Pretty much all the kits on the market will help gusset and strengthen the rear end of the truck and give you a good piece of mind about keeping the frame from mushrooming up into itself. When the factory bump took a hard hit, it would literally start to push up the part of the the frame that it was attached to. When you go to an aftermarket bump system you will be moving that impact load further out from the frame and dispersing the impact over a larger section of the frame. Another key element to factor in is that when the back end begins to articulate left and right, having the bumps located further out from the original position will reduce the amount of duck walk the rear-end experiences.
Simply put, it's a good combination of insurance and performance increases for not a ton of money.
But what ever you do, do not just weld the bump directly to the frame. You would get more enjoyment out of watching five $100 bills burn because your bump would become useless the minute you started to weld.
Jarrett
