Sent them an email to see whats up...
HEFTY Fabworks Rear Bumper Wings!
- Thread starter ardentyota
- Start date
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Spoke with Brandon today he says they might try to fit some production in he is going to talk with Mark and get back to me.
sailor
Jackass of all trades
maybe the local 'mud geniuses will stop beaking off about price this time. I could use these things...
I am not so into the tube thing- love a set of the original wings as shown in this thread.
A lot of people liked them until they saw the price. A grand + with swingouts could be put towards a nice bumper, not just wings.
sailor
Jackass of all trades
Funny thing about price. If you don't think it is a good value, don't pursue it. Think about not pissing all over a vendor who is bringing the community a new product. The wings appeal to those who want light weight protection for the 80's big rump. Many don't give a damn about the swing outs and don't have the time, facilities or skill to assemble and weld their own kit bumper.
How exactly is this light weight? You're adding about 2/3rds the weight of a 4x4 Labs bumper...without removing any (significant) amount of weight.
Bet you dollars to doughnuts that a 4x4 Labs bumper comes out ahead in every category, except ease to install.
sailor
Jackass of all trades
1) It is lighter because it is not as heavy as a full bumper.
2) It is bolt on
3) You can install it yourself in the single tiny parking space of your apartment, in about an hour.
4) You don't need a welder, skills, or have to sell your ass to a welder with skills.
5) it is a good option if it fits your needs.
6) Dont need no swing outs. Didn't your 80 come with a factory spare swing out?
7) my departure angle is good enough.
8) nice to have some different options available...
2) It is bolt on
3) You can install it yourself in the single tiny parking space of your apartment, in about an hour.
4) You don't need a welder, skills, or have to sell your ass to a welder with skills.
5) it is a good option if it fits your needs.
6) Dont need no swing outs. Didn't your 80 come with a factory spare swing out?
7) my departure angle is good enough.
8) nice to have some different options available...
I have the wings on my cruiser. You are wrong on all, you will need to weld, the bolts are hard as he'll to get to and even bolted down they will flex into your body. The swing out are not sturdy and cause both side to wobble going down the road. They are great for dd and easy wheeling but don't expect to have a rock solid bumper. You have to cut part of frame to get hands and nuts in. I welded because it was so flimsy. I can grab it by hand and move it at least an inch. I'm gonna turn the wings into complete bumper too make stout. Just my two cents. Everyone seems to be an expert but nobody has them, I'm in kansas city if you'd like to see on person.
You can see in the horrible pics the hole I had to cut in frame. Also you have to force the flares on. Once bolted down I could get completely level. Not trying to bash hefty. It's built well it just doesn't have enough bracing.
Also it's only 20 to 30lbs lighter then a full bumper, if you have the dual swing out option.
sailor
Jackass of all trades
Good Info from actual service.
True it's not quite as heavy as a full bumper, but we're really only talking about a few pounds difference here. You have 2/3rds to 3/4ths the weight of a full bumper (not including swing outs, which just make that percentage drop even further), making the weight savings marginal at best (in other words, you ain't gonna notice it). You're unlikely to be using lighter springs to maintain the same lift, for example, the weight savings is so minimal.
Lets compare the wings to a full bumper (Slee, ARB, etc).
1) It's only a few pounds heavier.
2) It is bolt on
3) You can install it yourself in the single tiny parking space of your apartment, in about an hour.
4) You don't need a welder, skills, or have to sell your ass to a welder with skills.
5) it is a good option if it fits your needs.
6) Dont need no swing outs. Didn't your 80 come with a factory spare swing out?
7) my departure angle is good enough.
8) nice to have some different options available.
Except for #1, the list is the exact same.
Lets compare to the 4x4 Labs bumper.
1) The 4x4 Labs bumper is lighter because you cut off a bunch of stuff.
2) It is bolt on, after 10 minutes with a sawzall.
3) You can install it yourself in the single tiny parking space of your apartment, in about an hour.
4) You don't need a welder, skills, or have to sell your ass to a welder with skills.
5) it is a good option if it fits your needs.
6) Dont need no swing outs. Didn't your 80 come with a factory spare swing out?
7) my departure angle is even better.
8) nice to have some different options available.
So 1 and 2 are different.
Price difference (which you don't mention) isn't that much, the wings are only a couple hundred bucks less than a full bumper making the savings also marginal. I'm all for saving money, just not sure the saving is significant?
I think these wings are a cool idea, but they are one of those ideas that are cool on paper, but just don't execute well. The fact that Hefty stopped selling them due to lack of interest backs that up, Luke OTOH can't keep his bumpers in stock (literally, every time I've spoken to him there's a waiting list for more).
The market will bear out whether an idea (or rather, the execution of an idea) is good or not. In this case, it didn't.
Now, all that being said, come up with a wing design that's around $600 with swing outs and you'll have something that'd sell quite well. It won't be quarter inch beefy goodness (as the original Hefty wings seemed to be), but I'd be willing to bet you'd have a lot bigger market. The problem is that your design becomes 100x more difficult, and they'll never sell enough units to pay for the expense of the design. Hefty's in business to make money, not a hobbyist looking to break even.
I'd the wings were light duty with a swing out and came in at 500-600 then it would make a ton of sense. The 1/4 plate over built plan was wrong on all accounts. People buying just wings are looking for a simple inexpensive way to get a swing out tire carrier on the back nothing else. (well and maybe the look?) If this was done at a reasonable price it would sell.
If you want real 1/4 panel protection and heavy skid protection and better angles get a bumper and be prepared to pay for it.
If you want real 1/4 panel protection and heavy skid protection and better angles get a bumper and be prepared to pay for it.
Hasn't been my experience at all. Granted I didn't install them, as Chris is local and put them on for me. But no holes cut to get it mounted, no problems with the flares and no play. I've dropped the back corner onto rocks, and recently got tagged on the back corner when somebody ran a red light and still no deformation or play.
I'm very happy with mine, for about 2/3 the cost of a Slee bumper & tire carrier.
That's probably true about not cutting frame if your hands are the size of an infant. I've dropped corner also and it hit the body plus you can grab the tire and shake the entire wing. 1/4 in o font thinks so or at least not my it 3/16 all the way. Maybe I got a proto type or something cause if you look at my pics it differs from I've seen in this thread. I dropped the rear on some boulders and it bent the plate 45 degrees under the truck. I've even welded portions to the frame. I'm an overkill guy, I like to smash into rocks and not see a thing. That's how I build my bumpers. Ask floridasurfer how he likes my tube bumper he bought. Who knows why mine moves and yours doesn't. All I can speak for is what I have. I would love a second opinion so you guys don't think I'm full of it.
I should add that mine came with the truck when I bought it otherwise I would have just made one. Here's my front I'm currently building.
