Initial thoughts: This bumper looks even better in person, and once i get these crash bars flipped up it will look even better. I'm very happy with the gauge of steel that was used. 8ga listed on their website. Let me save you some time reading and some money if youre in the front bumper market: This is a
great bumper, on-par with the quality of my last ADD bumper for less than half the cost.
Unfortunately, there was some damage in transit, but i took pictures and customer support was very eager to make me happy. They offered a full replacement, but since the damage was not large, i figured that i could fix it myself if they were willing to give me a credit. They gave me 200 bucks back and a 20% off coupon for my next purchase (maybe the rear bumper is next???).
You will not lose any functionality with OEM sensors if you plan your build correctly. I recommend the ACC relocation bracket from Barricade for around 30 bucks. Don't waste your money on the one from ADD for over $200, that's just insulting. The OEM skid plate works just fine with this bumper, and you don't even have to remove the tow hooks if you dont want to. In fact, i recommend keeping them on so that you have somewhere to rest the bumper while bolting if youre doing this solo like I did. Also, put the wings on first, you will not have room to do it once the bumper is attached. (Trust me, I tried)
Weks prior to this, I pre-installed the fog-light pods to the wings and the rider hoop, or bull bar whatever you want to call it. Being a modular bumper, the hoop (bar) is optional and may be removed at any time.
The most time consuming part for me was moving the OEM sensor harness over to the new bumper. There are no mounting points for the harness itself other than for the proximity sensors, so get some zip ties to tuck and zip with. I used the double fog light harness from Starkey because i could not source the Molex MX150 plugs for cheaper anywhere. I used that to wire up my SS3 and SSC2's to the OEM harness. I had to run an additional cable for DRL power, but that comes with the territory.
As you can see, I did decide to color match with paint from touch-up direct. Since most aftermarket bumpers are black, I wanted to stand out just a little bit. The bumper did not come with the orange shackles, I added those afterward.
All in all, was a great install! If you have questions, I'll be happy to answer them. I'm looking forward to more pictures in the Smokey mountains next week just in time for October TOTM votes
