Knock off Rubicon metal bumper?

[TroutFishingInAmerica]

i had one of these installed on my JL and if you can before install hit it with some serious rustproofing (rhino lined) (linex) if possible, the winch plate is functional and i never bent it pulling f150s out of some med mud and heavy sand and snow BUT i did deform the bumper itself pretty easy when i would snug up the winch line which led to the rusting
Mine started to pit and flake with rust after about 12 months and only 1 winter

There were some good reviews on these Chinese bumpers so I picked one up. I used @ShadowsPapa link he posted somewhere on here. I had rust on it right out of the box. Didn’t care for it. It rusted so easy and just didn’t look right to me. But heck, I gave it a shot. Sold it at a substantial loss and bought a Barnes Pritchett Canyon. I get a boner every time I look at it now.

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[Alans17]

I’ve got this same bumper. I’ve had it on for almost 1.5 years. Structurally, it’s been sound. I’ve noticed rust in a few spots where the end caps rubbed on the main bumper. I’ve taken the end caps off for now to touch them up and file down the wear spots to keep it from happening again. I also notice it chipped easier then expected when I bumped it against the winch. But that hasn’t been a repeatable experience.

The red tow hooks are a disgrace, though. They turned pink within a matter of months. Again, they seem structurally fine. It’s the lousy finish that’s the problem. I’ll get around to re-painting sooner or later. Or maybe I’ll put the old ones back on, but that requires removing the whole bumper and that a serious pain the last time around.

The finish on the hard ware is also not good. Just another thing to touch up, and another reason I may put back the original tow hooks. But all in all, it’s still worth it to me for what I’ve been able to save, and I really do like the look of it.

 

[Empty Pockets]

I’m happy with mine. 1 1/2 years in with no complaints. My only rust or discoloration is in the Allen sockets of the upward facing screw heads. I swapped out my black Sport tow hooks during the installation and trashed the red ones. If the finish breaks down later I’ll spray it with bed liner.

 

[jeepers29]

I have an MP Concepts aluminum bumper. Main selling point is weight savings 40 lbs vs 80 lbs. Even more so if you leave out the end caps and winch plate. Also no rusting ?

This bumper came with gloss red hooks ? I used my oem orange hooks.

How was the install? I have been eyeing this bumper as it checks all the boxes for me but the description says only for JL.

 

[XraytecH]

How was the install? I have been eyeing this bumper as it checks all the boxes for me but the description says only for JL.

I used my OEM hooks with this bumper. The fitment was a little tight, the bolts just barely line up with the frame horn bolt holes. If I had used the hooks that came with the bumper the fitment might have been better,

 

[Empty Pockets]

My install was very straightforward. The instructions were zip and I had some trouble figuring out the brackets for the winch plate. Shadow’s Papa helped me out with that. Some plastic hole plugs from Amazon filled in the sensor holes. I still think the bumper was a great deal.

 

[sparks702]

hello, bumping an old thread. Just recently installed this, wondering what you guys are using to cover the exposed holes surrounding the fairlead? ( I have a badlands) mine only came with a plastic cover piece that covers the entire section, I thought about trimming it around the fairlead but not sure.

also anyone using this with a warn evo winch ? Can’t get my winch mounted to the four smaller holes as one side is just ever so slightly off, the four larger holes my winch won’t slide far enough back without hitting the grill. Thinking about drilling out the smaller holes some

 

[Camaroboi13]

hello, bumping an old thread. Just recently installed this, wondering what you guys are using to cover the exposed holes surrounding the fairlead? ( I have a badlands) mine only came with a plastic cover piece that covers the entire section, I thought about trimming it around the fairlead but not sure.

also anyone using this with a warn evo winch ? Can’t get my winch mounted to the four smaller holes as one side is just ever so slightly off, the four larger holes my winch won’t slide far enough back without hitting the grill. Thinking about drilling out the smaller holes some

Don’t be afraid to drill the holes out just a tad bigger. A step bit works wonders. I also used that same trim piece and but a hole in it after tracing the fairlead hole onto it. Make sure you smooth out the edges because even the slightest burr on the plastic will eventually dig into your winch line if it’s synthetic.
I have a crappy winch but the one time I needed it, it worked for me. I don’t plan on putting myself in a position to winch all the time so I went cheap.

 

[sparks702]

Don’t be afraid to drill the holes out just a tad bigger. A step bit works wonders. I also used that same trim piece and but a hole in it after tracing the fairlead hole onto it. Make sure you smooth out the edges because even the slightest burr on the plastic will eventually dig into your winch line if it’s synthetic.
I have a crappy winch but the one time I needed it, it worked for me. I don’t plan on putting myself in a position to winch all the time so I went cheap.

Did you just cut around the fairlead or the bolt holes rope opening ?

 

[Camaroboi13]

Did you just cut around the fairlead or the bolt holes rope opening ?

Fairlead. The bolts go through the plastic and help keep it in place.

 

[sparks702]

Got everything installed, overall for the 250 I paid for it can’t complain. I did have to drill out the winch plate mounting bolts as they didn’t line up to my warn winch, switched to the factory tow hooks as the included red ones wouldn’t slide into the bumper.

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