2021 4x4 Labs group buy info. (March 15-30) (1 Viewer)

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1 rear done, 2 tacked up, still haven't touched the front bumper.

1st bumper took about a day and a half, including removing all of the factory stuff off of my rig. The next two are going quicker now that we've done one.
 
Unfortunately our Colorado POC for the group shipment has disappeared into thin air and 4x4 Labs wants us to provide a commercial delivery address with loading dock and/or forklift. It appears none of us in the Denver area know of an option - is there anyone on this forum who has or knows someone who can let us deliver our kits at their commercial location?
 
Unfortunately our Colorado POC for the group shipment has disappeared into thin air and 4x4 Labs wants us to provide a commercial delivery address with loading dock and/or forklift. It appears none of us in the Denver area know of an option - is there anyone on this forum who has or knows someone who can let us deliver our kits at their commercial location?

Sorry to hear this unfortunate news. Did you try your local ih8mud CO chapter subforum? Can you expand your search further out from Denver? For example, Pismo was quite a drive for a few of us from SoCal to Central CA.
 
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I’m willing to drive a few hours to bring them back to the front range, unfortunately that doesn’t get us much closer to any real population centers.

Hoping the CO forum or Shedhead’s contact come through for us before we get desperate!
 
So just wanted to share a recent mod I did to my 4x4 Labs bumper and hopefully it may help some of you out there, especially if you're doing the DIY kit. So I have the 4x4 Labs bumper for my 5th gen 4R. Since it's quite a complicated bumper to design around the 5th gen 4R you can't get a DIY kit for it, they're all pre-built from Labs. I have a love hate relationship with the bumper for a few reasons. It's great off-road due to the clearance, departure angle, and strength. I like the modular swing arms, attachments and that it's relatively simple and lightweight.

However it's a PITA to use for a daily driver for a few reasons. Mainly it centers around the latch and the slam stops. The 7,000lb latch can be a real bear to use at times. With the swing arms clamping onto each other you really want a tight and strong hold. That means it requires a lot of strength and leverage at times to open the latch. My girlfriend simply refuses to use it because she doesn't have the hand/arm strength to operate the latch. The latch strength seems to change with weather and loosening/stretching of the u-bolt over time. You can adjust the jam nut and nylock washer to compensate for this. It is a very delicate balance though and I find myself fiddling with it more than I'd like. Too tight and it's really hard to operate the latch (especially in winter where your fingers and latch are frozen) and too loose where it's easier to use the latch then you get excess wobbling/vibration in the arms and tire carrier. If it's too loose you'll also get metal on metal rattling at the slam stop which can be annoying on the trail.

So I decided to have a local fab shop modify my swing arms and hopefully this will help solve some issues. I had them cut/grind off the metal slam stops on the swing arms and in its place weld a metal tab where I can attach a polyurethane bump stop. I used ruffstuff4x4 bump stop for this. This has helped mitigate some of the issues above. There is no more metal on metal contact, so the swing arms should be really quiet now. Even if there is some vibration between the bump and stopper it'll be silent. You can see in the pictures below where the original metal-metal contact wore down the powder coat on the center stopper as well so this will help prevent that. This has also made adjusting the latch strength a little easier adjust. The bumps are softer which lead to a little more vibration/wobbling in the swing arms so I had to tighten the latch a bit to compensate. But it seems I can fine tune it a little bit better now without worrying about metal rattling. The polyurethane bump is also an easily replaceable part if it ever wears down. I've seen a few people do this to their DIY swing arms and also took the idea from other bumper fab companies for inspiration. I thought I'd share my experience with my mod and my general experience with the normal 4x4 labs latch. I still need to test this out on the trail but so far I'm liking how quiet it is to close the arms and how much easier it is to operate the latch.

Anyways hope this helps out, especially those going the DIY route.


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So just wanted to share a recent mod I did to my 4x4 Labs bumper and hopefully it may help some of you out there, especially if you're doing the DIY kit. So I have the 4x4 Labs bumper for my 5th gen 4R. Since it's quite a complicated bumper to design around the 5th gen 4R you can't get a DIY kit for it, they're all pre-built from Labs. I have a love hate relationship with the bumper for a few reasons. It's great off-road due to the clearance, departure angle, and strength. I like the modular swing arms, attachments and that it's relatively simple and lightweight.

However it's a PITA to use for a daily driver for a few reasons. Mainly it centers around the latch and the slam stops. The 7,000lb latch can be a real bear to use at times. With the swing arms clamping onto each other you really want a tight and strong hold. That means it requires a lot of strength and leverage at times to open the latch. My girlfriend simply refuses to use it because she doesn't have the hand/arm strength to operate the latch. The latch strength seems to change with weather and loosening/stretching of the u-bolt over time. You can adjust the jam nut and nylock washer to compensate for this. It is a very delicate balance though and I find myself fiddling with it more than I'd like. Too tight and it's really hard to operate the latch (especially in winter where your fingers and latch are frozen) and too loose where it's easier to use the latch then you get excess wobbling/vibration in the arms and tire carrier. If it's too loose you'll also get metal on metal rattling at the slam stop which can be annoying on the trail.

