Front end replacements for trucks...

My recommondation would be Buckstop... I don't know if they make one for your vehicle. www.Buckstop.biz

I have a Warn on my truck... but that was because I got it for $750 new... ( ebay... had scratches on it)


 
Thanks Tod,
I finally get to tell my Great North Woods story..... the one where the deer cost $50/lb. My truck was not insured. I've owned her long enough that if I'd paid the premiums I would have about broken even after the engine replacement, new hood, fender and bumper costs.

I went to a camp owned by friends up near the canandian border. Had one day to hunt. It was beautiful.. fresh snow and a little wind...great tracking conditions. I found a fresh set of prints to follow and was able to get a good shot. All went well until driving out on a heavily used road the next morning. A photo shows the logging truck tracks favor the inside of the curve. Another shows my engine being condemned (hydro locked), and another the front end mangled and another is over my shoulder of the logging truck that ran us off backing up to pull us out.
Both my friend and I had to hit the ditch to avoid certain death. I still tell him he's a jerk because he used the shallow end of the ditch.
The last picture says it all... I got to get a new bumper. I went with TAG(Tactical Armour Group). My mother tried to teach me that if you don't having anything nice to say don't say anything at all. I could tell a whole other story about TAG, but lets just leave it at "would not recommend to a friend".

Frank
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Thanks for the story and pics Frank. I feel your and your buddy's pain. Not to make light of the situation, but that is a great story, complete with pics. We have all been there or very close to there, maybe not with such dramatic results.

As a side note, I think if we did the math our venision would work out to $50 a pound!

Thank you very much for your info on TAG. I've looked at them and had the impression they were a quality option, but I will steer clear of them.

T
 
Tod, Just a heads up, all the bumpers will have a "large" gap above them because they are much stiffer then the body and when off road the bumper will damage the flexing body if the gap is too tight. I've seen pictures posted of the resultant damage when a heavy steel bumper is mounted with OEM tight clearances. Here is a better view of the gap, note: I've simply stuffed the cut off fender liner in the gap to keep it out of the way.
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Per the directions, the gap on the ARB above the bumper is 25 mm (I think that is close to 1" :) - too big for me. You have to paint the opening black where is shows the frame and inner panels so it doesn't look funny. I'll wait untill someone dents the rear to upgrade that. :).
 
Todd, Probably got more information than you need. I will give one more vote for the front receiver hitch, once you use one to spot a trailer you will never be without one. Not any opinion about the expedition type bumpers but the hitch is magic. In SD pheasant hunting the guide wondered about the front hitches and decided "It must be a Minnesota thing" since both trucks from Minn. had them. I guess there isn't a need in SD to conserve parking space out there. heheh or any bad boat ramps??
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I'm sold on the front hitch if I can get one to work out easy. It seems like a lot of the installs on the Tundra include removing the tow hooks and bolting into that, so the hitch would be nice.
 
& Dave, that's a good point on air bag deployment. Before buying my bumper I read up on the Xterra's system (Not the Tundra's) and the trigger is an acceleration switch back in the console. You could argue that with the steel bumper and reduced crumple zone your acceleration on a solid hit will increase making deployment more likely.

Scott
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Thanks for the warrenty M-M quote.

I need to read up on the airbags. I believe that there are sensors on the frame front, but I haven't looked it up - that is just somethign I saw referenced in one tutorial.
 
Tod-

Unfortunately I do not know anyone that has experience with the Expedition One bumpers. Like Scott, I have a Nissan and will be going the route of Shrockworks. They have some great products and their welding is beautiful. I am in the process of building an ExPo rig out of my Pathfinder. The Toyota offerings they have are geared toward the 4Runners, Tacomas and FJs.

You could check out the Expedition Portal for some more ideas.

Another option I just found is Aluminess. They build a lot of bumpers for ExPo rigs and the bonus is that they are Aluminum so you are not adding so much additional weight on the front that you would actually need to move to a higher spring rate to support them. Here is one on an 07-14 Tundra from the ExPo portal: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/119874-Tundra-Overlander-in-progress/page3?highlight=tundra+winch+bumper

Aluminess Tundra products are here:
http://www.aluminess.com/toyota/toyota-tundra-2007-2013/front-bumper/

Chad
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I missed responding to this earlier - Thanks. That aluminum option looks really nice, but what a price tag.

I'm just starting to think about the whole package, including weight. Some of the front ends woudl add 200# or more tothe very front. I need to read about how Tundra owners deal with it.

T
 
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