Bumper configuration...

[BillR1]

This is my first JT, and my first wheeling trip with it. I'm in Ouray and have seen several JTs. All but one were still running the factory rear bumper. A few had aftermarket front bumpers with a winch. In my thoughts, the rear bumper should be upgraded first on these trucks due to the longer bed and the chance of hitting the bottom.
What am I missing? Other than a winch platform, is there a reason to upgrade the front bumper first? (or front only like I observed?)
TIA!

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[arosen1997]

This is my first JT, and my first wheeling trip with it. I'm in Ouray and have seen several JTs. All but one were still running the factory rear bumper. A few had aftermarket front bumpers with a winch. In my thoughts, the rear bumper should be upgraded first on these trucks due to the longer bed and the chance of hitting the bottom.
What am I missing? Other than a winch platform, is there a reason to upgrade the front bumper first? (or front only like I observed?)
TIA!

It's more efficient to just get rear sliders than a full bumper replacement on the rear. As for the front, narrow front bumpers provide more room for you or maneuver your tires towards obstacles, and many have a more robust winch plate than the stock, or even upgraded mopar bumper.

 

[Janster]

I'm old school wheeling from before JT's existed, but I've offroaded with plenty of trucks.

Depends on what type of wheelin' you're gonna do. Rear bumper upgrades were never really 'a thing' on any trucks I've offroaded with in the past. Rear bumper damage just never occurred...unless you were reckless and didn't listen to your spotter.

You might need them if you're doing extreme rock crawling.....Most folks would rather spend the money on engine skid plates, transfer case skid plates, and diff skids. The bumper wasn't a high priority to protect. If you had a receiver hitch... that took the brunt of it.

 

[PuddleJumper]

This is my first JT, and my first wheeling trip with it. I'm in Ouray and have seen several JTs. All but one were still running the factory rear bumper. A few had aftermarket front bumpers with a winch. In my thoughts, the rear bumper should be upgraded first on these trucks due to the longer bed and the chance of hitting the bottom.
What am I missing? Other than a winch platform, is there a reason to upgrade the front bumper first? (or front only like I observed?)
TIA!

I do a lot of recovery in my area so a front mounted winch was a must have. The rear while being plastic doesn't take many hits because the tow hitch catches it all first. Even then plastic is, well plastic. Who cares? The rear mount stock hooks on my Mojave are the recovery points i never knew i needed. So much nicer than dealing with a D ring all the time. Looks cool too. But all in all I haven't found any lacking in the rear to justify adding weight and losing more precious payload capacity.

 

[LouisvEarlleJT]

Could also be that the trucks you saw already had a steel rear bumper so they were just ditching the plastic front.

 

[BillR1]

No, the ones I saw had rear bumpers that looked just like my OEM one.

 

[PuddleJumper]

No, the ones I saw had rear bumpers that looked just like my OEM one.

My rubicon has a rear steel bumper factory and it looks exactly like a plastic one until you touch it

 

[ALT2870]

The plastic and steel rears look nearly identical.

I have a OEM steel rear and front. Lot of people if theirs didn't come with steel front seem to go third party due to cost. Personally I enjoy the OEM steel front and have had no issues with the extensions off in Ouray.

 

[Charles 236]

I installed a steel bumper at both ends of my JT. I agree that a steel rear bumper is probably not really needed, but I didn't install it for off road use. I actually installed it for on road and parking lots, where it is nice to know that if I hit something, or it hits me, I WILL do some damage to the other vehicle. Yep, Mall Rated.

 

[HorsesRear]

I replaced both of mine. Don’t understand why it had plastic bumpers in the first place.

 

[ColoradoCantu]

I agree with you 100% if you like do more challenging trails. It was a no brainer for me in Colorado. I got my Mojave in late Oct so five days in I was snow wheeling the Iron Clad trail in Allenspark and slid side ways into a small tree and could not pull forward or back without damage and didnt have a winch to pull myself off the tree. Luckily a dude who asked to tag along with us had a winch and saved the day. Body Armor 4x4 Rear bumper with bed sliders and corner bed protection was the first major upgrade i did because I also banged the hitch and plastic bumper that day going down the obstacle I was trying to avoid by taking the bypass and sliding into the tree. Then I got lucky and got a free front Warn Elite bumper, that I added a Warn Evo 10s winch to, then I added better rock sliders that worked with the Rubi rails.

 

[BourbonRunner]

I replaced both of mine. Don’t understand why it had plastic bumpers in the first place.

Probably just for weight savings. I think it's silly to even offer plastic bumpers on a Jeep as is.

Something to kick around- Mojave X comes with beefed up springs, front and rear steel bumpers with the bed sliders. Payload has been reduced from 1200 to 1100 on both the 2024 Mojave and Mojave X though. 2023 had 100lbs more to play with. Tow capacity remains the same year to year.

IMO the OEM steel is the best looking of all the bumpers out there.

 

[HorsesRear]

I probably should have bought the Mojave but I got a great deal on my Willys and it came with some nice options. Although lacking in suspension and bumpers. I have made a lot of changes and have fun doing it. It is a better Willys but still not a Mojave.

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