Picked up some goodies

[1loudLX]

$hit son, Its perfectly level to the little nipple bumper thingys on both sides and the way its bolted up and how tight all the bolts are there is no way in hell its going to hit!! But thanks for saying that, now I have to watch it.

the tightness of the bolts doesnt matter. Its when you get all twisted up offroad, the clearance between the bumper and body changes. And if you end up wacking the wing down on a rock, it could flex and bend up into your fender, more then a few people have had that happen. Usually on the older 98-02 bumper as it has much more flex and give then the newer 03.

If you ever feel like moving it away from the body, bodylift will take care of that. I mounted mine too close to the body and it was rubbing, but I planned on the BL anyways.

Heres some shots of my clearance and another truck for comparison.



BTW: I didnt mean to rain on your excitement, I'm just letting you know from my experience.

 

[JML403]

One of these days would you mind taking a measurement for me? I'll also take a closer picture of the side later because I think I have more clearance than the pictures above lead you to think. If not then I will wait and see what happens, either way I think id do a small body lift before I messed with the bumper.. haha

Loud- in that picture your arb flashers are upside down... White goes on the outside, that way theres 2 holes on the bottom so water can drain out in you take a swim!

 

[Trunk Monkey]

You'll be surprised how much the bar jiggles on the cradle. Since the entire side wings don't have any support that ties them back to the truck, they have more movement than you'd think. But, like you say, you can just watch it. If you hear some vibration, loosen things up and adjust down. Only issue may be if you've pinned the bar in place, you wouldn't be able to drop the whole thing, you might just have to tilt it back a hair.

 

[1loudLX]

Loud- in that picture your arb flashers are upside down... White goes on the outside, that way theres 2 holes on the bottom so water can drain out in you take a swim!

I put the PS one on the DS, so its mounted like yours just the signal on the outside.

You'll be surprised how much the bar jiggles on the cradle. Since the entire side wings don't have any support that ties them back to the truck, they have more movement than you'd think. But, like you say, you can just watch it. If you hear some vibration, loosen things up and adjust down. Only issue may be if you've pinned the bar in place, you wouldn't be able to drop the whole thing, you might just have to tilt it back a hair.

Trunk, you have the older one correct? The older ones flex a ton just by pulling on them, the 03 doesnt budge at all. They're mounted completely differently, the 03-07 seems much more solid. I assume its something to do with the winch mounting setups, with the 03-07 mounting to the bar and the older ones mounting to the cradle.

 

[pman]

Trunk, you have the older one correct? The older ones flex a ton just by pulling on them, the 03 doesnt budge at all. They're mounted completely differently, the 03-07 seems much more solid. I assume its something to do with the winch mounting setups, with the 03-07 mounting to the bar and the older ones mounting to the cradle.

Does this also apply to the sahara bars?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Trunk, you have the older one correct?

I do, the model specific for my year of truck. Had I known the new model bar would have fit, I might have tried to get it for the aux. lights, but I was already on a dirt cheap price mistake ordeal with 4WheelParts and didn't want to push my luck.

 

[1loudLX]

I do, the model specific for my year of truck. Had I known the new model bar would have fit, I might have tried to get it for the aux. lights, but I was already on a dirt cheap price mistake ordeal with 4WheelParts and didn't want to push my luck.

ya I remember, dirt cheap makes up for it thats for sure.

 

[JML403]

Does this also apply to the sahara bars?

Pman I looked at it and I see the Sahara bars only go up to a 9k pound winch and the combo bars can take up to a 12k lb winch. With that info I think the answer to your question would be yes. The Sahara bar does look great though! I like it a lot, I debated between the two for weeks but went with the combo because I found out the 03 would work...

 

[pman]

I know that, but heres what confuses me

Combo for 98-02 can take a 12k winch
Sahara for 98-02 can take a 9k winch

Combo for 03+ can take a 12k winch
Sahara for 03+ can take a 12k winch

I knew about the mounting differences, but always thought that the 98-02 mounting method was stronger, however loud says the 03+ is a stronger bumper overall. Is there an official thread that fully explains the pros and cons of each??

 

[JML403]

I couldnt find anything searching... If the 99-02 bumper mounts in a cradle and not to the bar like the 03 that says the bumper itself doesnt have the structural integrity to withstrand winching stress. If the 03 is straight to the bar it must have the strength. I am coming up with that without first hand experience though, I would like to see side by side comparison of the two bars to figure out one way or the other though. I just remembered I had read something about the 03 bar accepting high lift jacking and the 98 you cant. That seems significant to me as well.

 

[1loudLX]

SO tell me exactly what you want to see...Ive got a 99 with a 98-02 combo bumper and a 00 with a 03-07 combo bumper sitting next to eachother in my driveway.

Yes, the 03-07 has the highlift while the older oen doesnt


the older bar the winch mounts in a cradle, the newer it mounts to the bar

 

[JML403]

Well I'm no engineer so I wouldnt know exactly what to look for... Would a picture of the backsides and of the brackets that connect to the frame horns provide some insight? Maybe some big differences stand out, who knows. Hell, too late either way for myself haha. Maybe pman will start up a new thread on the strengths & weeknesses.

 

[hoser]

I know that, but heres what confuses me

Combo for 98-02 can take a 12k winch
Sahara for 98-02 can take a 9k winch

Combo for 03+ can take a 12k winch
Sahara for 03+ can take a 12k winch

I knew about the mounting differences, but always thought that the 98-02 mounting method was stronger, however loud says the 03+ is a stronger bumper overall. Is there an official thread that fully explains the pros and cons of each??

I think only the ARB engineers would know this answer. While winching, people have bent the accordion mounts on the newer bar and people have bent the cradle on the older bars.

The combo bar in general is stronger than the Sahara as it has the upper bar work actually passes through the top deck of the bumper, not just welded on the surface.