17” is a good compromise. The ones on it now are the 16” stockers from my 2500HD.

Location for the spare was the main reason for planning to get the swingout. I don’t want to give up the rear seat (you are correct, that would make the 4-door kinda pointless) and imagine our mutts will be back there, so taking up the cargo area with a tire/wheel is not ideal.

Hey, all the “real” Jeepers out there seem to be running around sans spare tire these days, so maybe I should just do what the cool kids are doing..

The tumble forward rear seat has always made a great barrier for keeping our huskies, and now our big ole malamute, from deciding to join us in the front seat.. 8v)

The winch would likely just be bling unless i needed to drag one of the other jeeps onto a trailer or something.. but it’s a jeep. Aren’t all real jeeps suppose to have a winch? It might get laughed at by our other Jeeps. But it will be a hellofalot faster than they are.
One day I will wake up and realize that my jeep is complete...one day, I just know it.
88Wag, LT1/4L60E/NP242, J20 axles, etc. http://imgbox.com/g/rNuIasKYrS
95YJ, STaK, D44's, SOA, ARB's, Bilstein 5150s, 35" KM2's
50 CJ3A
77 J-10 (sold)

rocklaurence
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Re: bumper second guessing.. what’s your opinion?

Post by rocklaurence »

If your ever going to Trail Ride alone, buy a winch. In my ealier days I walked many parking lots looking for a person driving a 4x4 to get me unstuck. Its $300-$400 well spent in MHO.

PossumJr
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Re: bumper second guessing.. what’s your opinion?

Post by PossumJr »

I'm partial to the smoother lines of stock bumpers, so I 'd probably go with a 1-piece painted to match the grille if it'll never really see any serious trail use. I'm also a sucker for brush guards so I think it would look even better with one of the Killer32 brush guards from BJ's mounted up front.
1979 J10, 360/QT
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