I'm working on a bumper for to be sold to the masses. Need your input. I can build a minimalistic style rock crawler bumper that will require you to remove the washer fluid tank or I can build a complete front bumper replacement that will allow the washer tank to stay. They both look & function good.


I've attached pictures of VERY crude design templates we are looking at. Please understand that the finished design angles and measurements will not be exactly like this. Just trying to give you a feel for the project.


Question #1 - Do we care about the washer tank?
Question #2 - Do we want the rock crawler style or full bumper style?
Question #3 - Should we offer both?


Thanks in advance for your input guys and gals

 

The pictures give the impression that the bumper results in a poor approach angle. If they are made of plate steel, they will either be heavy (3/16, 1/4") or vulnerable to damage (1/8") because they have large plates that hang low.

I am not a DII customer, so you may not want to take my opinion, but what I would set as a goal is to provide for winch mount that fits the winch farther back between the frame rails. The transmission cooler will have to be relocated, but it would improve things greatly over existing winch bumpers if the winch was fitted farther back. It is the only way to achieve a better approach angle without mounting the winch very high.

If you're not sure about the wings, you could make them customer-selectable: pronghorngear.com

For offroading, the best thing to have on the front corners of the vehicle is tire, not giant steel plates.

 

It will be made from 3/16. The skid plate you see will be tucked further underneath, and should do it's job. I personally would rather have a skid plate, than for rocks to hit the cross bar support. Again, this is why I'm asking these questions, and I appreciate the feedback. The bumper with the "wing" option would be more of a street/factory look option. neither of these has the winch option. The top of the winch bumper will look different and have a saddle low and in between the frame rails.

 

I think we'll do both the "bare bones" and full replacement options. It'll give everyone choices.

 

I know we are going off of a crude mock up, but that bumper looks large and ungainly. Almost like the lower jaw of a open mouth. Maybe the hood being up adds to the effect.

There is no flow with the lines of the truck or any real improvement over the plastic bumper. Along with that, all the steel in that is going to weigh a metric ton.

Approach angle looks compromised over the stock bumper or even the ARB. The addition of the bash plate is nice but needs to be refined. Try to keep it from looking like a plow.

Having a place to put the washer fluid bottle is nice and having that as a built in feature would be better than having to shell out for an additional kit. Anyone that says the washer bottle isn't needed has obviously never had their windshield coated in mud.

There is a segment of the market that looks be damned if it works and is cheap they are in.

Unfortunately I am not one of them. I would like a clean look with a brush guard integrated. Oh and a place for the washer fluid bottle

Look for the KVT discovery bumper for a good looking example.

 

Agree the washer bottle is required, not just for mud. Even on paved roads, the snow/salt/sand spray from a vehicle in front of you is blinding without functional washers. It's not practical to just stop and clean the windshield because the spray can be nearly constant.

 

Agreed. Thats why we sell a relocation kit that is suitable for instances such as those.

 

Let me first start by saying I applaud you for designing a bumper that doesnt look like many of the others on the market. Being as there is only 1 way to mount a bumper to this truck, there are not going to be many variations available to make so that in itself is limiting. With that being said, I sell anywhere from 3-10 bumpers for a D2 in a given week. I have never sold one that looks like this as I do not believe there would be much of a market for it. As Bill said, it is oversized and doesnt offer any more functionality over the stock bumper other than it is made of steel. And then theres the weight of all that steel. Then throw a winch on there and you will need a 3" spacer just to offset the damn thing. I also cant tell which one is minimalistic as they are both not.

Like I said, I applaud you for trying to reinvent the wheel, but Ive honestly never had anyone call me up and ask for something like that.

 

This is why we ask questions. I was never aware that there is a relocation kit for the washer tank (probably couldn't find it on the lucky 8 website)...Lol...Just kidding...no seriously, send me a link. What I'm trying to do is build a bumper that looks good, is functional, and doesn't cost a fortune. I've been in fabrication for years, just not with rovers, and they are awesome. If I'm hearing you right, you would much prefer the bumper without the skid plate? As I said earlier, Thanks much for the input! It's very helpful! We're gonna work on the design some more and get it in metal hopefully next week. I'll update then.

 

Also, under the factory mounting location is a round cross bar support between the frame rails. Your approach angle looks to end right there, which is what the skid plate will mount to. So, unless there is a way to remove that without harming the structure of the vehicle, my bumper won't hurt that angle at all. We are held back a little by factory design. Any thoughts?