KC9UWZ

I've decided to bite the bullet after this winter and upgrade my front bumper on my 98 XJ to a winch bumper. My two options are either a Rusty's Off Road trail bumper or Rough Country's offering. Anyone here installed one of Rusty's trail bumpers? If so how hard are they to install and how's the room for the winch?

The Rough Country doesn't seem that hard to install but the price for the bumper and then all the extra options is a bit high for my preference (of course I wouldn't be driving a Jeep if price deterred me from mods)

wiggles

Keep looking, those two are close to the bottom.. look at nates4x4, jcroffroad... tons of options

KnightSRT

Agreed. My 96 XJ I bought the RC with a few attachments and I thought it was a good deal at the time. By the time with shipping I could of got something nice from JCR who I just got rock sliders through for my 01xj. Quality is bar none and free shipping!

andrewmp6

Have you looked http://www.seriousoffroadproducts.co...th-Winch-Plate the bull bar is 95 bucks more.

Fred/N0AZZ

I have a Rustys winch tube bumper/with hoop and a 9,5 winch on it no problems and built just fine. I bought it used of craigslist for $40 and I don't know how old it was then but I had to paint it.

Here is another bumper to look at that is very impressive and as far as build goes umpressive. I have one of his rear HD swing out tire carrier's and it makes a lot of the others look like something that should be on a Mall Cruiser. The rear was $600 shipped powdered coated with all the extras included.

His front Crawler winch bumper is $395 shipped and all his bumpers have a lifetime warranty.


patrick@roxolidtrailarmor.com

KC9UWZ

Thanks for the input guys, I never heard of some of the manufactures suggested.

Another question for you guys, what do you mean that the bumpers are lower quality? From what I can see on the interwebs the bumpers seem to be similar in quality from specs. Am I missing something in the reading that has to be seen in person?

wiggles

Rusty's is known for issues with welding, rc is a oversized bolt together contraption.

helmut

I dont know where in Illinois you are but there is a local vendor on here in the north suburbs of Chicago. ARES fab. BTW the rc bumper is by far the worst thing I have ever seen. Go to the vendor section here and type in bumper. Then see if RC or Rusty is still on top of your list.

KC9UWZ

Helnut If you know where Joliet is I'm just south of it. And now Rusty's and RC are shoved from the list all together. The only reason I was considering RC is because I have their lift kit on my Cherokee

helmut

Ares Fab are somwhere by Schaumburg I think. If you dont like their stuff or prices just find something else online. There are plenty of options.

Here is a link. Their first bumper without tubing is 450.
http://aresfabrication.com/?page_id=165

KC9UWZ

Ok, another question, hate to ask this because it seems like a stupid question but need to know

What size bolts do I need for a new Roxolid fab bumper? I never got any and I'm going to run up to fastenall and get bolts and nylock nuts, obviously grade 8 but are they 9/16?

Stiffy

Here is mine with the prerunner... probably the only image on the internet of one installed, the winch tucks up there real nice.

Phoenixashes

looks pretty decent! can you snag a pic of how it bolts up? I'm pondering getting it but wondering if it ties in the same way their other bumpers do...

Fred/N0AZZ

On my bumper from him all the hardware came with it. Patrick is a nice guy and his bumpers are built very well. But my Rustys winch bumper had held up very well also and winched out a 3/4 ton PU a couple of weeks ago that was buried in the mud. In fact I had to use a ****** block and bring the cable back to my Jeep to get it out a hard pull it was. The bumper still on there so I guess the welds were OK. If something would happen to this bumper I would buy a Roxolid because of the strength of the rear bumper I have.

Here is a pic of my bumper

Michael75

What Kind Of Winch Are You Using?