Way early here but figured I'd start to see what the interest might be in a winch bumper for these trucks. There are a bunch of tube bumper options, but few plate bumper options. I'm "restomodding" an '84 right now and want a simple, light winch bumper that works with the lines of the truck - not a bumper that's been adapted to work or a bumper that looks like it's from a 2019 Wrangler (pointy, angles, etc)... Yeah, pretty subjective, I know.

The Front Range isn't in production anymore - been a decade plus. That bumper is the closest to what I was starting to sketch. I like the lines, the scale, the re-use of the O.E. bumper lights... We're, going to dissect that design and see if and where it can be improved... and make one.

As with any of these things, the first one is expensive - design, mockups, modifications, test fits, modifications... jigs... The second one is much cheaper and faster. So, if we're going to make one, might as well make 5 ... or 10... or 20... But making 20 and putting 19 on the shelf forever is even more expensive. (starting to see why the options are so limited).

So. I'm NOT looking for a commitment - at all. Really just looking for interest. If we brought a bumper to the market that was similar to the Front Range, could you see one ending up on your truck?

Typical caveats:
- 100% U.S. steel and U.S. fabrication
- Overbuilt by one of the country's top Land Cruiser and Toyota Truck shops
- Usual options, e.g. cutouts, powder coating
- And of course - reasonably priced

Something similar to this:

 

I also am not much on the "Tube" bumpers either.

What you are showing is what I would like to install on my 85 4Runner.

I have a rear bumper similar in appearance to the bumper shown above that came with a Land Cruiser project I previously owned that will work for the rear and match the bumper shown above quite nicely.

I would be interested in buying a plate bumper like the one shown above.

 

Good to hear. If you have any thoughts on what could/should change, let me know. Our goal is not to clone the Front Range exactly. It's a great start. I don't want to change it for sake of change... but if it can be improved upon...

I'd like to see if we could make the center section work with and without a winch. As it is now, without a winch it'd look, well... like the winch is missing.

 

Do you plan on tow tabs on the front for hooking a hitch up to?

Mike

 

Manhattan - Are you a vendor?

 

Mike, are you talking about recovery points or a receiver hitch? Sorry - probably just a terminology thing. Anything we design/build would absolutely have two recovery points - a point, inline with and pulling on, the frame to allow a strap or winch line to attach/pull.

These are what I'm calling recovery points...

 

Right. You can also hook up a tow bar to it for flat towing.

 

No. Not a vendor. I talked with ACC Garage - a great shop in Atlanta that specializes in (only works on/builds) Toyota and Lexus 4-wheel drives. They have the capability to fabricate - one-offs or multiples. I talked with the owner about building a bumper for my truck. He said "See if there's an interesting with the other guys - we'll make a bunch of them."

 

Gotha! Good idea.
I built a Jeep bumper like that - it had two tabs per frame rail, 2" apart. The 2x2 (maybe it was 1.5"?) box tube tow bar fit between them, and a pin secured each leg. So, they worked as winch/strap recovery points and mounts for a the tow bar.

 

What became of this? I'm working on a '85 pickup with no body lift and would love a bumper like this, not really liking the tube options out there and have way too many projects to add building a bumper to the list.

 

I ended up buying an ARB bumper. Well, maybe not "an" ARB, but "the" ARB bumper. This may have been the last ARB bumper for this generation Toyota Pickup in North America. Every site and shop that showed one in inventory ultimately said they really didn't have one. One shop in Atlanta decided to go and hunt one down. The owner knows a guy at ARB. They started chasing down the inventory lists and found ONE on a shelf 3,000 miles away. The box was gray with dust even after the journey across the country. All of the sites that showed none in stock had a "TBD" for restock... meaning they've not ordered any.

 

This was what I heard when I bought the ARB for my HZJ73 as well, ended up getting one from Australia. I've owned 5 ARB, but think they look huge/way overkill on the 2nd gen trucks. Also would need to be cut up / modified to clear 35's+ without extreme lift.

I'll probably just go with All-Pro I guess with the dimple plates.

 

Compared to how the ARBs overhang on 100s and other trucks, I think they tuck in pretty well on the little Pickups.