Strong bumpers

TNC · Post by **TNC** » Wed Mar 19, 2003 11:24 pm

The bumpers on our trucks are tough... I was rearend by a minivan...

only $1000 worth of damage... all labor to fix the bent frame

She hit my receiver hitch dead on...

wish I would have had the hitch in...

but needless to say the bumber is fine with the exception of scratches on the plastic covers. Lucky for me they set me up with a Z71 Silverado rental... HMMMM wonder what I'll be doing this week

Steven · Post by **Steven** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 6:32 am

Oh my... I love my Silverado... enjoy!

Justin · Post by **Justin** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 6:36 am

was it the rear bumper? I have been trying to sell mine..I'd sell it to a fellow cc owner for cheap

Conman · Post by **Conman** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 7:07 am

Our trucks are not so strong(one reason we have good flex though). I would not really worry about 1k in repairs. IIS say 800bucks for a 5mph crash is average. so this person had to hit you at a faster rate.

Cheers,

Con

TNC · Post by **TNC** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 10:26 am

Conman wrote:Our trucks are not so strong(one reason we have good flex though). I would not really worry about 1k in repairs. IIS say 800bucks for a 5mph crash is average. so this person had to hit you at a faster rate.

Cheers,

Con

Thanks, not really woried about the repairs. Just alittle upset that it happened. I was stopped and she was going ~10mph. Direct hit on the reciever, which tweeked the frame and hitch, not the bumber mounts or tailgate, which I was supprised about.

As for buying the used bumper thanks but no thanks... Anything else???

Todd

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 4:13 pm

I'd really hate to test out our front bumpers though. I've already got some small dents. They are like tin cans, but the rear is very strong.

Check these out: http://www.aedofab.com/prod_chevy/set.htm

AZS10Crew · Post by **AZS10Crew** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 5:37 pm

That rear bumper on there is sweet! It even wraps around the fender to protect that. Pretty nice!

seapahn · Post by **seapahn** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 6:47 pm

AZS10Crew wrote:That rear bumper on there is sweet! It even wraps around the fender to protect that. Pretty nice!

I saw that bumper perform up close and personal in Moab last year. That's Steve Smith's truck from zr2.com ... the rear bumper is VERY nicely built and it seems to be very tough. The shape is also such that you would slide nicely off of rocks as opposed to having something catch on and tear the bumper off.

a2b · Post by **a2b** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 8:18 pm

seapahn wrote:
AZS10Crew wrote:That rear bumper on there is sweet! It even wraps around the fender to protect that. Pretty nice!

I saw that bumper perform up close and personal in Moab last year. That's Steve Smith's truck from zr2.com ... the rear bumper is VERY nicely built and it seems to be very tough. The shape is also such that you would slide nicely off of rocks as opposed to having something catch on and tear the bumper off.

i have seen a s-10 bumper with the ball mounted on the stock bumper pull a double axel flat bed with a 4k car on top of it. it did just fine. like they said, you are in more danger of bending the frame than breaking the bumper. if you notice the bottom of the bumper has a major peice of steel in it

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 12:23 pm

quickbiker wrote:I'd really hate to test out our front bumpers though. I've already got some small dents. They are like tin cans, but the rear is very strong.

Check these out: http://www.aedofab.com/prod_chevy/set.htm

I decided to find out just how strong the front bumper is. No I didn't go and run into anything! I just took it off (only 6 bolts). That plastic piece that goes below the bumper (air dam, spoiler, whatever you call it) hides just how small that front bumper really is. Plus I found mine got extremely flimsy once I got it unbolted from the truck. You can twist it fairly easily with your hands. The experience didn't leave me feeling too good about ever running into anything with it. I went out and ordered a steel front push bar and grill guard from the local truck and 4x4 shop. Better than nothing! I wish ARB would reconsider making a bull bar for our trucks.

seapahn · Post by **seapahn** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 4:33 pm

Just something to keep in mind about stock bumpers is that a lot of thought, design, and testing goes into them. They are often designed to crumple and crush upon impact absorbing the forces as opposed to staying solid and transfering ALL the forces into the rest of the truck and it's occupants. This is a lot more than can be said about "aftermarket" things that some guy with access to some machines and a welder put together in his shop!!!

So all I am trying to say is that just because the bumper feels flimsy, doesn't mean it will do worse than a solid thick piece of steel. It may actually do better ... assuming preventing injuries is more important than keeping the truck in one piece.

