....Not alot of Texans on here is there?.....
If I am going to spend around a G for a 'new' bumper, when there is nothing actually 'wrong' with my stock bumper, I wanna get something that can not only improve the cosmetics of the truck, but also help my wallet.
If I had this bumper on my truck, my insurance deductable goes from the grand it is out now (I am dumb, i know) to the price of a little black spray paint. And with the Kamikaze Deer we have in my part of the map, these bumpers are very common, even on half tons. And in one 'good' winter, this 'deer punch' style bumper could pay for itself.
I don't think you could say that about the other 'bumpers' on the market. They seem to be the truck equivalent of a ricer's fiberglass bodykit.
And as far as cosemtics, I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
That said let's remember that before these 'baja trucks' were 'baja' they were trucks (bent frames and all). What is wrong with treating them as such?
Many of the bumpers on the market for these trucks are designed to improve approach angle while sacrificing strength of the front of the vehicle. They also provide no front corner protection.
This is all super great when you are driving a truck that has majority of the body pieces made out of fiberglass or plastic. And all those fiberglass pieces are unique to the Raptor (read: pricey).
Many of the other front 'bumpers' are nothing more than a steel plate, 1 inch tubing, couple welds, and some paint? And they charge $800-$1200??? For something that if ever got called to be a bumper, would probably do OK on a center hit, but would not protect anything on the front corners.
Now I do realize that Missouri and eastern Oklahoma have large amounts of 'baja' style sand dunes, and such an extreme approach angle is necessary for the daily commute. But here in west Texas, I need something more for my geographic region and lifestyle.
Thanks,
--Chris
Chris,
We actually have a TON of people from Texas on this forum, I'd know.
I myself live in El Paso, which is as far west as you can possibly go in Texas.
I personally disagree (in a friendly manner) with some of your statements. In terms of a ranchhand-style bumper being more geographically suitable, in my part of west Texas, you either have soft-sand dune-style desert or you have rocky mountainous high-desert. In both geographic scenarios I prefer a pre-runner style, but then again, my goal with my Raptor is offroading FAST. Therefore, things like approach angle and weight are important to me. Texas is obviously massive, so maybe your area in west Texas differs in terrain, or you have different offroad preferences, but out here in west west WEST Texas, it's ALL desert... High-speed Raptor Paradise.
As far as corner coverage, I find my setup to be adequate. What more could you really want? Tire coverage??? ....not me, no Sir, the last thing I need is some big ass low-slung bumper corner digging in the dirt when I'm in a flexy scenario or landing a jump.
I had my bumper custom-built and ordered the thickest plating the shop carries (not a standard feature) and I've hit large desert brush AND small TREES offroad (at the corners) and have nothing more than scratches to show for it, although mine has more corner coverage than most pre-runner bumpers. As for the center plate, you are absolutely correct it's strong.... I've fallen into a hole made of sand and rock that took me from around 40-50 miles an hour to a dead halt, and I've only got a medium sized dent and scrape-age to show for that (skid plate only, tubing completely unaffected).
I've hit a deer before and it caused $5,000 in damage to the vehicle I was driving at the time (a car, not the Rap), and I'm confident that the bumper I have would mow a deer's ass down if push came to shove.... I highly doubt the bumper would take anything more than cosmetic damage (I've got 12 mounting points on this bitch, and it's sturdy) the light bars might be a different story though.
I wonder if you may be underestimating the strength of pre-runner bumpers like mine....?? If your basis for comparison between the ranch hand style and pre runner style is the Raptor's STOCK bumper, then I'm not surprised you feel the way you do.... The stock skid plate is a flimsy *************.... particularly compared to what an aftermarket shop can set you up with.
I'm not saying that my bumper is as strong as a ranch hand, tough country, etc..... But I also DON'T want it to be. Again, my Raptor is about offroading FAST, on a weekly basis.... I can't afford to carry that kind of weight up front.... I'd be nose-diving all over the place in the whoops.
For what it's worth, I've owned other aftermarket bumpers and grill guards on SUVs in the past, and i have several friends and acquaintances who've installed bumpers like your posts depict, but they've put them on lifted 250s, 350s, Cummins, Duramax 2500s, Duallies, etc... which in my opinion are a more practical application and platform for that type of bumper than a Raptor could ever be.
I'm not knocking your choice, if you choose to go for that setup, its your money, your truck, and I respect that... I'm always open to opinions that don't match mine. But when I read your post about it being a better setup for a Raptor in west Texas, I felt compelled to speak up and say that I completely disagree. I just feel like the combination of long-travel suspension and a ranch hand style bumper are parts from completely different offroad realms that wouldn't mesh well from a performance standpoint, at least in the terrain I run out here.
-Ben
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Just for the sake of reference, here are some pics of my bumper when it was brand new.
