What the heck is this? Is this real? Aluminum Rubicon 3 piece bumper...

[ecidiego]

Does this have the forward titled threaded hole on the passenger side for a dune flag? It would be there with the wing removed.

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[wachuko]

Does this have the forward titled threaded hole on the passenger side for a dune flag? It would be there with the wing removed.

I know it has a hole... but I did not check if it was threaded... but if the hole is there, even if not threaded, nothing a rivnut can't fix...

 

[wachuko]

Something I forgot to include... before and after height measurements... Height stayed the same. That was nice... pretty sure, once the winch is installed (an additional 58.9 lbs), I will see a difference.

 

[Hristo]

Something I forgot to include... before and after height measurements... Height stayed the same. That was nice... pretty sure, once the winch is installed (an additional 58.9 lbs), I will see a difference.

I wish I had taken this photo when I added the winch. I measured, but don't remember the numbers. It was very minimal though. Post the difference if you remember.

 

[Camaroboi13]

Something I forgot to include... before and after height measurements... Height stayed the same. That was nice... pretty sure, once the winch is installed (an additional 58.9 lbs), I will see a difference.

Toss a dog or a child on the bumper and that should give you a pretty good idea on how far it's going to drop

 

[Minty JL]

Has anyone bought one of these recently?

 

[KevinM60]

I’ve been looking at them myself.
I like the lower weight but I’m wondering if the strengths is sufficient

 

[fourfa]

I didn’t buy mine recently (my review is back on page 4) though I have been wheeling hard with it lately. Couldn’t tell you about strength in a crash or anything like that. I do know that the aluminum bottom skid / brush guard never seems to make contact, so that’s been an effective place to save weight for me.

I can update my review: the winch plate that comes with this is garbage. The design isn’t very smart and mine bent during winching: https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...with-alu-cab-canopy-camper.64951/post-1142017

If you expect to use your winch at its maximum pull rating, I’d plan on needing to replace the included winch plate with a proper one. I went with Grimm

 

[KevinM60]

I didn’t buy mine recently (my review is back on page 4) though I have been wheeling hard with it lately. Couldn’t tell you about strength in a crash or anything like that. I do know that the aluminum bottom skid / brush guard never seems to make contact, so that’s been an effective place to save weight for me.

I can update my review: the winch plate that comes with this is garbage. The design isn’t very smart and mine bent during winching: https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...with-alu-cab-canopy-camper.64951/post-1142017

If you expect to use your winch at its maximum pull rating, I’d plan on needing to replace the included winch plate with a proper one. I went with Grimm

if it’s stronger than the factory plastic it would be an improvement.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

if it’s stronger than the factory plastic it would be an improvement.

It will definitely be stronger.

The bumpers on many cars in the 80s were aluminum. The bumpers on my SX4 are aluminum and when I hit the deer with that car years ago, the bumper came out fine.
People have bolted small trailer hitches to the rear bumpers on these and pulled trailers up to a couple thousand pounds or so, no issues.

Several years ago when my son had an SX4, he was in Des Moines sitting at a light waiting for a left turn and he was rear-ended by a young female, hit his car hard enough hers had to be towed away. Shoved her fender into the wheel, smashed the grill and hood. All it did to his car was knock off a short section of trim from the bumper (same trim you see on my front bumper with the silver center although his being a black Sport, his had red in the middle of that trim)

The deer hit totally destroyed everything about the headlights, shoved the right fender back, crunching in the front of the fender a bit, but didn't hurt the aluminum bumper -

Depending on the way the bumper is made, aluminum can make strong bumpers. Not as strong as steel, of course, but if you are that concerned, you'd not run a stock non-steel bumper on a Jeep anyway.

 

[GladLad]

if it’s stronger than the factory plastic it would be an improvement.

And that's a valid question, and one I wonder about. It's metal vs plastic, but it's also OEM vs aftermarket. Is your strength question about safety, or dents.

OEM: years of engineering and models over the decades, accident data, lawyers, lawsuits, legal requirements, crash tests, and tying in the needs for airbag detection, crumple zone, etc.

Vs.

Aftermarket: It fits, nice shape, strong enough to be a bumper in itself without any real tests of vehicle safety. Maybe a Chinese copycat, or some overbuilt, big-honking block of steel to strap a winch and lights to. Some may be stronger than plastic for sure, but is that always equal to safer. Will it take the brunt it or pass it on to the Jeep for better or worse.


I don't know, just some initial thoughts after seeing an aluminum bumper crash in the Wrangler forums. https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/aluminum-oem-style-front-bumper-after-crash.113914/ I didn't read the thread so don't know the truth, but one comment said it's the same as the MP Concepts (not sold as such, but same kit, like many Chinese products).

 

[ShadowsPapa]

And that's a valid question, and one I wonder about. It's metal vs plastic, but it's also OEM vs aftermarket. Is your strength question about safety, or dents.

OEM: years of engineering and models over the decades, accident data, lawyers, lawsuits, legal requirements, crash tests, and tying in the needs for airbag detection, crumple zone, etc.

