[theksmith]

An aluminum bumper AND winch for $1200? Is it just a bar of aluminum?

The Pronghorn bumper i’m looking at is $1400 all by itself.

well the Pronghorn are some of the fanciest bumpers out there!

i'm going more minimalist. i was looking for a stubby aluminum bumper with sunken winch mount and kept going back and forth on whether i wanted a low-profile hoop or not.

ended up ordering the Crawler Conceptz Ultimate Series Aluminum JK Front Bumper from Northridge for $699, with free shipping. i really liked how they hide the d-ring brackets and mounting bolts behind the shell.




also strongly considered the VKS Shorty V3 Winch Bumper (with the low hoop), but their site says they don't know if it works with the Rubicon electronic sway bar disconnect or not and they didn't answer me when i contacted them.

i originally liked the Genright Ultra Clearance JK Stubby, but they cost a bit more and i prefer the additional angles/styling on the one i ordered.

the only all-steel one i considered was the Rough Country Hybrid Stubby because it's very light and cheap! however, after looking at it from some different angles i thought it just looked too unfinished.

[theksmith]

winch came in: https://offroadpassport.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5591

[theksmith]

the bumper came in yesterday. still working on the install, but so excited!

write-up here: https://offroadpassport.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5593


a quick test-fit:

[scottL]

Dude!
Nice n shiny.. I like. When are you going to paint it black?

[theksmith]

Dude!
Nice n shiny.. I like. When are you going to paint it black?

thanks, working on the paint - first coat done!

[theksmith]

the bumper & winch install is complete, write-up and more photos here: https://offroadpassport.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5593

[theksmith]

FYI, i'm stopping by the Coffee & Crawlers meet-n-greet in Tempe tomorrow morning. anyone else?

more info on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/583645072096235/

or if you don't do FB: https://www.meetup.com/Coffee-Crawle.../hkrxfpyzdbmb/

[theksmith]

last weekend a few of us explored routes from near Lake Pleasant to the Boulders OHV area.

here are some photos i stole from Sarah (Kaspily)...


the first route involved some rock crawling that was a little harder than expected, i'm going go with Milli Vanilli and blame it on the rain!





my new bumper wasn't on yet, but i did bolt up one of the D-ring mounts beforehand so i would at least have a front tow-point!



after seeing Gadget squirm around in that pile of rocks, no-one else wanted to try so we continued up Morgan City wash to another route, with a quick stop at Tule Spring.



the trail we ended up taking over to the Boulders was just easy rolling hills and then some washes, but the weather made for nice photos.



we tooled around on some of the OHV area loops and tackled the few minor obstacles in the area.

me: "you're fine"
Bradywgn71: "what about my door?"
me: "oh, that! ...ok, back it out! "



thanks for taking photos Sarah!

[theksmith]

Gadget and i did some 'sploring Saturday (scouting for an upcoming run)...

[theksmith]

bye bye front "crashbar", hello Expedition One Rubi Skid! details in the bumper install thread here...