An Essential Buying Guide for Aftermarket Truck Bumpers
A truck is meant to zoom down rocky roads and haul stuff around.
Even so, taking your new Ram pickup truck off-roading may not sound like a good idea. The off-road can be demanding and—without proper modifications—you may end up with expensive repairs.
You can begin by adjusting the suspension to improve ground clearance and then upgrading the brakes. That done, you can then change your OEM bumpers with tough aftermarket ones.
There’s always the risk of scraping or hitting something while you’re off-roading. The plastic OEM bumpers could easily crumble if you hit a tree while reversing.
Meanwhile, aftermarket bumpers will enable you to test the limits of your truck’s off-roading abilities. The mean and rugged look that off-road bumpers give your truck is another plus.
That said, you’ll first have to find the right aftermarket bumper before you can enjoy these benefits.
The hard part is to hop from shop to shop in search of a perfect bumper. The easy way is to have experts provide you with an array of suitable bumpers.
Table of Contents
Look for Truck Bumpers That Protect You and Your Truck
Drive Safer With Extra Lights
Increases Departure and Approach Angles
Which Is the Best Material for Your Bumper?
Which Bumpers Best Support Multiple Accessories?
Winch-Compatible Aftermarket Bumpers
Bumpers That Support Communication Equipment
A Rear Bumper to Support the Spare Wheel
Enhance Your Truck's Style With Quality Body Armor Bumpers
Accessorizing With Aftermarket Lights
Turn Up Your Truck's Aggressive Factor
Find Your Perfect Front and Rear Bumpers at Royal Truck Accessories
Frequently Asked Questions
Do trucks need bumpers?
Are aftermarket bumpers legal?
Does the aftermarket bumper affect mileage?
Look for Truck Bumpers That Protect You and Your Truck
Truck bumpers are designed to make your truck safer by absorbing significant impact energy. Although they offer some protection to vehicle occupants, they're mainly designed to protect engine components.
LEX Off Road, Ford Raptor Assault Front Bumper 2010-2014, FRAF1
The vehicle's parts are best protected by heavy-duty bumpers. The best bumper will protect the following components on your truck:
- Trunk
- Hood
- Cooling system
- Grille
- Radiator
- Lights
Bumpers are your truck’s first point of contact with a tree or any obstacle in the way. The front bumper’s shock absorbing properties will protect the trunk, radiator, and lights from damage.
Protecting your truck's radiator is particularly important because if it’s damaged, your truck will quickly overheat. Without heavy-duty bumpers, boulders can easily strike and damage your radiator while off-roading. The resulting damage could ruin your engine and require costly repairs.
A polished stainless steel bumper will absorb impact and keep your radiator from being damaged.
Drive Safer With Extra Lights
ICI AL-FBM84FDN-RT Aluminum Front Bumper, Ford F150/Eco Boost 2015-2017
Apart from protecting your lights from impact, truck bumpers also enable you to install extra lights.
Roads are sometimes swarmed with wildlife at night. Yet, these animals can be hard to spot with standard lights, hence the need to enhance your lighting system.
Aftermarket lights on your front bumpers will only help you while off-roading if they're secured to your pickup. The lights shouldn't vibrate too much, as this could misalign them.
Similarly, improper mounting could cause damage to your truck’s lights, and we all know how expensive high-quality lights can be. Essentially, you can never overemphasize the importance of adequately mounting your lights.
The aftermarket bumpers that support lights traditionally come with secure mounting brackets. These eliminate the need to drill your chassis or use plastic grilles to mount your lights. The highest quality bumpers will also secure your vehicle's lights as you drive vigorously through the bush.
LEX Off Road TTUNG2PB Toyota Tundra Gen 2 Push Bar 2015+
While the OEM bumpers can protect these components, they're not designed for abuse. If you suddenly decide to test your truck's off-road abilities, you'll end up spending the night in the bush. If you love adventure, install aftermarket bumpers before venturing into the wild.
Increases Departure and Approach Angles
You'll find a higher departure and approach angle helpful when driving along uneven road surfaces. For instance, when crossing shallow rivers, you could experience a sharp dip and rise in gradient. You can easily damage your engine components, lights, and radiator if your vehicle hits a rock.
LEX Off Road Toyota Tacoma Grappler Bumper 2005+, TTAG1
An aftermarket bumper can protect the underneath of your truck's front and rear from rocks.
Which Is the Best Material for Your Bumper?
The metallic aftermarket bumpers are better designed for the off-road than the plastics that come with your truck. Metals are sturdier than plastics and will generally crumble less during crashes.
The aftermarket bumper kits are manufactured using different materials, each with its own advantages.