Vs.

Aftermarket: It fits, nice shape, strong enough to be a bumper in itself without any real tests of vehicle safety. Maybe a Chinese copycat, or some overbuilt, big-honking block of steel to strap a winch and lights to. Some may be stronger than plastic for sure, but is that always equal to safer. Will it take the brunt it or pass it on to the Jeep for better or worse.


I don't know, just some initial thoughts after seeing an aluminum bumper crash in the Wrangler forums. https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/aluminum-oem-style-front-bumper-after-crash.113914/ I didn't read the thread so don't know the truth, but one comment said it's the same as the MP Concepts (not sold as such, but same kit, like many Chinese products).

if you have had the stock bumper apart on these (the non-steel bumper) what's to be less safe unless it's as it relates to EU laws.

These will have nothing to do with air bags. Yeah, there's the crush cans - but you can still literally fit the proper OEM Rubicon steel bumper crush cans in the bumpers like I installed if you wanted to.
A bumper has little to do with airbags, otherwise. And the crumple zone is the rest of the structure. A bumper isn't going to have a large impact on that.
These aluminum bumpers and the steel knockoffs are pretty much the same as OEM - and if Jeep can sell the Rubicon steel bumper on these, I see no problem.
That plastic bumper is a joke and a bumper in looks only.
And yet on the exact same vehicle, Jeep will also install for you a STEEL bumper that's got a lot more mass and far less likely to bend or flex or give.
The aluminum version is somewhere in between the stock plastic bumper and the heavy steel bumper Jeep installs.

I really think people are over-thinking this as far as safety. And as far as airbags, it's not even a player.

Plastic -

And here's the steel that's inside of that plastic (laying on the floor) - about the same as no bumper in anything over a couple miles an hour, other than the crush cans.
The way it's formed, it's already ready to bend and collapse. I bet you could kick the end of that bumper back.

Then you have the MOPAR steel bumper, which you can get from the factory for some models.

The aluminum one will be very much like the steel bumper - shape, size-wise.
Weight will be less, but greater than the plastic
Strength will be marginally less than the steel, but a lot higher than the plastic version.

So, where's the problem?

 

[Zachanadandy]

WOW 41 lbs is LIGHT! That's 70lbs less than the Chinese steel clone!

Now wait a minute, the Q&A doesn't match the pictures at all. They clearly show a winch capable bumper and have a picture of a winch mounting plate to boot. Then in the Q&A there is the statement "there is no winch mounting location in this bumper" - WTF?

Then the parts & features explicitly call out a winch plate. The reviews don't look that promising overall.

Looks like the shipping weight is closer to 63 lbs, so the 22 lb winch plate must be included. Still 50 lbs lighter than steel. Hmmm.

The actual Rubicon steel bumper is 53lbs for the stubby portion and 16lbs for the skid plate. The ends weigh smother 17lbs. 23lb savings going with aluminum doesn't seem worth it. We run ours as a stubby so now the aluminum is only saving 6lbs and is imagine the ends are lighter so even comparing stubby to stubby the weight savings isn't much over 10lbs.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I don't know, just some initial thoughts after seeing an aluminum bumper crash in the Wrangler forums. https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/aluminum-oem-style-front-bumper-after-crash.113914/ I didn't read the thread so don't know the truth, but one comment said it's the same as the MP Concepts (not sold as such, but same kit, like many Chinese products).

I glanced a bit at that thread and had to leave. Can't believe the crap posts. Obviously some of them have no idea the real strength of aluminum or the fact that they are driving vehicles with a whole lot of aluminum, or fly in aircraft made of - yeah, aluminum, that the steering knuckles on some Jeep models are - yeah, aluminum, or that it was used for bumpers for years - and stood up very very well. When I see posts like "I can't believe anyone thinks it's a good idea to use aluminum for a bumper" and another equates it to beer cans - that's your armchair experts commenting on things they know less than nothing about.
I couldn't stand to read the rest. Besides, it's a FORUM, every post there was someone's biased opinion, there was really nothing factual about it. It even started out as speculation. Bad thread to get "information" from, IMO.

 

[GladLad]

I really think people are over-thinking this as far as safety.

And as far as airbags, it's not even a player.

Over-thinking? You have no idea who you're talking to. I haven't even started my over-thinking yet, those were just initial thoughts. ? Reading, learning, over thinking and finding answers come later.

But I appreciate your comments. This was just me spending some time last week assembling some aluminum or other bumper options. And in that search, I found options, that crash thread, and this safety thread that mentioned airbags. https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/aluminum-bumper-safety.43117/post-951348

I haven't read a single one yet, nor this very MP Concepts thread. They're all just sitting as tabs for me to read later, or delete if I forgo an option early. You don't have to read them, and I might not either. Just a jumbled collection of tabs that I've set aside during an ADHD-fueled desire to look for light bumpers, just because it popped in my head, not because it's a buy soon.

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