Help me find a rear bumper

Mike_H

Mike_H

autos are better - WRWD508
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Grand Rapids, MI, United States
I'm changing my bumpers this winter, to go along with my Tub refresh. I bought a Motobilt Stubby steel bumper to go on front. For the rear, I'm thinking a HD cross-member style. So far, I've found them from

Next venture
https://nextventuremotorsports.com/...roducts/tjlj-ultra-high-clearance-rear-bumper
Barnes
https://www.barnes4wd.com/TJ-LJ-Rear-Tail-Plate-Bumper_p_308.html
Steinjager
https://steinjager.com/shop/Bumpers-1997-2006-Rear-Bare-J0049302
Swag Offroad
https://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-BIG-HIT-TJ-YJ-Rear-Bumper-V20_p_91.html
Nemisis
https://nem-ind.com/tj-tju-crawler-stubby-rear-bumper-w-shackle-mounts.html
Or, I might roll my own. Its not a difficult design, and I need a hitch receiver anyway, so almost all of these will need that added to them.

What do you like and Why? I know @jjvw is running the Next Venture and it seems to work for him. Price wise, I don't know why the Nemisis is 350 dollars and the Barnes one is 129...they look the same. I guess the nemesis is made from A36 which is a Armor Plate steel... But is armor plate steel necessary for a rear bumper?
 
I went with the NV because it wraps around the rear crossmember entirely, unlike a few of those you linked that are open on the side or bottom edges. IMO this is fairly important and should limit hang ups when it does contact. The Steinjager is interesting since it does add protection for the tub, which has been something I expect to do some damage to eventually - so that would be another to consider - I wish there were more pictures!

My only complaint of the NV I did is the "N" cut out, but eventually I will copy @jjvw and replace that with a 2" receiver.
 
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I made my own out of 3/4" plate.

bumper2.jpg
 
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I like my Motobilt. It is well reinforced and has 12 attachment points including the 4 for the frame tie in brackets. Quality welds and construction. Weighs about 54lbs and is fairly minimalist. It has decent departure clearance that would be even better if it didn't have the hitch receiver.

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I say build your own. Nothing wrong with any of those you linked but it appears your going for a pretty simple design. You could do something similar to @LONGJP2 or here's what I did.
20200920_072226.jpg

Just a piece of 1/4" flat bar to cover the crossmember. I cut the ends off a hitch I had and welded on angle iron. Also made some frame tie-ins.
 
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Looking at Poison Spyder's offerings...Their BFH bumper seems to fit the bill too. Nice and tight, but it gives a bit more tub protection...Not sure I like the mounting strategy though...looks like only 4 bolts to the cross-member and two from underneath into the frame rails.

https://shop.poisonspyder.com/TJ-BFH-II-Rear-Bumper-p/14-61-030.htm
 
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Mike_H said:
No towing...just a recovery point and I carry a hitch basket on camping trips.
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I spent a lot of time looking at rear bumper options. SWAG was at the top of my list for frame mounted versions. Wraps around the frame, light weight, strength, maintains a decent departure angle, functional (Basket carrying), and a nice design. The only negative I could see is you have to do the welding.
 
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Mike_H said:
but it gives a bit more tub protection
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When I got my rear bumper, I made sure to get one with wrap-arounds under the tub. Is it a valid concern to worry about covering the tub corners? Anyone ever damage their rear corners? I think if I did it again I'd get one of these high clearance ones (either Swag or NV) you've listed and a MORryde carrier.
 
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SecondChanceTJ said:
Is it a valid concern to worry about covering the tub corners? Anyone ever damage their rear corners?
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It's probably not as big of a deal in a TJ, but in my LJ it's something I expect eventually. But I'll get corner armor soon enough and am not super worried about the tub corners down there after that (at least I think that for now).
 
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rasband said:
It's probably not as big of a deal in a TJ, but in my LJ it's something I expect eventually. But I'll get corner armor soon enough and am not super worried about the tub corners down there after that (at least I think that for now).
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I didn't start chewing up the corners until I put the bumper plate on. Corner armor is the answer and I need to protect other areas back there as well.
 
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