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

[jeepers29]

I found a guy on the JL forum that had this bumper and couldn't get it to fit. He gave me the bumper for free. I did a dry fit and everything fit fine, including my stock mohave skid. Not sure if I am using stock or the skid that came with the bumper. The finish is terrible but I am having it powder coated to match the Mojave orange accents. Should have it back in a week or so. I had been eyeing this bumper a long time for the stubby and weight savings. I will not be installing a winch but will use the winch tray to carry my ammo box of tools instaed. As stated above, the OEM and crown bezels for the fogs works on this bumper. I had to order new ones as the tabs were broken off the originals. This is a pic testing fitment with the winch tray in place.

Sponsored

 

[Hristo]

I thought it was steel like the Rubicon, just painted silver?? (actually, I think it's powder, not paint, it's a really tough finish on those factory skid plates)

You are correct, it is steel, just a different colour. I guess I'll have to see if the one included with this bumper covers what the current one does and make a decision.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I found a guy on the JL forum that had this bumper and couldn't get it to fit. He gave me the bumper for free.

If anyone has one of these and doesn't like it, let me know! LOL

 

[Hristo]

I found a guy on the JL forum that had this bumper and couldn't get it to fit. He gave me the bumper for free. I did a dry fit and everything fit fine, including my stock mohave skid. Not sure if I am using stock or the skid that came with the bumper. The finish is terrible but I am having it powder coated to match the Mojave orange accents. Should have it back in a week or so. I had been eyeing this bumper a long time for the stubby and weight savings. I will not be installing a winch but will use the winch tray to carry my ammo box of tools instaed. As stated above, the OEM and crown bezels for the fogs works on this bumper. I had to order new ones as the tabs were broken off the originals. This is a pic testing fitment with the winch tray in place.

It fit the stock Mojave skid without cutting anything? Interesting! I guess I'll just have to order it and see how it goes. Nice score getting it for free. I'd be very interested in which skidplate you go with and seeing your finished product

 

[jeepers29]

If anyone has one of these and doesn't like it, let me know! LOL

I was lucky. I responded to his ad for $300 which was really old. He said at this point, just come take it, which I gladly did.

 

[jeepers29]

It fit the stock Mojave skid without cutting anything? Interesting! I guess I'll just have to order it and see how it goes. Nice score getting it for free. I'd be very interested in which skidplate you go with and seeing your finished product

Yep, I didn't have anything tightened up but eveything was in place just fine. I will probably go with the skid that came with the bumper for weight savings for now.

 

['22JTRD]

Yep, it's real. Real light. Not including the winch plate, it's even lighter than the factory plastic bumper.

If you want to gamble, keep your eyes open for an open box that'll be a few hundred dollars less. They have them quite often.

Yes, there is a 1/4" steel winch plate. Will not fit Rubicon because of sway bar motor mount.

I saw a YouTube where you can remove the lower SBDM mounting bolt , rotate the motor upward and reinstall a longer bolt and nut in the lower hole on the SBDM for additional clearance and it moves the electrical connector to the top from the bottom OEM location.

 

[Rockabillyroy]

I saw a YouTube where you can remove the lower SBDM mounting bolt , rotate the motor upward and reinstall a longer bolt and nut in the lower hole on the SBDM for additional clearance and it moves the electrical connector to the top from the bottom OEM location.

I saw that as well. I think they had to rotate back down when they installed a winch. ?

 

[Undecided]

Ok, got the bumper yesterday and installed it.

First impressions was the packaging wasn’t terrible. It’s not Front Runner, but no one is.


The bumper itself….it’s cheap. No other way to say it. It’s built to be “good enough.” Barely. I’ve had a Mopar 3 piece on my JK Hard Rock so I can compare, and there is no comparison. Some guys have said they think these bumpers come from the same factory, just sold unbranded, that is false. Not even close. If fit and finish are paramount to you, this isn’t the bumper for you.

Installation was pretty straightforward, nothing too challenging.

The bumper is very light, the winch plate almost weighs as much. I don’t have or want a winch so I didn’t install it.

The Mojave skid didn’t fit of course, so I improvised.

Things I’m not happy with is the fog lights are exposed in the back, and the power coating is SO thin. The skid plate came out of the box very scuffed.

