SLEE 200 Bumper Photos...! *UPDATE!*

[Romer]

I have the ARB Rear Bumper. I went with the ARB only because Slee wasn't ready and I knew I would damage my rear bumper and who knows what else

The ARB rear section is beefy, the tow hooks stick down making more places to drag.

The wings are bolt on and one of mine bent up, I was able to bend it back down

I also got a hole in one of the wings from my recent Moab trip in the rear of the wing where it is better supported

The ARB Rear bumper takes a day and a half to install and that is by a professional. That adds a lot of labor and/or time to your own install

I have had Slee bumpers on my 80 and 100 and they are great bumpers and hold up to a lot of abuse

I would go Slee today and feel I was coming out ahead financially with a better bumper and less install time.

Christo built several prototypes and tested it for a long time. The attachment points on a 200 are not easy and he doesn't let products go until he is sure it is right. That R&D costs money. A one off doesn't have that R&D and may or may not run into problems Christo was trying to avoid

I would prefer a product that was well designed and tested on my 200.

 

[steenh]

If I remember right, the 100 series dual swing out was around $3k 7-8 years ago. I had both the single and dual on my 100 and anything Slee builds is "worth" the money... you just have to decide if you want to spend it or not. I couldn't (or wouldn't) wait as I've had my bumper for 19 months now, but if I were in the same place today and looking to buy, I'd buy the Slee. Solid best in class products, great guy, super supporter of our community etc...

 

[TeCKis300]

Agreed with all the above posts. R&D takes time and effort, with the product getting refined over each prototype iteration. With a complex setup of the 200-series, any one off custom bumper is likely to have ergonomic, structural, aesthetic or other issues that one can't foresee until it's already forged in steel. By which time it's too late to change. Is the potential time and frustration worth the cost savings? It's up to the individual to the decide.

 

[Billfish]

..... No center mount config and no definitive solution for the rear camera which is something I use daily since it's my DD and kid hauler too. Love how much view and how clean the camera view is on @Willy beamin setup. For this kind of money I just don't feel the need to compromise.....

Here is a pretty good reversing camera relocation solution for those looking for one: relocating to underside of rear spoiler. Makes for a better view than stock and reasonable easy to route wiring. Besides a few the mounting clips the spoiler is affixed to the body with double sided tape so cutting with thin wire or even a cable tie is straight forward.

 

[Markuson]

Here is a pretty good reversing camera relocation solution for those looking for one: relocating to underside of rear spoiler. Makes for a better view than stock and reasonable easy to route wiring. Besides a few the mounting clips the spoiler is affixed to the body with double sided tape so cutting with thin wire or even a cable tie is straight forward.

Great location and view! Thanks for posting.
I wonder if there's a way to mount it WITHIN the spoiler so just the camera protrudes...?

 

[sleeoffroad]

Just to address price, we set out to build the bumper we wanted with no compromises. We also set out to address feedback on latching, pins, simplicity of use etc. This meant we had to design a latch from scratch and produce it. There was no way we could achieve that at the roughly $35 price point of a De-StaCo latch. The latch is a all new aluminum machined part. At the quantities we have to do them, it is not a cheap exercise but we felt it had to be done.

We also wanted to address park sensors. There is no commercially available rear bumper for the 200 currently that does not require you to drill / hog out the holes for the park sensors. For those that have not done this, the hole is not a simple round hole. They are weird shapes for different park sensors. This meant developing grommets that would work for a standard hole and currently 3D printing them at low volume to accommodate this.

The there are issues with blocking tail lights, and also reverse lights. This meant adding about $250 worth of LED lights to the bumper.

One criticism of our other bumpers was also the pin configurations. We have addresses this with adding gas struts, and also changing how we engage the pins on the bumper so that we still have a safety built in if a latch should fail. Again this added costs.

As for the camera relocate, we have a bracket already that can be sandwiched on the tire mount and then the camera is in the center of the tire. That will obviously address the mounting, the relocating, wiring etc is still a pretty big job and outside of what most DIY people feel comfortable doing. Then there is the issue with the systems with the lines and the calibration of that vs. moving the camera.

That coupled with the shear number of pieces in the sheet metal parts drove the price up. We had to go to a very complex mounting system to ensure strength but still offer a direct bolt on bumper. One of the main things between a custom one off vs. bumpers that are shipped to customers is the adjustment that needs to be built into the product to cover variations between trucks.