Of course then a 5 MPH bump may leave you with an expensive repair bill

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 4:49 pm

Oh, I understand the part about "crush zones", etc. I'm talking about minor impacts like accidently bumping a tree or rock when you get a little loose on the trail.

Funny thing about the 5 mph damage thing. I remember reading about a couple of the newer SUV's doing very poorly in the 5 mph tests. I think it was the Jeep Liberty that chalked up something like $7000 damage to the front end in the 5 mph bumper tests. Wow! I think second place went to the Mitsubishi Montero Sport with over $5000 damage.

a2b · Post by **a2b** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:33 pm

yes the front bumper i have had off the truck many of times. its been hit and hit again and then twisted up a few times. its pretty flimsy. i am going to take it off and then build a pre runner bar

seapahn · Post by **seapahn** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 7:42 pm

a2b wrote:yes the front bumper i have had off the truck many of times. its been hit and hit again and then twisted up a few times. its pretty flimsy. i am going to take it off and then build a pre runner bar

I don't know hobie dude. The kind of stuff you do to your bumper, even if it were made of titanium I don't think it would last

I just remembered that night when the lights on your light bar were lighting the peaks of the hills around the Martinez Canyon cause they were so crooked after the "firehole" incidnet ... my brother and I were LAUGHING our asses off in the blazer thinking how you could be blinding some aircraft pilots

a2b · Post by **a2b** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 10:31 pm

seapahn wrote:
a2b wrote:yes the front bumper i have had off the truck many of times. its been hit and hit again and then twisted up a few times. its pretty flimsy. i am going to take it off and then build a pre runner bar

I don't know hobie dude. The kind of stuff you do to your bumper, even if it were made of titanium I don't think it would last I just remembered that night when the lights on your light bar were lighting the peaks of the hills around the Martinez Canyon cause they were so crooked after the "firehole" incidnet ... my brother and I were LAUGHING our asses off in the blazer thinking how you could be blinding some aircraft pilots

uh

i did that on purpose

i was spotlighting birds but with no gun

SlickDaddy · Post by **SlickDaddy** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 9:36 am

i was at the home depot last week and a guy in a green dodge ram backed into the front of my truck. luckily i added the push bar or he would have put his hitch right through my front bumper cover.

i have pics of everything if anyone is interested. btw - he left the seen and is now wanted for leaving the scene and not producing an accident report which suspends his license, so hes driving on a suspended one now. i have to sue him to get the damage to my push bar fixed though.

Here is his how close his ball is after he parked in front of my truck! And he's denying it!!!

Conman · Post by **Conman** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 9:47 am

SlickDaddy wrote:i was at the home depot last week and a guy in a green dodge ram backed into the front of my truck. luckily i added the push bar or he would have put his hitch right through my front bumper cover.

i have pics of everything if anyone is interested. btw - he left the seen and is now wanted for leaving the scene and not producing an accident report which suspends his license, so hes driving on a suspended one now. i have to sue him to get the damage to my push bar fixed though.

Here is his how close his ball is after he parked in front of my truck! And he's denying it!!!

Go get him!

I hate people who think parking lot dings is not damage! When you want to sell your vehicle, those dings detract from the resale value.

I added this to protect the rear bumper and spare tire:

Rocker bars

Made the looong addy a link-HJ

Con

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 12:21 pm

SlickDaddy wrote:i was at the home depot last week and a guy in a green dodge ram backed into the front of my truck. luckily i added the push bar or he would have put his hitch right through my front bumper cover.

i have pics of everything if anyone is interested. btw - he left the seen and is now wanted for leaving the scene and not producing an accident report which suspends his license, so hes driving on a suspended one now. i have to sue him to get the damage to my push bar fixed though.

Here is his how close his ball is after he parked in front of my truck! And he's denying it!!!

I'm not sure how it works in Illinois but, if I were you I'd call my insurance provider. That's what you pay them for. They'll pay for the damage to your vehicle and then they'll get him or his insurance provider to pay them. Yes, you'll need to pay your deductible but, chances are very good that you'll get at least half if not all of it back once your insurance company settles the case.

The fact that he left the scene and his license is suspended is really irrelevant. You're not going to get paid for his motor vehicle violations. Sure there's a bit of personal satisfaction in know that he's being prosecuted but, that's about it. The wrong way to handle this is to wait for the police to track this guy down and issue him summons.

Call your insurance provider today. Report the damage. They'll either send out an adjuster or have you take the truck to an authorized shop to assess the damage. It doesn't take long. You'll get a check for the amount of the repairs (minus your deductible of course) in a week or so.