Aftermarket Front Bumper

[TW1]

My '03 3500 lost a battle with a Mesquite tree last night, and I am planning to replace the front bumper with a real bumper. What is out there, and does replacing the bumper affect the air bag sensing unit? I am also looking for a good body shop in Tucson (see truck 911).

Thanks, Tom

 

[abledog]

try www.toughcountry.com I like there bumpers and will be installing one on my truck.

Terry

 

[y-knot]

TW1,



we just had a group buy on the BUCKSTOP bumpers, they are very heavey duty and will work with the air bag sensors. If you would be interrested, PM me and I will add your name to the group, and you can get our discount price. This is the BUCKSTOP site www.buckstop.biz

 

[bighammer]

I ordered the Ranch Hand bumpers for front and rear. Should get them any day now... .

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Also look at reunel.com

 

[rbattelle]

I like these... www.roadarmor.com

 

[bmoeller]

I'm thinking about one like this on mine- #ad




http://www.southwestfabricators.com/

 

[Peter Campbell]

I just did 1600$ worth of damage to the front of my Jetta with a deer. Was not going to modify much on my new truck this changed that. Just put my name in the hat for the Buckstop front and rear. I like the style. Close to the PRO-ZAP or Ruenel in looks- Actually very simple lines. For the pro-zap the seams were blended by an artist- no weld visible anywhere. Going to go a little cheaper- Powder coated carbon steel- might rust one day but after the truck is ugly too I have seen the raod armor. After they got the thief out of the company ( about 3-4 years ago) and stopped the silly product lines- the company makes very sharp looking bumpers. I was impressed with the finish- again all seams blended perfectly. There is a lot out there.

 

[TW1]

Airbag compatibility

There are a lot more bumpers out there than I thought, and they are all neat.

I am looking for a bumper that is compatible with the looks of the

'03, but still retains the airbag certification. I talked with ARB a few months ago, and they were working on the certification of their bumper so the airbags would work. How many of you folks have checked out this aspect of the bumpers you have.

I have spent a few hours looking at the front end of my new Dodge, and really like the way DC has made the top of the bumper match the line of the bottom of the lights. Kinda of sexy, and just because I was drinking a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale had nothing to do with it.

I love my truck.

Tom

 

[VMF-113]

TW1,



I have had Reunel bumpers on two of my Dodge trucks, a 2001 Ram 2500 and my current 2003 Ram 3500. The bumpers can be had in either mild steel (painted to match your vehicle's color) or stainless steel. I always opted for the stainless steel, as I live on the ocean and the salt air plays havoc with anything mild steel. Also, I didn't have to worry about rusting bare metal when exposed through rock chips.



The stainless steel bumpers are rather pricey, but I have found their workmanship to be first class. As an example, their current models for the 2003 Rams requires over 70 man-hours labor just to polish the stainless to a mirror-like finish. Hence, one of the reasons they are pricey. They are also contoured to match the "wavey" contour of the bottom of our 3rd generation front ends.



The only "down-side" to them is, by their construction and materials, they tend to be on the heavy side. An aluminum bumper, or one constructed of thinner gauge ferrous metal, would offer significantly less unsprung weight on the front end. On the other hand, Reunel bumpers are hard to beat when it comes to their intended purpose---keeping you and your vehicle protected from collision damage. I have not experienced any known problems on my front end due to their weight.



Their rear bumpers are also first class, and, I believe, have the highest towing capacity on the market. Either bumper can be had with a host of options and configurations, including PIAA lights, diamond plate overlays and body color matching.



The owners (Tom and Diane) are great folks to work with. They are located in Northern California, and will install your bumpers free of charge if you drive to their facility, which is just north of Sacramento, Ca.



Hope this info may be of help to you. Sorry for the long post. Whichever brand you choose, you'll end up with a product much superior to our factory OEM items.



Kindest regards,



Mark

 

[rbattelle]

One thing I really really like about reunel is their offering stainless. Others (such as Road Armor) will rust eventually.

 

[livetodrive]

Tom,

I've been real happy with my South West Fabricators front replacement. See reader's rigs for pics and web addy.

Alan.

 

[Snoplop]

I looked at a heck of a lot of bumpers and went with a Road Armor bumper and grill guard, put a 12. 000 lb Milemarker winch in it and liked being able to mount the stock driving lights and a set of PIAA lights in the bumper. A lot of nice bumpers out there. Ranch hand would be my next choice. The Road Armor bumpers are air bag compatable and very well built. Good guys to deal with also.

 

[alleyoop]

I installed a Southwest Fabricators front and rear bumper after looking at all the different styles and prices... ..... I wanted to stay under $ 1500... ... ..... these two were $ 1276 total dilivered to S. Cal. The front has the winch mount, original fog light mounts, holes drilled for factory tow hooks, front receiver. I put a Milemarker 12k winch in there... ... . it was made for a 9k, but the 12k bolted in... . I just had to due a slight mod to the bumper. See photo's in readers rig.