Rear bumper with integrated hitch

glwood

glwood

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Albuquerque, NM
Going to look into an aftermarket rear bumper with an integrated receiver for a tow setup. I will not be towing, really, just a HF 4x8 utility trailer. The Rubicon currently has no tow setup. I am looking for simple, inexpensive ideas. I had Smittybilt Rock Crawler front & rear bumpers on my '03 X, and those were ok...

I would prefer a bumper vs. just adding a receiver hitch.
 
 
glwood said:
Going to look into an aftermarket rear bumper with an integrated receiver for a tow setup. I will not be towing, really, just a HF 4x8 utility trailer. The Rubicon currently has no tow setup. I am looking for simple, inexpensive ideas. I had Smittybilt Rock Crawler front & rear bumpers on my '03 X, and those were ok...

I would prefer a bumper vs. just adding a receiver hitch.
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The very last brand I would consider is Smittybilt, their quality is hit or miss not to mention they're all made in China.

Dirt Worx has been making bumpers close to me here in SOCAL for many years, I have had twp of his rear bumpers with integrated receiver hitches on my TJs for probably 14-15 years now. They're built extremely well and surprisingly, at only $150, cost less to buy than most other bumpers including Smittybilt's junk. Not to mention they included properly through-welded D-ring shackle tabs.

This is the one I'd go for again if I had need for a third rear bumper... http://www.thedirtworx.com/_p/prd13/1638368235/product/rear-bumper

They come bare steel so you will need to buy aerosol cans of Rustoleum Satin Black paint and Rustoleum self-etching primer but that is a small price to pay for a well-built bumper that costs only $150. Krylon is a good alternative paint brand to Rustoleum that works well for me if you see it.
 
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Well, for $150 you can't beat Jerry's recommendation.

I was showing you the ones I showed you only because I knew you didn't want to spend much. I'm shocked to see that Dirtworx bumper is so cheap.
 
Chris said:
I'm shocked to see that Dirtworx bumper is so cheap.
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What would shock you even more would be its quality and heavy-duty construction.

This isn't a great pic of that bumper but it's the only/best one I have...

20140111_110851sized1000Cro.jpg
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
What would shock you even more would be its quality and its heavy-duty construction.

This isn't a great pic of that bumper but it's the only/best one I have...

View attachment 9159
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Yeah, that's why I'm shocked. I just didn't expect anything made in the USA (with quality metal) to be priced so fairly. Quite astonishing actually!
 
Jerry, exactly what I was hoping to hear about, thank you. Not only are the Dirtworx bumpers better made, and made in the USA, they are priced better than any of the others I've seen. Of course, they do add shipping cost to the price, which brings it up considerably. The good news is you can half that cost per bumper by ordering both the front and rear bumpers, because they charge $79 shipping whether you order 1 or both.

Looks like I'll be ordering a couple Dirtworx bumpers...:crazylick:

"Engineering to Captain - I'm giving her all I've got!! The gravitational force is too great, the Enterprise cannot break free!"
 
glwood said:
Jerry, exactly what I was hoping to hear about, thank you. Not only are the Dirtworx bumpers better made, and made in the USA, they are priced better than any of the others I've seen. Of course, they do add shipping cost to the price, which brings it up considerably. The good news is you can half that cost per bumper by ordering both the front and rear bumpers, because they charge $79 shipping whether you order 1 or both.

Looks like I'll be ordering a couple Dirtworx bumpers...:crazylick:

"Engineering to Captain - I'm giving her all I've got!! The gravitational force is too great, the Enterprise cannot break free!"
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Good decision. I met Robert, who sells and makes them, years ago and liked both him and what I saw in his shop. It's a nice small operation that defines what American-made is all about.
 
There's not a lot of detail on their web page...do you know if the front bumper comes with the tubing added, as pictured:
 
glwood said:
There's not a lot of detail on their web page...do you know if the front bumper comes with the tubing added, as pictured:
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It looks like the mini-bullbar tubing is included but he'll confirm one way or the other if you'll just email him or text him, he gives his cellphone # on the site.
 
Have any of y'all heard from Ground Pounder fab in a while?

I know he sold his shop and all. But, I need a rear bumper as well, and I have a Ground Pounder front bumper that I love and wish I had the rear-version of it.
 
Dirtworx was what I was going to recommend and what I am going to put on my TJ. I saw someone in a jeep at my work lot and he had the Dirtworx bumper. It was a nice bumper and very good quality.

Jerry, do you know much about the guy who makes the Dirtworx bumpers? Did he start out on Ebay? I bought a bumper on ebay about 12-13 years ago from a guy who was just getting started and it is exactly the same as the Dirtworx bumper.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
No I don't Ahoragi, I'm not even sure how I found him for my first Dirt Worx bumper.
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Oh ok, thanks.

Here's a pix of the bumper on my old TJ:

DSCF1669_zpsz6lbicc6.jpg


There's a pix on Dirtworx's website showing the bumper in bare steel sitting on a table. That was similar to the picture he had on ebay. I'm pretty sure it's the same guy. It seems he made some slight adjustments since then.
 
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Ahoragi, I did read about someone getting their Dirtworx bumper(s) from eBay, so you're correct in thinking they were on eBay, at least once. I don't see them there now.

I emailed Robert several times with my own questions regarding his bumpers, and he graciously answered them pretty quickly. What he told me was:

1. The bumpers, as shown in the photos on his site, weigh around 45 lbs. each. Front with d-ring mounts & hoops, rear with d-ring mounts. The rear with tire carrier is 75-85 lbs per Robert.

2. The front bumper can be ordered without the hoops, I imagine it would be somewhat lighter in weight. It would be $150. So for $300, one could get both front & rear bumpers, + shipping.

3. Front bumper comes with holes around the stock location for fog lights.

Now I just have to decide if I want the hoops or not, and whether to shorten the front bumper a bit, or leave it as is, at 53"...any opinions?
 
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glwood said:
Shortage, I did read about someone getting their Dirtworx bumper(s) from eBay, so you're correct in thinking they were on eBay, at least once. I don't see them there now.

I emailed Robert several times with my own questions regarding his bumpers, and he graciously answered them pretty quickly. What he told me was:

1. The bumpers, as shown in the photos on his site, weigh around 45 lbs. each. Front with d-ring mounts & hoops, rear with d-ring mounts. The rear with tire carrier is 75-85 lbs per Robert.
2. The front bumper can be ordered without the hoops, it would be $150. So for $300, one could get both front & rear bumpers, + shipping.

Here's my 'paint' rendition of what a front bumper might look like without the hoops (sent this to Robert, he sort of laughed, I got an LOL out Robert):

Now I just have to decide if I want the hoops or not, and whether to shorten the front bumper a bit, or leave it as is, at 53"...any opinions?
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Picture not showing up.
 
I have been lurking on Dirtworx site since this thread was created. I was surprised to see the price, I was expecting much higher. For a combined $300 you can get both a front and back. I'm certainly making this purchase, but that's after already spending $400 on Chinese Smittybilt junk. Lesson learnt!
 
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