The exploded photo posted earlier was meant to show what is really involved with the bumper. We would have loved to bring this bumper to market sub $3k but it just was not possible. Also, on our 80 and 100 bumpers the pricing has stayed pretty constant for about 10 years. We have absorbed numerous production increases, upgraded the coating process and refined the product without raising the price.

I am pretty sure when we re-address those in the coming year, the prices will probably going up as well.

 

[sleeoffroad]

Btw how does one use the ladder with Jerry cans or other mounted there? For those with a ladder, how often do you use? Is it that much easier than standing on rear wheel or bottom tail lid? Just seems like extra weight and cost, unless the ladder is really just something to mount stuff to?

The Rotopax's can be double stacked on our Rotopax holder that can swing out and still leave the ladder usable.

 

[Markuson]

The Rotopax's can be double stacked on our Rotopax holder that can swing out and still leave the ladder usable.

Nice. Curious...as I've never seen that hinged Rotopax mount.

What is the maximum fuel capacity? Would that be two sandwiched, 4-gallon, tall "cans"? or two connected smaller units?

 

[sleeoffroad]

You can run two 4 gallon cans.

 

[M1911]

It's costly for sure.
For me, though, it adds up to the right product--and I HATE buying twice.

Buy-twice Example: My ARB skids are not going to hold up the beating I intend to give them, so I'm soon replacing them at 2x their cost for a *massive strength increase* underneath. I'm not a wealthy guy & will have to save a bit (maybe forego the 75" inch TV a little longer), but for me, it's worth it if it avoids even more expensive damage & enables tougher trails.

What skids are you going with?

 

[Willy beamin]

@sleeoffroad nice looking bumper.

What skids are you going with?

I would imagine Budbuilt seeing how they have been beat on and documented by @Taco2Cruiser on here lately. I could be wrong but I bet I'm not!

 

[Markuson]

@sleeoffroad nice looking bumper.

I would imagine Budbuilt seeing how they have been beat on and documented by @Taco2Cruiser on here lately. I could be wrong but I bet I'm not!

DING!

Your cigar, sir...

 

[Romer]

Christo, Hypothetically if someone had say an ARB bumper installed and the rear was trimmed for it, would that "trim job" work if they swapped it out for a Slee Bumper? Hypothetically of course

 

[Rigger]

Yes. Hypothetically.

 

[John E Davies]

Having a newly acquired, stock 200, I am following this thread with great interest, but no real plans to invest. However, this is for Christo:

If I rip off my rear cover, could I order just the 200 Slee bumper, with none of the swing outs? That way I could add carriers as needed in the future. Any idea on the cost?

I use my 200 as a tow vehicle and do not want to mod it excessively. I couldn't open a swing out anyway, since it has a generator tray mounted on top of the tongue.... tho I could replace the coupler for clearance.

Also, is the factory receiver retained? I need the full rated tow capacity, tho additional height would be good. My trailer is 7000 lbs fully laden.

I gotta say, I think all the Slee products are terrific.

Thanks,

John Davies
Spokane WA

 

[brasskey]

Having a newly acquired, stock 200, I am following this thread with great interest, but no real plans to invest. However, this is for Christo:

If I rip off my rear cover, could I order just the 200 Slee bumper, with none of the swing outs? That way I could add carriers as needed in the future. Any idea on the cost?

I use my 200 as a tow vehicle and do not want to mod it excessively. I couldn't open a swing out anyway, since it has a generator tray mounted on top of the tongue.... tho I could replace the coupler for clearance.

Also, is the factory receiver retained? I need the full rated tow capacity, tho additional height would be good. My trailer is 7000 lbs fully laden.

I gotta say, I think all the Slee products are terrific.

Thanks,

John Davies
Spokane WA

Slee only offers one bumper as seen with swingouts. @codyaustin5 has a custom Trail Taylor with no swingouts and ARB makes a stock one without swingouts.

 

[txtortoise]

Factory receiver is retained.

 

[TonyP]

Slee only offers one bumper as seen with swingouts. @Canyonero has a custom Trail Taylor with no swingouts and ARB makes a stock one without swingouts.

That's @codyaustin5 with the no swingout trail tailor bumper.

 

[brasskey]

That's @codyaustin5 with the no swingout trail tailor bumper.

Fixed! Thanks. Had a brain fart as I was thinking of the ARB on @Canyonero and the rear bumper on @codyaustin5

 

[RS6tofj80]

I can't express how impressed I am with the design and details on my new to me, Slee rear..... fromthe latch to the camm-ed lockdown setup , to the lighting and license plate light all the details are better then expected....

now we need to petition for a real Slee front bumper.......