DCox

This has been a little delayed as I've now had the bumper for a while. I wanted to wait till I had the winch and tested it out a little bit. I was a bit concerned with the thickness of the steel as the whole bumper is made out of 1/8" steel and winch plate is 3/16" just slightly thinner than the normal 1/4". Had some conversations with Goliath XJ on here as he is the one who makes the bumper and he assured they had tested the bumper and had no issues with structural integrity. At $350 shipped to my door I decided to go ahead and buy it. It ships bare metal at that price with no bull bar, so when it arrived I lightly sanded, cleaned, primed and painted and it turned out great. Install was a breeze and the clearance and approach angle are pretty great as well. I installed a smittybilt 8k winch I managed to grab off craigslist from a guy who didn't know if it worked(it was missing the controller) for $50! Wired the winch to in cab controls following Bleepin Jeeps instructions for $25 and have a great working winch! I've used the winch twice, once to pull a root ball out of the ground at my in laws and once to pull an 18" diameter pine tree out of a trail it had fallen across. So far the bumper is holding up great and I'm very happy with the purchase. I'll update if I ever have any issues down the road. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

Martlor13

I mean it looks nice and all, but you havent exactly put it through its paces haha. I do like the design. Do keep us all posted

DCox

You are correct sir, it hasn't been used for recovery purposes or been bashed yet. Although the root ball it pulled out probably would be the equivalent of a moderate self recovery. Like I said I will update if I ever have any issues, but as of right now I am happy with it.

MWMahoneyJr

Thanks for the update, and keep us posted. Me likey the angles. It's probably a lot lighter than a lot of other bumpers, too.

DCox

I think it was 47lb bare weight. Its also about as close to the grill as you can get and still fit a winch. The winch I put on has about 1/2cm clearance between it and the grill. If you wanted to beef up the winch mount you could always add some reinforcement under the bumper to tie the mounting points together.

peligro113

Thanks for the review I like the look of that bumper, hopefully you update us on how it holds up.

SteveMongr

I am impressed with the products from Goliath 4x4. They make original parts for the WJ also. I bought the shackle tabs that mount to frame-rails and replace factory tow hooks. Well made, direct fit, good price.

DCox

Nice, your jeep is looking good. I like the roof rack, where did you pick that up? I'm trying to figure out what I want to do for a rack. B. Lee used to make a sweet rack, but they no longer make it. I reached out and they said they're considering bringing it back. I'd love to get that one if I can, but I like the full length rack you have here.

SteveMongr

Thanks, that rack is ROLA brand with center extension. Paid $150 for it. Would not be compatible with gutter mounts on the XJ because rack is too narrow. But could be used with factory rails and cross-bars.
On my Xj I had Nates4x4 rack. 48"x 72"

DCox

Ah thanks for that tidbit of info, I'm wanting to run gutter mounts so I'll take a look at the Nates.

WyoCherokee

What was the turn around time from the day you ordered, to the day it was on your doorstep?

DCox

Ordered on a Friday, it shipped Monday(ships from Mt Dora Florida so shipping time could vary a little depending on where you are) and arrived Friday afternoon. I was really happy with that turn around. Prepped it all and primed it Friday evening, got 3 coats of paint on it Saturday morning. Let it sit for about 10 hours and then installed it Saturday evening. Let it cure on the jeep in the sun for the next 2 days before driving and the paint's been pretty good so far. Just used some rustoleum rattle can self etching primer and flat black paint. I've run through small trees and had branches scrape it and no paint loss so far. Best part is if it does get scratched its super easy to touch up. I've heard great stuff on the tractor implement paint since I did this so I think when I do a rear bumper I'll try that out.

denverd1

looks good. have you reinforced the mounts? I managed to pull my bumper off the other day on a good self recovery pull. big winches mean a helluva lot of force on the flimsy unibody mounts. grab some plates and bolts add some reinforcement to yours. I'd trust 1/8" steel over the unibody any day.

DCox

The bumper comes with the 6 bolt unibody tie in mounts. They tie into the 3 original bumper mounting bolts plus 3 additional bolts further back. Not sure if I need additional reinforcement. Where would you recommend additional?

MWMahoneyJr

You have all the reinforcement you need. I think he was referring to a DIY version of the Unibody tie-ins you already have.