Vermonster's Rear Bumper Quest...

[surfscottydog]

I will check them out....on the surface, they seem to have some of the same photos as trailready! Interesting...

They have Buckstop and Trailready

 

[Vermonster]

Great thread, and call me subjective, but I think color-matched its in a class of its own. The bumpers don’t need to be perfectly identical—mine are slightly bolder, and I like that. It makes them stand out as an accessory and avoids looking like a bald person without eyebrows (no offense).

By the same token, there is nothing wrong with black powder coated bumpers especially as others have mentioned, on an Iconic Silver and if you have BAP. It's almost a no brainer but, color matched would look equally as great. You have two great options and I am also a perfectionist (which drives me nuts at times) but you will not go wrong with either.

I can’t speak to the resistance of powder coating in your harsh, salty winters, but mine were powder-coated, and with the use our truck gets, they’ve held up just fine for nearly three years.

As @Vecman mentioned, the corner cutouts for a normal shoe size are fairly snug but they work. With tennis shoes, you should be able to wedge your foot in just fine, but for that, I’d use the rear bumper, which allows more space and you can just hang on easier since your foot goes in further if you get what I mean?. I rarely need just the corner to look into the bed or if I am going to hop in. I feel it's easier to simply use the bed step which we use day in and day out. I think those corner cutouts are more geared for 14-year old; I know the 14-year will simply put his foot in there and hop up in the bed with no problem but he is also 125lbs. (them were the days )

Look at the inches side; not the tenths side (engineering units)

The cut out is 4-1/14" wide by 3" tall
View attachment 221289

One downside is that unless CU now offers rear bumpers with license plate lights, there aren’t any cutouts for them—a big con, in my opinion. I ended up adding them myself (not easy with such thick steel) and used Morimoto license plate lights. They provide bolts with integrated lighting, which is neat, but why neglect standard plate lamps? (I never did get the lighted bolts to begin with but I am sure I was only 1 of a million).

I didn’t fully follow the comment about the tailgate, but ours is used throughout the day, and the bumper has never been an issue. There is a small gap compared to stock due to the black insert piece from the stock bumper at the bottom of the tailgate but it's never been a big deal to me. I also have the dually light, and it doesn’t restrict visibility.

View attachment 221290

The bumpers are modular, meaing they're 3 pieces but that hasn't been an issue so far.

The light cutouts are 3", perfect for recessed Baja Design Squadron Pros.

View attachment 221291

My rear auxiliary lights are all wired separately.

The only ones tapped into the factory reverse lights are the license plate lights as shown below (now 2 light bars).


View attachment 221292


Lastly, I have dropped the spare a few times and the opening as not been an issue other than removing the plastic "lock" which again, due to the thick steel (and the collected grime) can make it increasignly difficult to turn.

So you don't have any grit or tack on your bumper tops or the cut outs I see - any issues? I worry about my wife who will often take the truck to horse events and she's in and out of the tuck bed for supplies.

 

[Vermonster]

Ps - custom powder coated rear bumper prepped and sealed before powder will run me 600 beans. I ordered a free color match sample to see how close it will be to iconic silver. Stay tuned....

 

[Vermonster]

So you don't have any grit or tack on your bumper tops or the cut outs I see - any issues? I worry about my wife who will often take the truck to horse events and she's in and out of the tuck bed for supplies.

@AZsurveyor

 

[Vermonster]

Have a powder coat match to iconic silver. Need to dial in the final product - better plate lights and grit on the steps and bumper top.

 

[surfscottydog]

So you don't have any grit or tack on your bumper tops or the cut outs I see - any issues? I worry about my wife who will often take the truck to horse events and she's in and out of the tuck bed for supplies.

I love my Buckstop bumper and haven really felt the need to get any grit tape on it. But if I did, you can easily get rolls of skateboard tape that would work great.

 

[AZsurveyor]

So you don't have any grit or tack on your bumper tops or the cut outs I see - any issues? I worry about my wife who will often take the truck to horse events and she's in and out of the tuck bed for supplies.

Totally missed you, pardon me.

We don’t have any, and since our bed is filled with gear that constantly needs to be pulled out, we rarely use the bumper itself.

Our gear requires the tailgate to be opened, and honestly, because of that, the tailgate is starting to give me trouble. It seems like it needs to be pushed in before it can swing down.

With our sand and dust, the top of the bumper can get a bit slippery, if that’s what you’re worried about. Especially in wet weather, there’s a risk of stepping on a slick surface.

I’d definitely be careful in those situations. Adding some grit wouldn’t hurt. I’ve thought about it, but due to how we use it, I haven’t found the need.

 

[Vermonster]

Totally missed you, pardon me.

We don’t have any, and since our bed is filled with gear that constantly needs to be pulled out, we rarely use the bumper itself.

Our gear requires the tailgate to be opened, and honestly, because of that, the tailgate is starting to give me trouble. It seems like it needs to be pushed in before it can swing down.

With our sand and dust, the top of the bumper can get a bit slippery, if that’s what you’re worried about. Especially in wet weather, there’s a risk of stepping on a slick surface.

I’d definitely be careful in those situations. Adding some grit wouldn’t hurt. I’ve thought about it, but due to how we use it, I haven’t found the need.

Thanks, man! This is helpful. We never stand on ours either, but we may… you know how it goes. Maybe I’ll buy that bed step @Modman told be to get back in ‘21.

 

[Modman]

Thanks, man! This is helpful. We never stand on ours either, but we may… you know how it goes. Maybe I’ll buy that bed step @Modman told be to get back in ‘21.

Found the solution for you!

 

[Optimus🤖]

Found the solution for you!

View attachment 233321

The front looks great, now show us her rearend .

 

[Modman]

The front looks great, now show us her rearend .

I didn't think it would take you this long... Of course, you are devoting your attention to SEMA and from what I recall there are lots of good visuals there other than the vehicles.

 

[Optimus🤖]

I didn't think it would take you this long...

I hear this all the time!

Of course, you are devoting your attention to SEMA and from what I recall there are lots of good visuals there other than the vehicles.

You are correct, again! Zoom in on the beautiful brown yoga pants :

 

[Vermonster]

jeez.

 

[Vermonster]

Bumper is in! Look pretty great! Maybe some condensation on the driver side wing, but the welds look incredible!

I need to pop an 18mm hole below the spare lock for my ARB and I’ll be good to go.

I’m dropping it off for powder coat tomorrow!

 

[Vermonster]

ARB air chuck hole.

 

[Vermonster]

Bumper has been dropped at https://www.racemetalsmiths.com/ in White River Vermont.

I met the owner "Scott" who seems like a great guy. He did a wonderful job finding silver that matches my truck (at least on the sample card). I also dropped off my rusty ass BuiltRight molle panels and my son's front Tacoma bumper from "MOVE" bumpers which he will have powdered in their normal shop black finish.

My bumper will run about ~$800 give or take, but my son's will be ~$600. No idea on the molle panels, but as he will already have the silver loaded, I could not have thought of a better time to do it. I removed all the BuiltRight logos, and I will rivet them back on once the project is finished.

I am excited to see the final product, but I hope it comes in before the snow flies. It took about 4 months for my Chassis Unlimited bumper to arrive. Now, that being said, they also did some custom work by adding slots for the Morimotto plate lights - that way I do not have to count on the LED plate lamp screws.

Lastly, I just bought some Baja Design 3X3 Squadron Sport driving/combo lights from our forum sponsor @Nick@ApolloOff-Road and I am excited to pop those into the bumper mounts.