I wish the wings would ship not installed, that way they could avoid scuffing.

How's your opinion hold up now a few months post install?
Have you wheeled it?

I am needing a new front bumper in order to support a winch and really only like the Mopar style.

Stuck now between this or eBay steal and trying to weigh pros/cons of aluminum. Thanks

 

[jeepers29]

It fit the stock Mojave skid without cutting anything? Interesting! I guess I'll just have to order it and see how it goes. Nice score getting it for free. I'd be very interested in which skidplate you go with and seeing your finished product

Here is the finished product. I went with the after market skid for weight savings. If I am going to to do serious offroad, I use the 14 JKUR. The mojave is for overlanding and such. I have since received the missing fog bezel. Now I just have to get the plasma cutter out to make a fairlead cover and license plate mount.

 

[jensjer]

No ones commented on the purpose of a bumper.. only looks..
will this aluminum aftermarket bumper perform better after pounding a Deer than the Mojave plastic/steel bumper?

 

[Zero_Accel]

No ones commented on the purpose of a bumper.. only looks..
will this aluminum aftermarket bumper perform better after pounding a Deer than the Mojave plastic/steel bumper?

Well someone in the JL forum smacked a deer the other day, and honestly it looks like the bumper is the least of your worries.

Steel or aluminum, that deer is going to hit other things no matter how you slice it. If you're going fast enough to bend the aluminum bumper, it's going to destroy anything else it hits along the way. Insurance will handle the damage at that point.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

No ones commented on the purpose of a bumper.. only looks..
will this aluminum aftermarket bumper perform better after pounding a Deer than the Mojave plastic/steel bumper?

IMO, part of the answer depends on where you live. Hitting an Iowa buck can be deadly. They are tall and heavy here. Iowa dear make Kentucky deer look like experimental models.

My car has aluminum bumpers. I hit and killed a full grown doe several years ago - shoved the right fender back, destroyed the right headlight area, not a bit of damage to the bumper but then all the bumper hit were legs. Busted the legs up badly and tossed the deer across the ditch into someone's front yard.
A friend with the same model car (again, aluminum bumpers) hit 3 deer - one flew over the car, one went under the car (these SX4s sit tall) and one went off to the left wiping out his hood and left fender. All his bumper hit were legs - and it was unmarked.

But in another state with shorter deer - can't say but bet the bumper would survive fine. Aluminum is a pretty tough metal.

Well someone in the JL forum smacked a deer the other day, and honestly it looks like the bumper is the least of your worries.

Steel or aluminum, that deer is going to hit other things no matter how you slice it. If you're going fast enough to bend the aluminum bumper, it's going to destroy anything else it hits along the way. Insurance will handle the damage at that point.

OUCH! That looks like the sort of situation where a large buck could hit the windshield and pierce your face.

 

[jensjer]

IMO, part of the answer depends on where you live. Hitting an Iowa buck can be deadly. They are tall and heavy here. Iowa dear make Kentucky deer look like experimental models.

My car has aluminum bumpers. I hit and killed a full grown doe several years ago - shoved the right fender back, destroyed the right headlight area, not a bit of damage to the bumper but then all the bumper hit were legs. Busted the legs up badly and tossed the deer across the ditch into someone's front yard.
A friend with the same model car (again, aluminum bumpers) hit 3 deer - one flew over the car, one went under the car (these SX4s sit tall) and one went off to the left wiping out his hood and left fender. All his bumper hit were legs - and it was unmarked.

But in another state with shorter deer - can't say but bet the bumper would survive fine. Aluminum is a pretty tough metal.



OUCH! That looks like the sort of situation where a large buck could hit the windshield and pierce your face.

An Iowa buck ; )

 

[insanitize]

I bought this bumper two months ago because I drive through brush and tall weeds, wild roses, and raspberries to get to my camp. My plastic bumper and the fake skid got scratched from doing this.
I'm not using the JT as a real off-road vehicle, I have a JK for that. I just figure that this bumper is light and I can easily paint it. Also the aluminum skid is much stronger than the plastic thing the JT came with.
I did have to modify the skid because I have a front mounted receiver but everything was easy.
The bumper seems to be well made but some of the screws already need to be painted.
Just an FYI I didn't use the winch mount to save a few pounds

Sponsored