4th gen 4runner bumpers

perkinsperformance · 08-10-09, 03:46 PM

Just looking for some feedback on these bumpers I just finished. the rear will have a hi-lift mount and 2 fuel cans on the right side.

firetruck41 · 08-10-09, 11:38 PM

Looks great, they really complement the look of the 4r. No more worries about that rear quarter getting dented!

Duane · 08-16-09, 09:50 AM

I think they both look great as well.
Locally/legally I would worry about mounting the driving lights that high. I assume one could just flip them around so they are underneath the bar.
The rear bumper, we are supposed to have the licence plate visible and illuminated or the cops may hand out a ticket. The factory FJ's left them on the back of the vehicle but offset from the spare tire.

Other than that they look great... let us know when you make your first million$

lenross1 · 08-16-09, 10:30 AM

those look awesome ! i like the way you solved the issue of when you remove the stock bumpers and replace them with aftermarket ones you still see body parts, panels or mounting points where the stock bumper attached to or covered.

great job! alot of rear quarter panel protection!

scottm · 08-20-09, 08:03 AM

I'm looking for a 4R, should be here soon. I hit deer on occasion, so I'm planning on an ARB bull-bar. I could build something, still thinking about that. Did you consider building out of aluminum? 3000-series is soft enough to fold, but kinda too soft for a bumper. 6061 is stronger, doesn't fold, but could be welded from flat plates, but that's a lot of welding and grinding to make it look nice. I'm not sure how much lighter it would be in the end, it'd need more bracing and gussets to be as strong. I doubt I can build one for under $1k, if I figure all the time I'd put into it.

perkinsperformance · 08-20-09, 06:57 PM

We never thought about making them out of aluminum, its just too expensive, I dont have a spool gun and I wasn't about to tig the entire thing. You could do it from 5052 and take it to a shop that has a pressbrake after annealing the metal. Every "bend" you see in the pics was a butt joint or a corner to corner weld, and smoothed with a 9" grinder. Its the hard way, but we didnt have a pressbrake yet. If you have a clock in the shop-get rid of it. I guess it just depends on how bad you want the bumper and how much work you want to put into it. I dont even bother counting my hours on our prototype bumpers, whatever it takes to get it done and done right. The rear bumper in the pics is the 3rd time around, the first is in the scrap bin, and the second was cut apart. Or you could buy a front from us for $825. Best of luck.

scottm · 08-21-09, 06:23 AM

That's a good price for a nice looking bumper, but I primarily need deer protection. I have an unfortunate amount of experience with deer on highways, only the ARB seems built for that. One of the designers at my shop designed a bumper for a Tacoma for someone in California. I could start with that, but it's still not better or significantly cheaper than the ARB.

firetruck41 · 08-21-09, 07:18 PM

Done any bumpers for the 80 series?

perkinsperformance · 08-24-09, 09:12 AM

The ARB bumpers are built from 1/8" plate and 1/16" tubing for the brushguards. They have some gusseting, but they are not as strong or tough as a bumper built with 3/16" plate and .134" mandrel bent tubing. Not to mention the mounting points that we have designed for it, probably the toughest on the market. The ARB's look nice and they meet the govt. crash test standards, so that means they have built in "weak points", basically the mount is steel tubing that looks like an accordion designed to crush on impact.

perkinsperformance · 08-24-09, 09:13 AM

We haven't done any bumpers yet for the 80-series, in the works though.

scottm · 08-24-09, 11:03 AM

I'm concerned about protecting the fenders from deer, it looks like you could run tubing out to the corners for that. In Australia they really do hit 'roo on a daily basis in some areas, almost every car had a bull bar when I was in Darwin. I think ARB would know pretty quickly if they weren't up to the task, but maybe not. I don't remember any accordian crush points on my 80 bumper, but everything crushed pretty well when I crashed the truck.

Do you know how much your bumper weighs?

firetruck41 · 08-24-09, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottm

I'm concerned about protecting the fenders from deer, it looks like you could run tubing out to the corners for that. In Australia they really do hit 'roo on a daily basis in some areas, almost every car had a bull bar when I was in Darwin. I think ARB would know pretty quickly if they weren't up to the task, but maybe not. I don't remember any accordian crush points on my 80 bumper, but everything crushed pretty well when I crashed the truck.

Do you know how much your bumper weighs?

I don't think the 80 series bars have the accordion crush zones, but I think pretty much all the newer bumpers do have it, probably the 120, 100, etc...