I’ve been thinking about trimming my rear steel bumper

[TroyBoy]

I am planning a trip to the Rubicon Trail next year and I’m thinking my rear bumper is going to take some hits. I’ve seen a few pics where the bumper has pushed into the body and damaged it. I’ve started looking for a replacement bumper and I’m torn between the Dv8 and the LOD destroyer. Neither of these bumpers are perfect IMO. The thing I am not liking about them is they leave the body corners exposed to flying rocks, mud and snow. This sound like a recipe for rusting out the body corners prematurely.

So now I am thinking I may just keep my stock bumper and trim it a bit so that it won’t hit the body when I drag the bumper on a rock. This is what I have in mind:

What do you think?

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[Beretta67]

I think it will work well. Did you remove the plastic piece yet to figure out the cut?

 

[TroyBoy]

I think it will work well. Did you remove the plastic piece yet to figure out the cut?

I haven’t pulled the plastic off yet. I’m thinking I might have to pull the bumper off to cut it which would be a pain. When I do the Rubicon Trail, I was planning on removing the hitch plug, hitch and those two plastic end caps. Then when I get back, I’ll put it all back on. I may just leave the hitch on and use it as armor.

 

[TA1ton]

I haven’t pulled the plastic off yet. I’m thinking I might have to pull the bumper off to cut it which would be a pain. When I do the Rubicon Trail, I was planning on removing the hitch plug, hitch and those two plastic end caps. Then when I get back, I’ll put it all back on. I may just leave the hitch on and use it as armor.

I’ve seen people use a hitch mounted stinger to keep from ripping their spare off...but then you lose a little approach/departure angle and tend to drag the stinger a lot...

 

[Beretta67]

I was able to remove the plastic end caps on my JK without removing the bumper.
A hitch stinger might be a good idea for the trip, you can protect the spare tire and most of the bumper.

 

[broncoguy]

Hey @TroyBoy , just ran across this thread and curious if you ever tried this? We did a run at the Rubicon last year and the bumper lightly kissed the body some after come down off a ledge. Was thinking of doing this trimming in preparation for this year.

I like the look of the rear bumper and thinking some trimming would do the trick.

 

[TroyBoy]

Hey @TroyBoy , just ran across this thread and curious if you ever tried this? We did a run at the Rubicon last year and the bumper lightly kissed the body some after come down off a ledge. Was thinking of doing this trimming in preparation for this year.

I like the look of the rear bumper and thinking some trimming would do the trick.

I ended up getting a new bumper before I tried cutting the stock one and I’m glad I did. The stock bumper would have been a twisted mess after the Rubicon trail. I guess I’m not as good a driver as I thought I was

 

[AnnDee4444]

I've always wondered how much is the bumper itself flexing vs. the bumper brackets. Would stronger brackets make it more worthy?

Right now I have a set of Maximus-3 rear tow loops. These definitely add some protection to the rear bumper, but still leave the corners exposed. https://maximus-3.com/jl-bumper-accessories-/jl-closed-rear-tow-loops#/

 

[broncoguy]

I was thinking the same thing. When I have time, I'll probably pull the bumper and take a look. Someone might be able to reinforce the brackets a bit to limit the flex.

 

[BradyW]

Bumping this thread back up. Has anyone done this and was it successful? I was thinking of trying the same project. I don’t really want to replace the whole bumper at this point but I’d also like to stop it from damaging the tub.

I did the unthinkable and searched before posting a new thread and found this one. Here is the photo I would have used on my thread!

 

[AnnDee4444]

Bumping this thread back up. Has anyone done this and was it successful? I was thinking of trying the same project. I don’t really want to replace the whole bumper at this point but I’d also like to stop it from damaging the tub.

I did the unthinkable and searched before posting a new thread and found this one. Here is the photo I would have used on my thread!

See this thread: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/oem-steel-rear-bumper-rock-rail-improvements.90638/

It's the brackets that do the damage to the tub first, not the bumper itself. Stronger brackets are now available from Metalcloak. They are not as strong as just about any aftermarket bumper.

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