Attention: TDR Forum Junkies I received my buck stop rear bumper last week,, my weekend project was to install the monster. . First of all I was a bit disappointed in that there were no type of instructions with the bumper,, just a box of parts. I unpacked the bumper and parts, the dimond plate was very thin aluminum which pop riveted onto the bumper. None of the mounting bolts were chromed - just bright steel,, not sure if they are stainless or not. The power coat finish on the bumper was pretty good - the same silver color as the truck wheels.
I started by removing the 6 bolts which mounted the stock bumber to the frame, there are several bolts which are difficult to remove if you want to leave the mounting on the truck. After removing the stock bumper shell, (which was extremely light sheet metal), I remounted the frame loosely on the truck.
I then mounted the buckstop bumper onto the stock bumper frame tightening all the mounting bolts to torgue spec. I then pulled the entire assembly up into proper position and tightened the 6 mounting bolts in the frame.
I decided not to put "work lights" into the bumper cut outs, I purchased a set of 4 1/2" - "big rig" backup lamps from NAPA, drilled and tapped the bumper around the cutouts for 8/32 SS screws mounting the units, which were also stainless steel. . I simply bugged those lamps into the backup lamp circuit, since these lamps were low current draw and would not overload the circuit. I also put a ground jumper between the bumper and the body of the truck to eliminate a grounding problem. . Although I do like what I have I am going to change those backup lights out with some high intensity LED units.
I like the looks of the finished job and the buckstop bumper is 4X stronger than stock. What I didn't like was pop riviting those dimond plate step strips,, I could think of a couple of different ways to mount those and have a much better looking job. I would have preferred instructions, (this is not to say the bumper was difficult to install,, on the contrary it was very easy), with the bumper along with suggestions on which backup lamps the cutouts - mounting were designed for. It would have been nice if a sheet was included with pointers to make insitillation easier.
I started by removing the 6 bolts which mounted the stock bumber to the frame, there are several bolts which are difficult to remove if you want to leave the mounting on the truck. After removing the stock bumper shell, (which was extremely light sheet metal), I remounted the frame loosely on the truck.
I then mounted the buckstop bumper onto the stock bumper frame tightening all the mounting bolts to torgue spec. I then pulled the entire assembly up into proper position and tightened the 6 mounting bolts in the frame.
I decided not to put "work lights" into the bumper cut outs, I purchased a set of 4 1/2" - "big rig" backup lamps from NAPA, drilled and tapped the bumper around the cutouts for 8/32 SS screws mounting the units, which were also stainless steel. . I simply bugged those lamps into the backup lamp circuit, since these lamps were low current draw and would not overload the circuit. I also put a ground jumper between the bumper and the body of the truck to eliminate a grounding problem. . Although I do like what I have I am going to change those backup lights out with some high intensity LED units.
I like the looks of the finished job and the buckstop bumper is 4X stronger than stock. What I didn't like was pop riviting those dimond plate step strips,, I could think of a couple of different ways to mount those and have a much better looking job. I would have preferred instructions, (this is not to say the bumper was difficult to install,, on the contrary it was very easy), with the bumper along with suggestions on which backup lamps the cutouts - mounting were designed for. It would have been nice if a sheet was included with pointers to make insitillation easier.
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hehehehehehehe something about backing up and not seeing a tree on my right side... . 
! I couldn't believe how thin the bumper skin was when I did mine - I could dent it with my fingers.
