[crash1369]

For those of us that had lost hope and or forgot all about the BPI bumpers I was just directed towards the new thread stating they are finished :rck:

http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235997

Hopefully my barrage of questions will be answered, and at least covered most of the bases. Who's buying the first one?

 

[JRH_PWRWAGON_06]

http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190429
These look much better IMO.

 

[packraftnm]

That front BPI bumper has some seriours potential. I like the fact that is similar dementions as our stock bumpers. Not the "fat lip" look like all the other bumpers.

 

[SilverWagon05]

I do like that they do not stick out too much, but they are low hanging and only 3/16" plate. Also, there is not much space between the bumper and the head lights/grill. With the flex that our trucks have, you could easily crack either one with the pressure the bumper would put on them. Check out the movement on mine with a little flex and mine have just enough space to not touch when flexed all the way. The passenger side has a substantial gap, but the driver side is almost touching. Imagine those BPI's in this situation. It looks nice with the tight gaps, but will it function the way you need it to without causing other damage. I'm sure they could be adjusted down a couple/few inches, but then there goes more clearance. Now I realize that I am sacrificing a little approach because mine stick out a little more, but mine do not hang down nearly as much and I have 1/4" plate that I can slide up on if needed or just push it out of the way! Soon I will have my fogs and 6" KC's mounted and maybe even some 8" KC's under the pull up bar and they will be even better!

Damn, you guys are making me type too damn much! I should have just put
T O U G H A S S B U M P E R S!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SilverWagon05]

By the way, the black 2500 in the picture on the Fab Four site lives here in Farmington by me and I personally think mine look better and the FF's are only 3/16" also. But thats just my nickle's worth!

 

[crash1369]

now i'm conflicted again

 

[JRH_PWRWAGON_06]

By the way, the black 2500 in the picture on the Fab Four site lives here in Farmington by me and I personally think mine look better and the FF's are only 3/16" also. But thats just my nickle's worth!

Did you relocate your winch to the bumper? MileMarker??

Is your bumper crooked because of winching, or did you run over a Prius?

 

[fbenross]

Why don't you put a 500# I beam on the front of your PW's-it would be cheaper to buy, would ruin your approach angle just as well, and cause or cure death wobble. It amazes me how so many people try and out smart the Chrysler Engineers. EXTRA WEIGHT IS BAD-REPEATE AFTER ME-IT'S BAD FOR RACE CARS, OFF ROAD VEHICLES-GAS MILEAGE........ It's just like big tires....more weight-harder on the drivelin..... Sorry I had a few beers!!!

 

[RustyPW08]

Why don't you put a 500# I beam on the front of your PW's-it would be cheaper to buy, would ruin your approach angle just as well, and cause or cure death wobble. It amazes me how so many people try and out smart the Chrysler Engineers. EXTRA WEIGHT IS BAD-REPEATE AFTER ME-IT'S BAD FOR RACE CARS, OFF ROAD VEHICLES-GAS MILEAGE........ It's just like big tires....more weight-harder on the drivelin..... Sorry I had a few beers!!!

:thatfunny That was the hot set-up back in the late '70's here! LOL 6"-beams on everything! LOL If it was a 4x4, it had an I-beam on it!

 

[crash1369]

extra weight is bad, but the stock bumpers would dent if I pissed on them so a little more weight in the interest of strength is a cross I'll bare. If this one really doesn't hang and lower then the approach angle would not be hurt

 

[neotech]

I like many of the different designs but nothing i've seen from any of the company's looks like what I want. Do you remember the old old winch bumpers. Straight out and square? THOSE WERE TOUGH> the new ones seem so wimpy. If and when I finish my front bumper i'll post pics.

