bumper

[stephen bolger]

I am looking for a front bumper. What is the best bumper for cost it has to have a winch.

 

[SMorneau]

I should be getting my UTE bullbar bumper from Layne, Denver OffRoad, this week. It will probably be another week or so before I getted it mounted up. Its not cheap and the size of it will probably take some getting use to. But it should keep a deer from disabling the truck... . I hope anyway.



Should make leaning over the front for maint. a pain.

 

[y-knot]

There are several to choise from, and it all comes down to what is right for you. The Buckstop bumper is what I have, I can not , and will not say it is the best or anything like that. But I will tell you it is very well made. Bolted right up like it was advertised too do. Completely made the stock bumper look like the joke it is. And was fairly priced for what you got. The addy is

www.buckstop.biz check them out.



#ad

 

[SOOT]

I have the UTE BullBar and have been very pleased with it, the bumper is a perfect fit. I have pushed a couple of cars and trucks with it and have done damage to their vehicle (minimal) and none to the bumper. It also gave me a place to stand and set tools when working under the hood. Yes, I would do it again in a heart beat.

 

[David Muench]

I just ordered a Buckstop front and rear for my truck last night. Hopefully it will be here by the end of the year. I ran over a deer this weekend after a minivan hit the deer and knocked it into my lane. Took out my bumper, fog lights, and AC condensor, and I feel very lucky. If the deer had been standing up I'm sure it would of been another story alltogether. I'm not going to give another deer the chance. .

 

[BarryG]

I will put in a plug for Laynes bumper from Denver Off Road. Love mine, craftsmanship is top notch. Now that he is selling the UTE also he has two top notch bumpers to choose from.

 

[stephen bolger]

Does Denver Off Road. have a web site?

 

[BarryG]

I don't think he does have a website but there is an add in the latest TDR mag. I think there are several members who have one and have pictures in the readers rig section. He moved from Denver to Fruita Colorado in early 02. If you go to dodgeram.org there are also several pictures there but the phone number is wrong. Member Mac Truck and Tom Golden had some good pictures up at one point here. I will try and get the number from the mag this evening.

 

[BSkinner]

The e-mail address for DOR doesn't work. You can call Layne at: 970-858-4010



I stopped at Layne's business last week on my way to fish the San Juan in N. W. New Mexico. He is a very personable guy and does first class work. I took some pictures of the bumper on his second generation (I think) Dodge. Very nice work. I also saw the rear bumper he's building. Very expensive but very well made. It will hold a hi-lift jack and you can add swing away spare tire carriers or fuel can holders.



He gave me some pictures of the bumper for the 3rd generation truck. Looks good but it needs an additional piece below to protect the lower part of the radiator. If I understood correctly, he won't be supplying these but I'm going to check with him again to be sure. I don't really want to spend that kind of money and then pay someone locally to fabricate an additional piece. That would probably cost an additional $300-400. I like the looks of the UTE in all of the pics I've seen but haven't seen a picture on a 3rd generation. It sounds like it will be awhile until they're available and I don't want to wait.



I'm leaning towards a Buckstop. I want to do something soon as the deer are thick as flies at a picnic around here.



Bob

 

[BarryG]

BSkinner:

What I did on my DOR underneath was went to Home Depot picked up some diamond plate alum 2'x4' The thinner of the 2 they had. Took it home, cut it long enough to have an inch over each mounting bracket, then bent it to match the contour of the mounts in a vise then bent that 1 inch over hang to fold up on to the bumper mounts. Drilled some small holes in it and the mounts and used some self tapping screws to hold it on there. Drilled a couple dozen 1/2" holes in the front for airflow then scuffed it up with a wire brush on a drill and spray painted it black with some flat black paint. Literarlly took under an hour from begin to end. Been about year now and the paint has held up well still doesn't need to be repainted yet. You cant even really tell it is there the black paint just blends in with the black underneath of the vehicle. Would post a pic but no camera. Was very easy to do.

 

[BSkinner]

Barry, thanks for the input.

The plate in the pictures I got from Layne had the plate bolted to the bottom horizontal surface of the bumper. Because of the contour of the bumper, it was difficult to get it to fit. Layne made his out of steel.



To protect the lower radiator and other stuff, I would think you would need some pretty stout material. I saw an Aliarc aluminum bumper the other day that had a deer run into it and the bottom skirt was pretty well crumpled.



It sounds like you bent flanges 90 degrees to attach the aluminum plate. ? If so, keep an eye on it for cracks. Thick aluminum needs a pretty generous bend radius to avoid fatigue cracks.



Bob

 

[BarryG]

Bskinner:

I have been meaning to give Layne a call or stop by his shop but everytime I pass through Fruita it is way to late in the evening. When I picked up my bumper from him last year he was in the design phase of his rear bumper. He laid out all the parts and materials of what he thought he was going to do. It sounded great. Did you get to see one of the rears completed? If so what did you think of it?

 

[BSkinner]

I saw the rear bumper in the flesh. The craftsmanship was first class. It was hard to believe it was made out of aluminum it was so heavy. The bumper is priced way out of my price range, though.



It has room for a hi lift jack and possibly some other stuff under a hinged cover. You can have swing away holders for spare tire and/or fuel cans as options.



Bob