Slee vs 4x4labs Rear Bumper

[F0RSAKEN]

My truck was hit by a F150 while parked a few days ago, damage was minor, but I will probably get a new bumper out of it (Insurance), along with a new DS tail light, so instead of getting a new OE bumper, I may go for an aftermarket one, but I'm not sure which I like best lol.

Both the Slee and the 4x4labs appear to be constructed equally sturdily, but does anyone have firsthand experience with either/both?

[Sc0-]

4x4Labs doesn't bolt-in like the Slee does... (requires cutting/grinding off the rear crossmember/frame rail)
4x4Labs isn't a complete bumper, it is either installed or you weld it together yourself. (if they still sell the kits)

[Doc]

While both slee and 4x4 labs have rear bumpers for the 80's they are not really comparable other than that.

Slee's is an elegant bolt on solution. This bumper will fit most peoples needs and abilities for installation.

Luke's bumper is over-built if all you do is expedition wheeling. It probably weighs about 225 lbs without the tire. It was EVERYTHING I could do to lift it myself. You have to cut 6 inches off the rear frame rails, you have to remove your rear cross member and grind the welds flat. I had to wait 9 months for my bumper from luke- keep this in mind when you pick who to order from. Get firm dates, In fact- I wouldn't order from luke again unless he had the bumpers in stock. I got really frustrated toward the end of the 9 month wait, even tried to cancel my order (twice!). I am, however, very happy with the bumper.

Originally Posted by Sc0-

4x4Labs isn't a complete bumper, it is either installed or you weld it together yourself. (if they still sell the kits)

The above is not true. You can buy a complete bumper from luke. Many on here have done just that. (including me!)

[thumper]

I have the 4x4 labs bumper. I am very happy with it. I also liked Slee's bumper as well. I chose 4x4 labs over slee for a couple of reasons, one i could have Luke do some changes that were specific to my vehicle, he is somewhat local to me (a few hours drive), and i have known Luke for a long time. It is true that i had to wait quite awhile, but i feel the wait was worth it. The bumper is top notch and i have no complaints whatsoever. I am sure people would say the same about Slee's bumper. You really cant go wrong either way. I am attaching some pictures of my bumper. I really need to take some new pictures as it has been a over a year since it was installed. Let us know which route you decide upon. I am sure we will all enjoy it.

jon.

[Sc0-]

nice... I didn't know Luke's bumper could be ordered assembled, thought it was drive-in or a kit on a pallet... Ouch on the 9 month wait though, one helluva Baby!

[LandCrusher'70]

Originally Posted by Sc0-

Ouch on the 9 month wait though, one helluva Baby!

Luke's bumper is nice, but this is why I went with Slee. It was on their shelf. I have a really hard time waiting for things.

[SF80]

It has been about 6 weeks for my 4x4 Labs bumper, and it's at the powder-coaters now. When I was at his shop he had a bunch of the parts and pieces for bumpers stacked. I suspect that he has sped up the turn-around time for bumpers, but I would just give him a quick call to verify.

[TrickyT]

Luke's bumpers are not pre-assembled and sitting on a shelf waiting for your to order to come in. He builds them after he receives your order. There are several options available. From the day I called him to the day the bumper was installed on my truck and I left on a wheeling trip was slightly over 5 weeks, and that's includes a couple of custom features and the powder coating. I spent much more time than that researching brands and options.

[TOY350]

I have Luke's and am very glad I do. I beat the living s*** out of on Rubithon this year and the powder coating is the only thing that took damage. That bumper is seriously over built and well worth it.

[Skillet]

Originally Posted by TOY350

I have Luke's and am very glad I do. I beat the living s*** out of on Rubithon this year and the powder coating is the only thing that took damage. That bumper is seriously over built and well worth it.

I am with Garett. Mine has taken a lickin' and it is perfect.

If I was just going to do a bolt on and not wanting to cut the frame, I would have gone slee.

[The Claw]

I did same trade study last year Both bumpers plus Hanna would have satisfied my needs in a bumper. Liked Hanna, but he was not taking any orders till Nov. '08. and it would be 3-6 months after that for a bumper. went 4x4 labs for customization and instalation and local for me (see my post on "Which way to swing" for pics). Pounded the crap out of it on the Rubicon while I learned where my rookie rear was. Bumper did great.

I don't think you can lose on any one of the three.

Oh and just a little over 3 weeks from order time to install in late June '08.

The Claw

[cruiserdan]

I am in the unique postion whereby BOTH of these bumpers reside on vehicles parked in my yard.

My 80 has a Slee and my wife's 80 has a 4x4Labs.

Both bumpers are finely crafted and very well built. I think it comes down to a few decisions made by the prospective owner.

The Slee is completely bolt-on and is easily transferable to another vehicle.
The 4x4 Labs bumper requires that you saw off the last ~5 inches of the frame and once you do that you are commited and the bumper will remain with the vehicle, it can not be reversed or transfered to another vehicle unless the donor vehicle is toast.

Luke offers several possible swingarm combinations and you can pick which side you want the tire on. Christo provides a "standard" configuration that suits most users.
Luke's bumpers come with an integrated receiver tube, Christo offers a receiver tube as an option.
My experience with both bumpers is favorable. On Rubicon I did find that bumper wing impact on Luke's bumper was transmitted into the quarter panels on my wife's truck and both quarters were damaged by bumper wing impacts by the end of the trail. My truck was not on the same trip (thank God because it was a screamig bitch) so I can not compare quarter panel damage apples-to-apples.
Luke's bumper does offer a better departure angle due to the fact that the back of the frame gets chopped off.


As my wife's dad says "you pays your money and takes your pick".