 

[fbenross]

I can only recall one PW on this forum that had serious F. Bumper damage ( it was just pinched up by the winch. Do you know how many bumpers you could get at the wreckers for the price of that battle ship anchor ? One of the cool things about the PW is the tucked in hidden winch...LOOK at the side view of that monster and compare it to a stock PW...Come one guys if they stop making 3GPW's some day, your going to wish yours was as returnable to stock as possible.:crazy:

 

[JRH_PWRWAGON_06]

Weight is bad, but stock bumpers cannot take even a minor impact without
turning into a pretzel.

We don't need a "winch" bumper on our Power Wagons, just a cut-out and a
place to attach a second fairlead. Winch bumpers stick out and have that
ugly fat lip as Packraftnm said.

I found this non-winch Fab Fours design on the web, for 2006+ Ram, but I think it's discontinued. It's not on their site.

For me, bumpers have moved from need list to wish list.... Too much $.

 

[crash1369]

when they stop making them, and that's exactly why I want to take mine off so it can still be recognizable. If their so ****ing soft they can be dented and I don't even Know how, that's totally unacceptable. I need bumpers that can stand up to off road use without getting destroyed, maybe those exact ones aren't the answer but their the closest I've found yet

 

[SilverWagon05]

crash,
Sorry about that!
fbenross,
It really doesn't weigh that much more than all the other guy's stuff, besides just in case anybody here doesn't realize it, we are not talking about a tube frame rock buggy here! What we are talking about is something that can handle a beating and still let you drive home. Something as tough as a POWER WAGON!

JRH,
When I bought the wagon, used, it had been used as a dealer demo vehicle and the winch had been removed(probably to warranty replace someone elses). I thought about having the dealer replace it, but decided to take the $2,000 discount they gave me on the purchase price after we had already made a pretty good deal! It's amazing how ignorant the dealers are about our PW's! Anyway, I have always heard good things about Mile Markers and I decided to just spend $600 for a 12,000lb winch instead of $1,600 for the Warn. It works great and I have never had a single problem with it. I mounted it in the bumper and I am thinking about using all the extra space I now have to mount an air tank for OBA. The bumper is not crooked at all, I just wanted to show the amount of flex that occurs between the frame and body when you flex the suspension. Although, I think I may have rinsed out a Prius the other day when I sprayed the wagon down, but I only caught a glimpse before it went down the drain.

 

[crash1369]

my problem is I don't want a "winch bumper' for a multitude of reason that have all been covered before. But I need a stronger bumper, these stock ones are pissing me off. their both dented, sure it's not major damage but I'm driving around in an 08 with dented bumpers! and their both showing signs of rust, besides where their dented. So I might just use that as an excuse to get new ones but my dealer isn't very cooperative and probably wont go along with that. and I don't really want to be bothered fighting with them, either way it will be far to easy for it to happen again.

If I could get a bumper that looked like the stock ones, but was stronger that would be perfect. but I can't so I need to find the next best thing.

 

[JRH_PWRWAGON_06]

SilverWagon05 :tup:
Money well spent. I'm not the biggest Warn fan either.
I bought one for my ATV a few years ago (from a catalog) and
the housing was plastic. The main sun gear was molded-in
to the housing. => the gear was plastic!
That was a 2500lb top-of-the-line ATV winch back then.

 

[fbenross]

I like the idea of a beefed up stock bumper-not somthing that looks like a stealth fighter on steroids. But I wouldn't consider one until I trash a few stock bumpers. LIGHT WEIGHT AND APPROACH ANGLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT TO ME - than few battle scars.

 

[JRH_PWRWAGON_06]

I think the BPI bumper would be great if it didn't have the "grill" openings.
I would cut-out a slot and bolt on a roller fairlead.
On each side of the fairlead, I would bolt on a pair of cop-style push bars for those traffic love taps...
(Search the Youtube video of HUMVEE driving in Baghdad :rck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWmVIHTj73Q

 

[JRH_PWRWAGON_06]

So SilverWagon05 do you think the BPI bumper in the picture above has
too little bumper-body gap for flexing?
I wonder how much adjustability it has. I guess somebody could modify it for more if needed.