the more i see the venator bumper, the more i like it. couple of ???I am tired of the waiting game with AEV, so went with venator.
The installation is very straightforward and easy, the bumper is just a winch plate plus a shell, when you try to assemble the shell, keep every bolt/screw loosely attached, only tighten them when everything lines up. The hardware coming with the bumper did not match the installation manual, but it is fairly easy to figure out.the more i see the venator bumper, the more i like it. couple of ???
- how easy is it to install the bumper and is there any surprises that might come up.
- how sturdy / strong is the bumper
- i see you have the optional bar on top of the bumper with the lights mounted on them.did the bar come with the light tabs for mounted or did you drill hole for the lights.
- are the tow hooks mounted to the frame of the jeep
- what winch are you running.
- i know you can use the factor fog lights, were they easy and a direct fit to the bumper.
- anything else i should know.
The installation is very straightforward and easy, the bumper is just a winch plate plus a shell, when you try to assemble the shell, keep every bolt/screw loosely attached, only tighten them when everything lines up. The hardware coming with the bumper did not match the installation manual, but it is fairly easy to figure out.
The bumper is made of stamped steel, so it is as strong as the Mopar steel bumper, apparently if you smash it to rocks on a daily basis, it won't look good. The pros of stamped steel bumper is they looked nice, not like a big chunk of steel someone weld it in the garage.
The optional bar does not have any hole for mounting light, but again being stamped steel it is super easy to drill holes for mounting lights.
Tow hooks mount to the frame, just like stock tow hooks. They are not rated for flat tow but good for recovery tow.
I am running Warn VR 10s, a nice budget winch, sits perfectly in the bumper.
They are easy and direct fit, there are two cosmetic bezels that are basically trash, but they are cosmetics, so nobody cares.
This is a nice bumper for mild offroad, and will look super nice on the road. There is no installation video on the net, but you can refer to RR Arcus bumper installation, they are very similar.