Bottom line for me is very simple. If you do not want to hack the frame get a Slee. If you don't care about the frame get a 4x4Labs.

[F0RSAKEN]

The idea of cutting part of my frame off does not bother me much, so thats a null point. What about cost? I assume they both run roughly the same 2k or so. I cannot tell, but does the 4x4labs bumper have the brace that bolts to the frame from the wings? How about the latch mech.? I like the slee latch design, what with the nylon pad and extra locks on it to prevent accidental release and rattling.

EDIT

If it wouldn't be too much trouble Mr. D, could you take pics of the bumpers side by side, for a comparison shot?

[smtyblt]

You should check out Iron-pigs rear bumper just as stout and on the shelf and on sale this month

[Doc]

Originally Posted by F0RSAKEN

does the 4x4labs bumper have the brace that bolts to the frame from the wings? How about the latch mech.? I like the slee latch design, what with the nylon pad and extra locks on it to prevent accidental release and rattling.

The entire wing is one continuous sheet of steel which wraps around the frame. Better than a bolt up brace IMOP.

The latch ties each swing arm to the other, not to the bumper at all. Mine has never rattled or come open without me to open it. No nylon pad.

[sleeoffroad]

I just wanted to add that the 80 series rear bumpers are made from Grade 80 sheet with a yield strength of 80k psi vs around 36k psi for regular sheet metal. Not sure what the 4x4 bumper is made from,

Why is this important? It means that it is more than twice as strong as the same thickness regular sheet and that a 3/16" thick grade 80 wing would be equivalent of 7/16" thick regular steel plate. This is ofter overlooked when comparing price and performace.

[cruiserdan]

I do not recall ever seeing or hearing of a bent Slee rear bumper.

Christo do you know of any that have been involved in automobile collisions? It would be interesting to know how they looked.

[sleeoffroad]

Sandwich with our bumper in between

Our Bumper



Other Cars




More here

Slee - Toyota 80 Series Land Cruiser - Rear Bumper Detail

[Beowulf]

I have a Slee rear bumper with tyre carrier. Mine is an early model. Christo has made relatively minor changes to the design over the years. The bumper is high quality and very sturdy. The bits and pieces that are used are top quality; hardware, bearing, latches, bolts, etc. Everything fit very well and I installed the bumper by myself. No frame cutting, no grinding, no welding... just bolt on and go.

I have seen Luke's bumper on several friend's trucks and briefly watched as Luke and Semlin installed his at CM06. The 4x4 Labs bumper tucks in nicely and the improved departure angle would be important in the terrain that I usually wheel. However, the Slee bumper is strong enough that you can drag if off a ledge without worry.

I'm also a bit on the compulsive side and waiting is not a strong point. I called Christo and his was headed to my house immediately.

-B-

[sprocket3]

I would be very curious to know which bumpers weight the most or least? Does anyone know?

I'm surprised to hear that the labs bumper wings bent in like that.

[cruiserdan]

OK, you win.....

Originally Posted by sleeoffroad

Sandwich with our bumper in between

Our Bumper



Other Cars




More here

Slee - Toyota 80 Series Land Cruiser - Rear Bumper Detail

[TOY350]

Here are some pics of the one Luke built for me. Hopefully they offer more details than you were able to find elsewhere.

[TOY350]

A few more and notice the tail pipe cut and resonator removed in the last one. Oh and yeah I know I have a bunch of shackles back there, the ones by the pintle hook are for the safety chains on my M416.

[SF80]

I thought the safety chains were supposed to go through the holes in the receiver gusset plate (triangular piece in your second pic.) Are theses just for convenience?

[Tools R Us]

Some observations from my trail experiences with bumpers, all are IMHO and YMMV. I only have had the 4x4Labs on my rig, but have wheeled with, spotted most of the other brands. The only one that I rate not acceptable for rock work is the Kaymar, the side wings are weak and tend to flex, bend.

The Labs bumper has better clearance, but the big advantage for me is the great angles. They slide on/off of obstacles very well at all angles. The most common example is; your climbing an obstacle and don’t make it, requiring a backup and reset, the rear bumper is on the ground/rock, as you reverse the angled bumper does a much better job of sliding over uneven rock, even lifting the rig, the square lower edge bumpers tend to dig, catch, hang. I have never hung up a labs bumper, can say the same for square type.

We have had very good results from the wing side protection. One trail the we run has a tall, steep, off camber to driver, waterfall with a window high bolder on the driver’s side. Rob was attempting it and got out of shape, hopped the rear and slammed the bolder, accompanied by loud bang and a cloud of rock dust. I figured we were in for quarter repair, spotted him up and got a look, big gouges in the side wing, tube and flare, zero body damage, the bumper paid for itself right there.

On the strength issue, other than the Kaymar they are all pretty much bomb proof. A bumper that catches on obstacles, transfers more load to the truck, so must be stronger to do the same job. No matter how bomb proof, they all attach to the ~1/8” thick box frame and the body is soft mounted, in big impacts both flex, move, so it largely come down to clearance between the bumper and body. Our Labs bumpers were kits, we angled the side wing tubes out more than I have seen on other Labs bumpers, This doesn't look as nice, but the added clearance has so far prevented body contact. Not saying the Labs bumpers are weak, they are 3/16” cross bar, 1/4” wings, tied, boxed together by ~3 feet of weld on each side and a receiver hitch cross member, so bomb proof.

They all will get the job done, but for the type of wheeling that I do the angled bumper is an advantage. Rob and I ran ours unpainted for a year, had no problem with dragging them over rock, early and often, so got a good idea of how they work. In a rear ended accident on the street, the angled bumper probably would be a disadvantage for a small car hitting it, my guess is it would be more likely to be forced under the truck.