Let's see your front bumpers!

I have the aluminum UCF
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Pretty sure I'm going with this whenever I decide to lose the stock front. How has the aluminum held up, especially after painting for you. I think you may have commented on this before but I'm looking for any/all info I can get on aluminum. It sounds like more of a pain to prep/paint/maintain than just a simple steel bumper.
 
Looks like I'm more drawn towards the stubbys, sux having the money, but not being able to decide which one.
One of the big drawbacks I'm having issues with is the one's I like are either raw steel or raw aluminum.
 
Warn rock crawler stubby. Relatively inexpensive but seems to be good quality, with thick reinforcement plates behind the d-ring tabs, which are welded inside and out.

Things I like about it better than the Body Armor bumper I took off:
1. It's enough lighter that I gained 3/8" of ride height
2. Approach angle is way better.
3. Much cleaner look without all the hoops and hitch receivers.

I would suggest to someone buying this bumper to install your license plate and winch onto the bumper before mounting the bumper to the vehicle, because the tube crossmember blocks easy access once it's on. Even better, weld the nuts on the back of the license plate holes so you can just put a bolt in from the front like every other vehicle on earth that doesn't require you to lay on the ground with a wrench inside the bumper.

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Need some help on built quality on these if you have first hand experience, please.
I've got it narrowed down to 2 I think.
1. KDF 3/16 steel, 1inch D rings, 43" and available powder coated, pre-drilled holes for mounted lights (important), about $400 delivered.
2. Motobilt, 3/16 steel, 3/4 inch D rings, 42" comes bare steel (no option for PC), no pre-drilled holes for mounted lights (Important) $300, but figure I'd be at about $400 after powder coating.
Opinions of each?
KDF43inch.jpg

Motobilt42inch.jpg
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The Motobilt bumper is pretty good. Several of us have the stubby version.
What was your reasoning behind the shackle mounts? Stock hooks or upgrades hooks in the stock locations would work great. Unless it’s just personal preference.
Just appearance, I'd like to do the same D rings on the back too when I add that bumper.
 
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Need some help on built quality on these if you have first hand experience, please.
I've got it narrowed down to 2 I think.
1. KDF . . . .
2. Motobilt . . . .
Opinions of each?

I have one KD Fabworks product on my jeep, but not a bumper. It is a well made piece and the powder coat is good.
I received excellent customer service and would buy from the company again should the need arise.
 
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Need some help on built quality on these if you have first hand experience, please.
I've got it narrowed down to 2 I think.
1. KDF 3/16 steel, 1inch D rings, 43" and available powder coated, pre-drilled holes for mounted lights (important), about $400 delivered.
2. Motobilt, 3/16 steel, 3/4 inch D rings, 42" comes bare steel (no option for PC), no pre-drilled holes for mounted lights (Important) $300, but figure I'd be at about $400 after powder coating.
Opinions of each?
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I like the motobilt, but am not a fan of the lasercut logo. IMO, it would look a lot cleaner without it.
 
I think I'm going with the KDF. It has all the specs I need and Kurt emailed me right back after I sent a question, I like that kind of response. Is there any reason y'all know of why I shouldn't go with the KDF?
 
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I’ve been looking at UCFs aluminum bumpers. They are cheap (sub $200) and weigh less than 10lbs.

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pre-winch

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I've had the bumper for about 2 months and the winch plate for about 1. I thought I wanted something 46", and I also like the idea of a light bumper. Looking at it now, I wish I had gone with something a little wider, but I'm still happy with it. The lack of D rings gave me pause, but I still have the factory tow hooks on the front, and I also considered just welding a D ring mount into the underside of the frame if I really need one.

Originally I was going to paint it, and installed it "until then," but now I think it'll just stay bare. The only annoying things are that it comes with the markings from the aluminum mill still on it, as well as some markings from what I assume was the UCF fab shop.

I also had to buy longer bolts for to attach the front 2 winch mounting points. The supplied hardware was just long enough to grab, and then strip, the first few threads. Not sure if that was Smittybilts fault or UCFs
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