So I decided to have a local fab shop modify my swing arms and hopefully this will help solve some issues. I had them cut/grind off the metal slam stops on the swing arms and in its place weld a metal tab where I can attach a polyurethane bump stop. I used ruffstuff4x4 bump stop for this. This has helped mitigate some of the issues above. There is no more metal on metal contact, so the swing arms should be really quiet now. Even if there is some vibration between the bump and stopper it'll be silent. You can see in the pictures below where the original metal-metal contact wore down the powder coat on the center stopper as well so this will help prevent that. This has also made adjusting the latch strength a little easier adjust. The bumps are softer which lead to a little more vibration/wobbling in the swing arms so I had to tighten the latch a bit to compensate. But it seems I can fine tune it a little bit better now without worrying about metal rattling. The polyurethane bump is also an easily replaceable part if it ever wears down. I've seen a few people do this to their DIY swing arms and also took the idea from other bumper fab companies for inspiration. I thought I'd share my experience with my mod and my general experience with the normal 4x4 labs latch. I still need to test this out on the trail but so far I'm liking how quiet it is to close the arms and how much easier it is to operate the latch.

Anyways hope this helps out, especially those going the DIY route.


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I did a similar thing by putting a small piece of rubber on the factory slam stop. Just drilled/tapped a hole in the center, and attached a piece of truck bed mat material initially--that lasted a couple years, now there is a piece of fuel line on there. :D
 
I did a similar thing by putting a small piece of rubber on the factory slam stop. Just drilled/tapped a hole in the center, and attached a piece of truck bed mat material initially--that lasted a couple years, now there is a piece of fuel line on there. :D
6 layers of electrical tape on mine. Rattle free. Lol. Fuel hose works too. I finally gave up and tightened the u bolt on mine. Now I just use a little cheater pipe to open and close it.
 
I did a similar thing by putting a small piece of rubber on the factory slam stop. Just drilled/tapped a hole in the center, and attached a piece of truck bed mat material initially--that lasted a couple years, now there is a piece of fuel line on there. :D

I thought about doing the same thing but didn't want to drill into the bumper frame itself. Figured if I modded the swing arms and messed up at least those could be replaced easier lol. Another thing I considered was using a 1/2" block/strip of HDPE and using industrial double tape to attach it.

6 layers of electrical tape on mine. Rattle free. Lol. Fuel hose works too. I finally gave up and tightened the u bolt on mine. Now I just use a little cheater pipe to open and close it.

I tried gorilla tape for some time. Eventually it would just wear through and the rattle would come back. I figured it was time for something more permanent lol.
 
Anyone cutting off a good rear cross member and want to sell/ship to east coast? Please PM me.

Regards,
Eric
 
Anyone cutting off a good rear cross member and want to sell/ship to east coast? Please PM me.

Regards,
Eric
Damn, just dropped mine in the trash. Two guys will be picking up bumpers from me soon and will be removing their crossmember while installing.
 
So Pismo and CO group buy got theirs, how’s it looking for everyone else? Sounds like I’m due in June according to Luke & co
 
So Pismo and CO group buy got theirs, how’s it looking for everyone else? Sounds like I’m due in June according to Luke & co
I am not in any rush to receive mine, however I am going to find out when mine are due to start production. I am on the east coast.
 
Anyone cutting off I thought about doing the same thing but didn't want to drill into the bumper frame itself. Figured if I modded the swing arms and messed up at least those could be replaced easier lol. Another thing I considered was using a 1/2" block/strip of HDPE and using industrial double tape to attach it.



I tried gorilla tape for some time. Eventually it would just wear through and the rattle would come back. I figured it was time for something more permane

Anyone cutting off a good rear cross member and want to sell/ship to east coast? Please PM me.

Regards,
Eric
Mine will be availible once my bumper comes in. I'll reach out once i get it off, if I remember that is.
 
I would also be interested in picking up a rear crossmember.
 
Curious about those wanting a spare rear crossmember. Do you guys plan to reweld it on it and go back to stock or a different bumper?
 
Curious about those wanting a spare rear crossmember. Do you guys plan to reweld it on it and go back to stock or a different bumper?

that’s the plan. to cut it in a way it can be re-attached if I change rigs and return it to stock and carry the bumper to the next rig
 
Just want to get rid of the rust. All stock 40th AE that is pretty solid but the rear crossmember is shot.

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