Sorry about your luck man, I hope that won't happen to my TG, but who knows?

 

wow that sucks. but i agree, the bumper did its job and didnt cause no damage to the truck itsself. the bumper took the damage, not the truck. but still, i dotn think it should have bent like that. imagine what would have happened if the bumper wasnt there.. ouch

 

i agree with 89silverpu and scuba here. why are people try to prove him wrong??? i would believe 89silverpu since he was driving and knows what happened. lol that said i hope they send ya a new bumper 89!!!

 

i just took a look at the TG bumper....and it DOES look about 5x's more beefy than the MC bumper...lol

i know where my money is going

 

Except for this...TG's Chinese steel is a piece of crap....

http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=60158.0

 

hmmm...i didn't ever see the test on between the differences.

thanks might not go to trailgear after all...i've heard it alot in the past that their service is crap anyway lol

 

But unfortunately, Marlin isn't making their bumpers right now, they are working with their fabricator/supplier...they don't make them in shop apparently....I think I will brave the metal debate and give TG's bumper a try...

 

so a MC bumper.....isn't really an MC bumper? lmao

 

I will vouch for that! I have Marlin crawler front and rear HREW bumpers and trail gear DOM sliders. My MC bumpers have withstood dozens of hard hits with hardly any damage, my TG sliders on the other hand are all dented up. I'm still kicking myself for going cheap on my sliders...

 

I'm not 100% sure, the guy I talked with said that they aren't producing any right now because they are working something out with their fabricator...maybe they only have one guy that works in shop and he's not working right now for one reason or another...

Side note, I called Trail Gear to see if they had any bumpers in stock and the sales rep I talked to sounded stoned and didn't even seem like he wanted to sell anything, so I can't get myself to buy one of their bumpers, there's just too much about that company I don't like I guess.

I don't know what I'm going to do now..

 

take a look at ScottyC's rear bumpers at Addicted Off Road. I know he sells trail-gear stuff, but I think he has a rear bumper he fabs himself too.
http://www.addictedoffroad.com/

Wabbit could also probably hook you up

 

To me, this just seems like an unfortunate event. If what 89 has said holds to be true (why should we not believe him) then he hit that thing at the right speed on the worst possible spot i think you could! I would still inform marlin, but go the route of " i bought this bumper because of your reputible craftmanship, why did it give out on me" not with the you owe me a bumper idea. Maybe he will get you hooked up with a new one on the cheap/maybe not.....i dont see it being replace at no cost though

 

Both Wabbit and ScottyC sell TG. There's nothing on ScottyC's website about a custom rear bumper unfortunately

 

Dealing with them instead of trail-gear might eliminate part of your crappy Trail gear phone experience. I have a Marlin Bumper like yours, if it gets fubarred like yours, I will probably go with a T-G.

another one to look at is Dave's Off Road: http://www.davezoffroadperformance.c....php?f=3&t=490
his has some bracing to the center hitch mount

 

It's nice to hear more people's opinion without judging integrity...thanks

I didn't take the give me a new bumper approach at all, I've never even said I expect a new bumper, but I would've thought they would have given a little knock off of the price to try and sell me another one of their bumpers....problem is they are not making them right now otherwise I would have gotten another one on the phone at the same time I talked to them....maybe they would've given me a break if they were still making them right now, maybe not, doesn't matter.

The guy I spoke to admitted that with the weight of the truck and the small contact point the bumper would bend in like that with what may seem a small amount of force compared to other situations. Not at any time did he say "you're lying about the speed of the hit" or "This won't happen at slow speeds. Period" he admitted this could and would happen at slow speeds if the hit was just right.

I didn't even hint that I wanted a brand new bumper, I threw it in their ballpark and let them offer something if they wanted to. MC has had great customer service for me, but of course I'm going to be upset that the bumper bent in half so easily, but it was just the right circumstances, and has earned its value many times over in the past 2 years.

 

I just got front and rear TG bumper for my 90 4Runner and they are BEEF and very well made. I'll snap some pics tonight if you'd like. Both are laying in my shop floor.

 

Good call, I forgot about Dave's...he is a local guy and I just called him and worked out a deal and am getting one of his bumpers made for me before I leave this friday for vegas. I don't know why I didn't get one of these bumpers to begin with they are stout.

 

i Know the feeling, i bought my Marlin when they had the free shipping...I had Dave's Tube doors and totally brain cramped his bumpers
he makes good stuff

 

I got a great deal on a used MC bumper, but if I hadn't, I would have gone with Davez. All his stuff is super high quality and you couldn't meet a nicer guy. His rear bumper is a bit more than the MC and TG ones, but well worth it in my opinion.

 

looks like the frame plates bent pretty far too - bumper lacks good triangulation and gusseting from the main tubes to the frame mounts.

tough call on whether or not you'd get refunded. IMO unless you go custom, these high production tube bumpers are pretty much just disposable bumpers -- they're pretty cheaply built and marketed for the masses since they're easy DIY armor and lack the real protection that you'd get from a custom bumper that's properly triangulated, welded to a beefed up frame, and made from 1/4" material.

of the ??? that have been sold, how many of those have actually been put through a real test of durability? usually, if the person is wheeling that hard all the time, they go the custom route because they need the bumper to go through the durability test on a regular basis. it may be time for you to graduate and go hardcore. it's a natural progression, just accept it happily

since you're going to be looking for a new bumper...for the price, this Curley's bumper is a great platform for customizing yourself a nice, rigid plate bumper. i know he's had them for a while and he's been working deals because they're taking up space in his shop. i got one myself and plan on beefing the crap outta it once i get a welder in the future. i know it lacks the side protection that you get from the MC, but that is easily solved.