Want everyones opinion...Stubby or Full Length Bumpers

[CMac]

I don't want people pointing and saying "look at stubby"

People really do that? They can suckmuh.

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[Steven_B]

Are these the Rubicon or Sport fenders? I like the classic look better, but was worried there would be a big gap between the bumper and Rubicon fenders that I've got!

I currently have the sport flares. Waiting for the rubicon flares not to be a crazy backorder.

 

[Ryan]

I currently have the sport flares. Waiting for the rubicon flares not to be a crazy backorder.

My Rubi Flares took over 2 months to arrive. Good luck!

 

[firemedic2714]

Buy one that does both.....

 

[LostWoods]

Won't impact air bag deployment at highway speeds, any impact if there is any, will be slow speeds.
AND you'd have to actually HIT one of those tiny cans. They are small targets compared to the total width of your truck.

Lack of those crush cans won't cause the airbag to NOT deploy, could I suppose cause it to deploy if you hit a tree on the trail at a lower speed but think about this- those cans are where on the bumper? Not the ends or corners, but in just two places so unless you hit something large enough to hit those cans, like say you hit something in between them - they may as well not be there.
Consider their placement - great for hitting another car or a brick wall. No effect if you ding a tree to the left or the right of those cans.
I think people are over-thinking and overly concerned.
The crush cans are NOT between the bumper and the frame. They are at the ends of the frame horns and IN FRONT OF THE BUMPER, not behind it.
This means that unless you hit something square on those cans, they do NOTHING. Imagine you hit a tree in the center of your bumper - you miss the cans, they do nothing, might as well not be there.

So hit something to the left of the frame rail or to the right of it - hit something at an angle - the crush cans don't get touched!
Unless you hit something pretty square-on, you are going to at most hit one of them, and they are a small target.

Here's a pic (not mine) and look where they are - IN FRONT OF THE BUMPER STRUCTURE -

Now look at where they sit when the bumper is on - yeah, behind the plastic fog light bezel - so what if you hit something or something hits you but misses those plastic bezels? Those crush cans do NOTHING thus can't do a thing to how the air bag deploys.
Those openings inside of the fog lights are where the crush cans fit - there's a lot of Jeep to hit on either side and in between. So unless you hit something WIDE and flat, like a total-head-on, they won't make a difference.

I think you're misunderstanding the purpose of the crush cans. They are directly on the frame ends because that's the place with the least give of any point on the vehicle. They are designed to pad a low-speed direct hit to the frame and nothing else.

The stock bumper may be large but the wings aren't going to transfer any energy to the truck and the middle would crumple and fold by design. A direct impact to a frame end will be a jarring hit to the truck that is more likely to cause major damage and set off sensors at much lower speeds than intended. There is no minimum speed requirement for deployment (since at 0mph, someone else might hit you) so while an outside risk, it's still possible that removing the cans causes a low-speed deployment.

A heavy steel bumper further removes the crumple absorption of the mid-section of the bumper so that any frontal impact transfers more energy to the truck. It's all situational whether or not that's enough to set off airbags but it's a non-zero additional risk and surprise deployments aside, airbags aren't cheap.

It's nothing I'd worry about, but the added risk isn't a non-zero number.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I think you're misunderstanding the purpose of the crush cans. They are directly on the frame ends because that's the place with the least give of any point on the vehicle. They are designed to pad a low-speed direct hit to the frame and nothing else.

The stock bumper may be large but the wings aren't going to transfer any energy to the truck and the middle would crumple and fold by design. A direct impact to a frame end will be a jarring hit to the truck that is more likely to cause major damage and set off sensors at much lower speeds than intended.

It's nothing I'd worry about, but the added risk isn't a non-zero number.

Agreed.
My point in the end was that they are in a small spot - at the ends of the frame. Not any place else, A hit any place else would have no change on how things acted. Only a pretty hit directly on those cans, those two small areas, would make anything change, and then only at low speeds - such as sitting at a light and someone rolls into you, a parking lot incident, etc.
It's also a small target vertically - anything going under the bumper, like almost anything on the road hitting any member's JT (LIFTED in most cases) won't hit them, something going over like a bigger truck....... would miss.

Anything on the highway is very unlikely to be changed by their not being there. Low speed, square on, right into the ends of the frame - that's where those could matter.
Air bags are really expensive to deal with, a lot of money and hassle involved for replacement if they go off when they shouldn't.

 

[halman]

dang, i was sure that after reading all this, i would know exactly which bumper i wanted..........um........now i REALLY dont know lol

 

[ygrignon]

If you plan on doing some “serious” off road, go stubby. Ask me how I know.

37s and 3” lift I was rubbing the “wings” on my stock front bumper all the time in my most recent visit to Moab. 1 week later I switched both front and rear.

Ironically your back bumper is wider than the OEM one. I can totally see how it looks like it protects the side of the bed but was that your reasoning to go that wide?

 

[AZCooWhip]

Ironically your back bumper is wider than the OEM one. I can totally see how it looks like it protects the side of the bed but was that your reasoning to go that wide?

I wanted matching @RebelOffRoad rear bumper. i haven’t experienced any real issues with the rear other than the typical hitch drag. in addition to having added the “steps” on the side gives me something more substantial to ”slide” on if needed. Side steps are heavy heavy duty.

Front plastic bumper OEM “wings” on the other hand was rubbing like crazy on recent trip. Enough so that I was concerned I would lose a front tire or get stuck because of level of articulation rub.

 

[PeterGriffin]

Stubby. /thread

Rubicon steel (stubby) bumper is what will end up my Mojave. My Gladiator spends the majority of it's time/mileage actually OFF road and there's no denying the additional clearance/articulation. As far as mileage suffering from going with a stubby, I'd personally LOVE to see the "scientific" evidence that backs that up, which, if it's even quantifiable, would be in the fractions of tenths of MPG...and if you're worrying about mileage that much, maybe a Jeep isn't for you!

 

[Deleted member 28696]

I like stubby fronts & full sized rears.

 

[Timgco]

I wanted a bumper that has a welded In recessed winch plate, (waiting for backordered winch), works with factory fog lights, and one that wasn’t so popular where everyone has it.

 

[NCLife]

Ironically your back bumper is wider than the OEM one. I can totally see how it looks like it protects the side of the bed but was that your reasoning to go that wide?

What rear bumper is that you have there @AZCooWhip? Looks great.

 

[AZCooWhip]

What rear bumper is that you have there @AZCooWhip? Looks great.

Rebel Off Road Summit series front and rear. Great stuff. Very high quality and overall great team to work with there.

 

[VolatileA]

https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/rugge...skid-plate-18003-61/_/R-BKMS-18003.61#Reviews
Here’s the link for the rugged ridge skid plate

This fit a 2021? Only reason I ask is because the website says it's not compatible with 2021 Gladiator, assuming that's wrong?

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