The table below compares materials in terms of features:
| Material | Features |
| Aluminum alloy | This type of front or rear bumper is lightweight and strong |
| Fiberglass | A fiberglass front bumper or rear bumper is durable and lightweight. These can be quite expensive. They also crack more easily than plastics |
| Steel | These bumpers are durable, can absorb a lot of impacts, but are much heavier. Steel bumpers are suitable if you want to push your truck to its off-road limits |
| Polyresin plastics | Most OEM bumpers are made from this material. They can resist impact but can't be easily repaired upon damage |
Your choice of aftermarket bumper material depends on how you use your truck. If you want to make your truck safe enough for the off-road challenge, you can choose steel bumpers.
Which Bumpers Best Support Multiple Accessories?
A significant part of transforming your truck to look different and reflect your personality involves accessorizing. Not all heavy-duty bumpers have the option to add accessories.
Winch-Compatible Aftermarket Bumpers
If your truck doesn't have a winch bumper, then it's not ready for serious off-roading. Having a winch and integrated shackle mounts can get you and your fellow off-roaders out of sticky situations.
Should you get stuck in a mushy swamp, you can tow your truck back to the solid ground using the winch bumper.
An interesting fact about a winch is that it can pull anywhere between 9,000 and 18,000 lbs. That force provides enough pulling power to get your truck out of any sticky or slippery situation.
The two most common types of winches installed on front bumpers are:
- Electric winches
- Hydraulic winches
Most Americans prefer the electric winches, given the rather high cost of hydraulic winches.
Bumpers That Support Communication Equipment
If you own a large ranch, you'll likely need radio communication equipment in your truck.
Similarly, you could be interested in using your vehicle to spot your mates during rock climbing.
Sometimes it's the nature of your work that requires the use of radio communication while on the move. A good Body Armor bumper will make it easy to install an aerial to support CB radio communication.
A Rear Bumper to Support the Spare Wheel
OEM bumpers kits rarely come with provisions to install any accessory you might need while off-roading.
A rear bumper made from steel gives you the option to mount your spares on the exterior of your truck. You can relocate your spare tire and mount it externally.
An externally mounted tire is easier to access and gives your truck a mean, tough, country look. If you're a fan of long-range off-roading, you can mount two tires on your rear bumpers.
Another advantage of mounting your spare tires on rear bumpers is that it reduces pressure on your truck's trunk hinges. Tires are heavy and—when combined with off-road vibrations—can wear out your hinges.
Enhance Your Truck's Style With Quality Body Armor Bumpers
Aftermarket truck bumpers can give your truck that mean and aggressive style. It will also make your vehicle look tough. The attention your truck will attract will make you feel like you're driving an authentic 4x4.
Accessorizing With Aftermarket Lights
Extra LED, fog, or xenon lights can significantly improve your car's aesthetics. These lights make your vehicle look ready for night driving. The lights come in various shapes, sizes, and colors to suit your taste.
Installing clear lights on the grille guards will give your truck a cleaner and sleeker look. Adding running lights to your truck's bumper, tailgate, and running boards also gives your truck that cool look.
In addition, installing fog lights to the front bumper will enhance your truck's rugged and aggressive style. And placing light bars at the front of your truck will make you feel like you can turn night into day.
Turn Up Your Truck's Aggressive Factor
Do you want to give your truck that mean and aggressive look?
You can start by installing bigger tires and shiny custom-made rims. However, for that authentic aggressive style, you'll need a bumper that can support multiple accessories.
There are numerous tried and tested pieces of equipment that you can install on your bumper to elevate your truck's aggressive factor a notch higher. They include:
- Winches and brush guards that make your truck look like it can take anything you throw at it
- A front bumper cover to give your truck an aggressive face
- Aggressive-looking bumpers that look like they can absorb any impact
Find Your Perfect Front and Rear Bumpers at Royal Truck Accessories
Searching for the perfect bumper for your 4x4 truck can be a time-consuming process. You need an exact fit bumper that will not look like an afterthought.
Rather than go from shop to shop and walk away in disappointment, take your truck to Royal Truck Accessories, the bumper experts.
Our wide variety of addictive desert designs will ensure you get your perfect aftermarket truck bumpers.
The bumpers' unique styling will upgrade your truck to the next level.
You'll also find our prices very competitive.
At Royal Truck Accessories, you'll find the right bumper for your truck. We have a wide selection of precise fit bumpers for the following pickup vehicles:
- Ford F-Series pickups
- Chevrolet Silverado trucks
- Ram pickup
- Nissan Titan truck
- Toyota Tundra pickup
- Honda Ridgeline pickup
- GMC Sierra pickup
Put an end to your search for a perfect off-road bumper by visiting Royal Truck Accessories today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do trucks need bumpers?
Yes. Your truck needs a bumper to protect its hood, grille, and cooling system. Good bumpers also safeguard your headlights, taillights, and parking lights.
Are aftermarket bumpers legal?
Yes. Aftermarket bumpers are legal in the US, although each state has guidelines on their installation.
Does the aftermarket bumper affect mileage?
Technically, yes, it does. Anything that adds weight will affect your mileage. However, the increase in mpg from your aftermarket bumpers will be negligible.
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