Good point. Everything I did was to solve a problem.
For me, my first front and rear bumpers were put on when I was in more of an overland mindset. That lasted until I got hooked on climbing hills and rocks.
Then, weight became a problem and I put the Jeep on a serious diet. To the point
@jjvw made about the heavy Nate's bumper, here's what the first front bumper swap improved:
- Original Nate's front bumper weighed in at 62.5lbs
- New UCF aluminum bumper, with hoop and winch plate, weighed in at 24.4lbs
This gave me a total weight savings of 38.1 lbs on the nose. Additionally, the frame width bumper gave me a significantly improved approach angle, along with the ability to easily put my front tires on larger rocks.
The next front bumper swap (Ultra Clearance) came when I was getting more aggressive on the trail and wanted to improve the approach angle as much as I could, short of cutting the front frame cross member. The addition of the Antirock allowed me to make the switch, resulting in approximately a 2" improvement in approach angle. The weight did go back up a little, but not significantly.
The switch on the rear was similar in nature. Finding the lightest bumper that also incorporated a swing out tire carrier (opening with the tailgate) was critical. Also important was pulling the rear spare in and down. In the end, the UCF rear bumper resulted in:
- shaving 31.5 lbs of weight off the tail end
- pulling the tire in 6 inches closer to the tail gate
- dropping the 100 lb spare tire 8 inches, for a lower center of gravity
- being able to see out of the back window again
- tail gate & tire carrier opening with one motion
Rear departure angles are now a slight problem I'm contemplating. There's a possibility I'll have a third bumper on the rear. We'll have to see about that one though!
