Winch Bumper Recommendations?

I shot this video of the bumper and winch last week.

Buckstop Bumper Video

wintersun wrote:

BigToe wrote:

Mello Mike wrote:

wintersun wrote:
Be careful as these replacement bumpers can result in the air bags not activating in an accident. The airbags are usually activated by sensors behind the bumpers and designed to work in tandem with an impact. The people selling these bumpers are either not aware or not about to hurt their business by mentioning this aspect of the "upgrade".

That's a great point, Bruce. Thanks for bringing that up.

Mike

Before assuming there is a "sensor behind the bumper that activates the airbags", it might be useful to check the wiring diagrams and look behind the bumper itself. It is just as likely that there is nothing of the kind in that location or even general vicinity.

In the earliest days of airbags, sensors behind the bumper were common, but that was a quarter century ago. Neither my Ford nor my Chevy trucks have anything like that in the front, and they are both about a decade old now.

With bumpers and grilles removed, and factory wiring diagrams in hand, I was able to verify this.

I'm not saying that adding an aftermarket bumper won't have any effect on crash energy absorption and the load paths the impact takes throughout the rest of the vehicle in distributing that energy... but I am saying that the sensors that trigger airbags do not necessarily require a "direct" or "line of site" hit to activate, and therefore the sensors are not necessarily required to be behind the bumper.

And which auto manufacturer do you work for as an engineer?

The person who first brought up the subject was the fellow at the auto body shop when I was looking to replace a damaged front bumper with something stronger. The body shop has to be sure that their repairs do not prevent the airbags from working as a single accident where they did not work would put the shop out of business.

I had brush guards on my trucks up to the point of them coming with air bags. To me it is a matter of having repairable damage from hitting an animal with my vehicle or dying in an accident when the air bags do not deploy. For me it is a pretty easy decision.

Something that I see all the time when looking at trucks that sustained damage from hitting a large mammal is that most of the damage to the vehicle is at the windshield and this is where the accident can prove fatal to both the animal and the driver. I can't see where a heavy duty front bumper and grill guard are going to protect the driver and personally that is a lot more important than protecting my radiator and head lamps.

I think most people agree with the life saving value of airbags and the importance of maintaining their functionality, and most people put a higher value on saving their head, over a saving a headlight.

It doesn't require an automotive engineer or an autobody mechanic to loosen four bolts, which is all it takes to remove and replace a front bumper on many of these full size trucks. I've removed and replaced every component of my Super Duty's front end, from fan forward, including the radiator, transmission cooler, intercooler, headlights, radiator support, and yes, the bumper. Several times. With absolute confidence and considerable experience I can report that there is no air bag collision sensor anywhere near the four bolts that held the factory bumper to the front frame horn mounting flanges on my Super Duty.

YMMV.

-Kevin wrote:
Nice!
How do you like those lights?

They're bright. Very bright. They'll come in very handy out in the boonies and in the fog.

Nice!
How do you like those lights?

I like it!!

Looks Great Mike!!

Very nice Mike, I really like the way it looks on your truck!! Looks like it even improved your approach angle.

smkettner wrote:
Self install? Difficulty?

I've installed 2, can be done with hand tools and a floor jack. Easier with air gun and motorcycle jack. A second person helps too.

- If you have the grill guard and light buckets install on bumper
- Install winch in bumper
- Remove old bumper (faster with air gun)
- Install brackets to frame
- Install bumper - the trick is the weight of the bumper. The bumper comes on a Pallet, after installing what need to you slide the bumper (use second person if avail) onto a block of wood on the jack. This is where a motorcycle jack helps as it is wide with 2 rails and balances perfect. Use the jack to raise the bumper, install bolts, level and tighten.
- Have beverage of choice.

This is the simplistic view (full instructions come with) but an idea of what is required.

smkettner wrote:
Self install? Difficulty?

No, I had a local shop install it for me. The bumper (190 lbs) and winch (138 lbs) were too heavy for me without the right tools and equipment. The shop did tell me they had no problems with the installation. It fit perfectly.

The hybrid aluminum/steel. Classic II / III if I recall correctly.
Ordered towards the end of June.