How to Fit HammerHead Bumpers Like a Pro

Congrats on purchasing HammerHead Bumpers—it’s an excellent choice for upgrading your truck.

It's also one of the best bumpers you'll find in the market, going by the excellent customer reviews.

With new aftermarket bumpers in place, your truck will now remain unscathed by obstacles as you zoom off-road.

However, before you hit the road, you’ll have to attach the heavy metal pieces to your truck.

The easy way would be to drive to a garage, part with some considerable cash, and come back to pick your truck once it's ready.

As convenient as it sounds, this option will deny you the fun and sense of satisfaction that comes with installing a bumper on your own, not to mention the several hundreds of dollars you'll save.

Rather than miss out on the DIY bragging rights, follow these following few steps—and installation will be complete within a few hours.

Table of Contents

The Preparation Stage

Step 1: Park Your Truck on a Level Surface
Step 2: Engage the Brakes
Step 3: Disconnect Your Truck's Batteries
Step 4: Cover Your Truck’s Profile

Remove the Current Bumper

Step 1: Start by Removing the Accessories
Step 2: Removing the Front and Back Bumpers

Install Your New HammerHead Bumper

Step #1: Install Frame Mounts
Step #2: Mount the Truck's Receiver Hitch to Your Pickup
Step #3: Install Your HammerHead Bumper
Step #4: Secure the Bumper
Step #5: Align the Bumper to Your Truck
Step #6: Secure the Bumper into Place
Step #7: Install Back the License Plates
Step #8: Place the Lock Cover for Your Spare Tire in Place
Step #9: Install Sensors and Other Accessories
Step #10: Plug the Trailer Plug
Step #11: Tighten the Wiring Harness’ Ground Cable
Step #12: Reconnect the Battery

Get Quality HammerHead Bumpers at Royal Truck Accessories
Frequently Asked Questions

Will Fitting Aftermarket Bumpers Affect My Truck's Airbag Functionality?
What Material Is Used to Manufacture HammerHead Bumpers?
Do Hammerhead Bumpers Come with Lights?

The Preparation Stage

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe," a famous quote by Abraham Lincoln.

What’s the wise lesson to be taken from the founding father?

Good preparation is vital if you hope to accomplish a task efficiently.

In this case, preparation involves having your toolbox ready (and one or two buddies to assist, chat with, and witness as you accomplish this very important task).

Ensure the following tools are in your toolbox because they're the ones you'll be using most during the installation:

•  ¾,10mm,18mm, 24mm sockets (each truck is fitted with different bolt sizes)
• A hammer
• 18mm and 21mm wrench
• Rust penetrant spray
• Masking tape
• Screwdriver

You'll also have to prepare your truck for the installation process by following four simple steps:

Step 1: Park Your Truck on a Level Surface

You don't want it moving as you push and pull during installation.

Step 2: Engage the Brakes

Engage the parking brake (or hand or foot brake) to ensure the truck's wheels remain still throughout the entire process.

Step 3: Disconnect Your Truck's Batteries

Since you'll be disconnecting wires and sensors, disconnecting the battery will prevent short circuits.

Start by disconnecting the negative terminal and then the positive.

Disconnecting the terminals in this order reduces the risk of electrical shock.

Step 4: Cover Your Truck’s Profile

Use masking tape to cover your truck's profile around the bumper area. The masking tape will help you to avoid any accidental scratches.

Remove the Current Bumper

This step seems rather obvious but, yes, you have to remove the old bumpers so you can replace them with your HammerHead ones.

The current bumper may not come off so easy—especially if you encounter rusty or damaged bolts and screws. You'll need your buddies just in case you have to shake a thing or two to loosen it, and to prevent it from crashing to the ground when it does come loose.

As with installation, there’s a procedure for removing the older bumper to minimize damage to your truck and injury to yourself.

Step 1: Start by Removing the Accessories

If you have any accessories on your truck, they’ll have to be removed as well. Fog lights, tow hitches, and spare tire carriers are some examples.

Remove these accessories carefully so you can reuse them once you install the HammerHead bumpers.

Next, you'll have to disconnect any wiring and sensors connected to the old bumper.

If your truck has a built-in light connector for a trailer, remove any fasteners that bind it to the bumper. You should then detach and remove the connector and its harness.

Lastly, remove your truck's license plates and its plate bulb sockets (for the rear bumper).

You can now remove your front and back bumpers.

Step 2: Removing the Front and Back Bumpers

Once you've disconnected all the accessories, you can now begin removing the bumpers.

Begin with either the front or back bumpers by pulling the plastic pods usually located at each of the bumper's ends. You won’t need any tools to remove the pods since they're designed to be pulled off by hand.

Some trucks may have additional clips holding the bumper and accessories in place. Use a flat screwdriver to remove these clips.

Next, remove the bumper's mounting bolts. Each truck has a different number of bolts holding the front and rear bumper to the vehicle.

If you live in humid weather or have an older truck, you’ll likely notice some rust on the fasteners. Unfortunately, corrosion and rust can make your bolt slip as you try to remove it.

