ADD Venom Bumper + Rigid 20" LED Install = Way too many pics!

[BigJ]

Its been a busy week

The minute I saw ADD's Venom design I knew I'd found my bumper. I've run with the Aries Bull Bar (click here for that install) pretty much since I got the truck, and used it as somewhere to put a couple lights (which I ended up moving anyway click here to see to where). I have really liked the look over the past two years, but after having spent a few thousand miles off road in this truck now, I've come to realize I need more protection up there. And since the Aries offers basically zero functional benefit, I've been looking to replace it for a while. Guess what showed up today?

Actually there was a bit of confusion with the shipper. They had us down as being a residential location when in fact we're commercial. I guess policy is to call the residential receiver and arrange delivery for the day after the tracking info says to expect delivery. So don't be disappointed if yours shows up a day later than it says, or if you're shipping to a commercial location make sure you tell the ADD guys so they can mark it as so with the shipper.

Rather than wait, we ran over to the depot and picked it up.




This was very well packed; it was well protected as well as bolted down to the pallet to prevent it from wobbling around. This aint ADD's first rodeo, and it shows




Off with the old! There are 6 bolts and three plastic trim rivets holding the whole bumper on.














Both sides of my frame rails were full of dirt. Evidence of good use




Test fit




Here was the only potential gotcha. When you pull off the bumper, you're going to probably pull off some substructure with it. Part of that substructure holds the hood latch release. You'll need to pull it off the stock bumper and put it back onto the plastic fascia. Its a little wobbly now, but should be fine.








There's a rubber flap in there that goes from under the radiator and connects loosely to the OEM bumper. There's no where on the ADD bumper to reattach the mud guard, so rather than cut it off we just rolled it up and zip tied it up and out of the way. I don't plan to reinstall the OEM bumper, but we did this just in case, ya know?


Here's all the old stuff.

I put it all on my scale, as well as the ADD bumper and found that the OEM bumper weighs in at 45lbs and the stock skid checks in at 18lbs, for a total of 63lbs. The ADD bumper weighs 77lbs, making this upgrade basically a 14lb deal. In my case, I also took off that bull bar and custom mounts. Those combined ran 29lbs. So that means making this upgrade actually saved me 15lbs. Not too shabby!

 

[BigJ]

With everything bolted on nice and tight, on to the light!




The mount that holds this light is awesome. Extremely strong and very tight. It took some pretty good pulling to spread it just enough to get the bar in there, but that's a good thing. No flopping around or rattling. ADD nailed this bit for sure.






Here's the light pattern; bottom is the 20" Rigid LED, middle is the stock hi beams, and top are the hood mounted LightForce Striker 170 HIDs.




Now for one knitpick. The driver side triangle mounts nice and flush with the tubes.


Here's the passenger side.


See that gap? Looking at it carefully, it looks like this peice was bent incorrectly at the shop, then someone tried to fix it but didn't get the fix quite right resulting in the triangle bowing out and away about 3/16" from the tubes. Definitely not a big deal, but it is noticeable. I'll probably pull off the plate and fix it eventually.

Other than that, and my customary replacing of all the supplied grade 5 hardware with grade 8 hardware, this bumper and LED mounted right up, looks great and is clearly a quality piece.

I really dig this thing. I've seen many great looking bumpers come over the last two years, but this one really jumped out and grabbed me; I liked its relatively low profile (it doesn't stick out too far), how the LED bar is secured behind a grill (no theft!) and quite frankly how damn good it looks on the truck. Once I got it, it became clear this is a quality piece made by craftsmen, and I really appreciated how it just bolted right up. Nice job ADD, and thanks!

 

[bstoner59]

Dude!! Nice!!

Looks like we might have to plan a little excursion once the sun goes down to test your new system out!!

 

[DynoDynge]

Very nice.......

 

[6.2]

Damn. I knew the second I saw them post that bumper it would be the sweetest looking on out there. Looks great.


-Sent from my iPhone

 

[BigJ]

Dude!! Nice!!

Looks like we might have to plan a little excursion once the sun goes down to test your new system out!!

Sweeeeet!

Like I told ya, I really really didn't like how my old system worked on Hunter Mtn that night. Ticked me off actually... so a subtle change and slight tweak was in order

 

[vanilla_gorilla]

Looks amazing Bigj, and great write up, again, thank you!!!

One question, i didnt see a perch adjustment on your shocks, but it appears that your front rides a bit taller. Are you running a spacer?

 

[BigJ]

Looks amazing Bigj, and great write up, again, thank you!!!

One question, i didnt see a perch adjustment on your shocks, but it appears that your front rides a bit taller. Are you running a spacer?

Thanks VG! I've always loved what you've done with your rig, so I particularly appreciate your compliment!

And yep you got it on the spacers. Here's my writeup on their install: http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f9/i-leveled-front-truxxx-style-7617/

 

[Big Blue]

Awesome install and great choice J. I agree with you that this is the nicest bumper option out there (with the stealth version #2).

It looks great on your rig.

3 questions;

How long did the install take, did you require a 2nd set of hands and how much $$ was just the bumper? (I already have a 20" rigid)

Regards.

 

[BigJ]

Awesome install and great choice J. I agree with you that this is the nicest bumper option out there (with the stealth version #2).

It looks great on your rig.

Thank you!

3 questions;

How long did the install take, did you require a 2nd set of hands and how much $$ was just the bumper? (I already have a 20" rigid)

Regards.

The install took perhaps an hour. That does not include wiring up the light; I already had an upfitter wired down there ready to go so it was a simple matter of connecting it up (switch 3 since the bar draws around 10amp continuous 15amp peak).

In theory you could do this yourself, but I wouldn't try. Its much easier to have someone support the OEM from up top as you remove the bolts from underneath. And the same is true when bolting back in the ADD. You could rig some supports or straps instead I supose, but if you've got a buddy or ladyfriend at home, in exchange for a few minutes of help throw either a kiss

As for cost, as you see mine its in the $1200 range plus shipping.

Hope that helps and thanks again!