Front/Rear Replacement Bumper Weight and Stock Suspension

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John Albert

John Albert

Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Threads
4
Messages
37
Location
Dallas, TX
I apologize if this topic has been beaten before. With my past vehicles (mostly one ton pickups) that I have installed front and rear replacement bumpers on, I always had to alter at least the front springs to accommodate for sag and bottoming out. Most of these bumpers were made by companies in San Antonio and El Campo TX and were, in my opinion, built better then the big box store replacement bumper companies. My point being, (in my humble opinion), the best armor for my trucks was always the armor that was custom built and over built and were in turn quite heavy. The custom bumper market for the LC's appear to be very well built from the research I have done, but do they require the costly upgrade in suspension to accommodate for sag and bottom end clearance or is the stock LC suspension beefy enough to keep these setups under control? I'm trying to stay as stock as I can on the suspension so I don't want to kid myself into thinking that bumpers are going to be in my future for a stock suspension. I may just have to be content with tires, rims and sliders (I'm already sick of the stock steps) for the time being.

I'm not sure that I'll ever have the gannas to take my LC to MOAB or on some of the trails I have seen you guys take your trucks on but I would like to have a truck that not only looks great but is fully capable offroad should the whim strike me to venture out. My ideas for a build are slowly evolving and I'm taking tons of notes from everyone's threads I'm reading. This forum is full of great ideas and fantastic trucks.

Thanks for any opinions guys.

John
 
To support additional weight, you're really talking about springs...and springs aren't very expensive relative to other suspension components. I'm quite heavy with my Slee rear, 35" tire, jack and fuel in back...plus heavy, FULL drawers. So...I'm running the 2724 springs from OME/ARB. A more typical rear swing out bumper often lands people on the 2723 rear springs. These rears are about $280...so not a bank-breaker.

If you don't wanna spend a ton on shocks, the OME (Old Man Emu, now owned by ARB) basic setup works VERY well, and you can do that full setup (shocks, springs, UCA) for less than $2k including front upper control arms.

The Slee rear is (I believe) about 260lbs without tire, jack, fuel. That is heavier than most because it's built like a tank...but usually either a 2723 or 2724 will handle the weight.
 
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Excellent information. I'll start looking into these part numbers and logging them in my parts list.

Thank you for the quick response.
 
John Albert said:
I'm ready for the "new" to wear off this truck. Lots of fun things in its future. Thanks again Markuson!
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Yes! :hillbilly:

Even if someone isn't into crazy (or even mild) wheeling...the suspension upgrade will absolutely improve the handling/ride of your truck. I personally think it's THE upgrade to do on just about any Cruiser--even mall cruisers...since the stock suspension tends to be so bouncy and far less settled.
 
TonyP said:
If "someone" wants to hook me up with some cheap pre-revision BPs. I'll give you a good deal on my setup.
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I know someone has a bunch of them collecting dust
 
TonyP said:
Oh really? Who would this be? And how would I go about getting them?
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Yeah, they probably wouldn't let anyone have them though. It's Anthony Ronald Brown's company up in the PNW.


My guess is that ARB would have had all the warranty ones sent back to them for rebuild or destruction. Hence a box full of them collecting dust.
 
I tried it...installing the front and rear ARB bumpers on my stock suspension. Driving it from the shop I put it straight in the garage and called Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters. It rode/handled that bad. I'm very happy with the basic OME setup with UCA's.
 
Thank you Haggis. I'm seeing the hand writing on the wall as I want the bumpers. Gonna have to put a little more into the piggy bank but I'll get there sooner or later. Might need a bigger piggy bank though.
 
Here's my Dallas grocery getter/apocalyptic SHTF rig now rolling on Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Love the tires.

F350.webp
 
We have 2722s on the rear of our truck now, with Slee's bumper, a RW+285/70/17, and gas/water hanging off the back, and I think it rides nicely. 2723s or 2724s might be overkill if you're not putting another 800 lbs of shelves and SHTF gear in the back to drive around with every day. :)
 
Haggis said:
I tried it...installing the front and rear ARB bumpers on my stock suspension. Driving it from the shop I put it straight in the garage and called Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters. It rode/handled that bad. I'm very happy with the basic OME setup with UCA's.
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What is the basic one setup needed for a front replacement bumper?
 
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