You can remove rusted fasteners using different methods, including:

• Lubrication. Before removing the bolts—both rusted and unrusted—it's a good idea to preheat them using a rust penetrant spray such as WD40. Once you spray the bolt, tap it lightly with a hammer to help the lubricant soak in. Your bolts should come off after a few minutes of soaking.

  However, if your bolts are badly rusted, you may have to soak them for a few hours.

• Cutting. If your bolts cannot be loosened using lubrication, you might need to cut them. Cutting a fastener will render it unusable, so it will have to be replaced.
• Torching. You could also torch bolts that wouldn't come off after lubrication using low to moderate heat. The heat works by expanding the rusted bolts and nuts, thereby making them easy to remove. 

If you choose to use heat, be careful—especially if you've sprayed some lubricant beforehand. Most lubricants are flammable and could ignite your bolts when exposed to a flame.

The following video provides more tips on how to remove stubborn and rusty bolts.

Once all the fasteners are loose, pull the bumpers off. As long as you pull the bumper along with its clips and stretch it as you remove its mounts, you won’t break or damage anything.

Expert tip: Once you've unscrewed and removed all fasteners along the sides, within the wheel wells, and under the hood, start pulling the bumper off one side at a time.

Don't worry about the jerkiness and noise made by the bumper as you pull it off. These sounds are normal.

Install Your New HammerHead Bumper

HammerHead 600-56-0297 Rear Bumper Ford Excursion 2000-2005

Since HammerHead bumpers are custom-built for each truck, they're pretty easy to install. You can even use the same bolts that were used to fasten the OEM bumper to your vehicle.

The table below shows some of the high-quality HammerHead bumpers that Royal Truck Accessories stocks. You can purchase many other varieties on the website as well. 

Now that you have your new bumper (and a good idea of how your truck will look afterwards), it’s time to install and upgrade your truck following these 12 simple steps.

Step #1: Install Frame Mounts

Install the bumper's frame mounts to your vehicle's receiver hitch. You'll use the same receiver hitch that held the older bumper in place.

Since you've already removed the receiver hitch with the old bumper, you'll do this step on the ground.

Step #2: Mount the Truck's Receiver Hitch to Your Pickup

As you install this piece, ensure that your HammerHead bumper’s frame mounts are sandwiched between your truck and the OEM receiver hitch.

Pull the frame mounts towards the outer side of your truck before tightening their fasteners, using your hand to allow for adjustments.

Step #3: Install Your HammerHead Bumper

Install your HammerHead bumper by fastening it to the frame mounts. As you mount the bumper on the frame mounts, ensure that the frame mounts are positioned at the shackle mount's outer side.

HammerHead 600-56-0823 Formed Guard Front Bumper Ford F150 2018+

Step #4: Secure the Bumper

Secure the bumper to each side of the frame mounts. The HammerHead bumper comes with two bolts for each bumper. Use the bolts from this hardware kit for this step.

Step #5: Align the Bumper to Your Truck

Ensure the bumper is positioned at the right spot before you secure it into place.

Step #6: Secure the Bumper into Place

Once you’ve positioned the bumper correctly, use the 21mm wrench to tighten the receiver hitch nuts. Use the ¾ socket and wrench to secure the hardware kit.

Step #7: Install Back the License Plates

Use the original fasteners to reattach the license plate.

Step #8: Place the Lock Cover for Your Spare Tire in Place

You'll see a provision for this item on your HammerHead bumper. Remove any masking tape that was used as a placeholder earlier.

Step #9: Install Sensors and Other Accessories

If you have parking sensors, fog lights, or any other accessories, this is the step where you install them and reconnect their wires. Make sure you use some lubricant while positioning the sensors to minimize friction. Soapy water is an excellent lubricant for this step.

Step # 10: Plug the Trailer Plug

Plug your truck's trailer plug into the bumper's receiver hitch.

Step #11: Tighten the Wiring Harness’ Ground Cable

Use the 10mm socket to tighten the wiring harness' ground cable to your pickup and plug it into the connector.

Step #12: Reconnect the Battery

Reconnect your battery and confirm that all of your connections have been made correctly.

Get Quality HammerHead Bumpers at Royal Truck Accessories

Cheers, once again—you've just upgraded your truck with high-quality bumpers.

If you’re still shopping for the appropriate HammerHead bumper, you’ll find the perfect one with ease at Royal Truck Accessories.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Fitting Aftermarket Bumpers Affect My Truck's Airbag Functionality?

No, airbags are never designed to deploy from any contact with bumpers. The airbag sensor will still remain in place even after installing aftermarket bumpers.

What Material Is Used to Manufacture HammerHead Bumpers?

HammerHead bumpers are manufactured using A36 carbon steel. This high-quality steel gives the bumpers the resilience needed for your off-roading escapades.

Do Hammerhead Bumpers Come with Lights?

No, lights are generally not sold with the bumper, but you can request them as an option at the time of your purchase.