Bumper Brands

[O'Rattlecan]

I'm shopping around for a few body panels, one of them is a rear bumper...

I found one by the brand of Surestep Deluxe.

I know OEM is always the way to go, but I can get 4 Surestep bumpers for the price of a new OEM one. How prone are these to rust? Are they almost as good? I'm just curious if anyone has any long term experience with corrosion on these bumpers, or any installation nightmare stories to share (aka it didn't fit)

Hit me up fellas.

Ryan

 

[john112deere]

If I was gonna spend money on a new bumper for a gen-9, it sure wouldn't be OEM, or a cheap replica there-of. My Ranger has a thicker/stronger bumper than my friend's '95 F-350.

Personally, I'd find a friend who's a good welder/fabricator and have a nice custom one for the price of steel and some beer, but I'm sure there's good aftermarket ones, too.

 

[Skandocious]

I've always admired the diamond plate bumper with backup lights on LMC. It would compliment my bedrails and tailgate protector nicely.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

I'm leaning more towards OEM looks at aftermarket price...

http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/i-35067_surestep_deluxe_xlt_bumper__chrome.htm

Ryan

 

[Brian_B]

Find out how thick the steel is...then compare it to stock. A lot of the aftermarket bumpers are paper compared to an original. Depends on the brand though.

Is it a chrome one? Take a look at the pics of the back (if they show any). A lot of them are bare...or have a very light (rough) coating of chrome and will rust quickly.

If they are like that...they need to be sanded with 80 grit and sprayed with epoxy primer before installing. Otherwise...a couple of years down the road...the rust will come through the front.


EDIT: There is not a picture of the back side...be wary of that. You know what probably needs to be done there. The GA of the steel looks fine.

Watch the added expense for the brackets (not listed with the bumper) and the plastic trim:

***NOTE:
Must buy brackets to attach bumper to vehicle
This is a CHROME bumper with plastic on the top but not the face.....

 

[Skandocious]

Brian my factory chrome bumper is bare metal on the back... So if this one is too then it's up to caliber with stock specs...

 

[Skandocious]

Third one down is sexxaayyy

 

[Brian_B]

Brian my factory chrome bumper is bare metal on the back... So if this one is too then it's up to caliber with stock specs...

Your kidding?

They used to at least have a light chrome coating on them to slow the rust down some.

That is sort of startling. Ceratinly not at all good in the rust belt.

 

[Skandocious]

Your kidding?

They used to at least have a light chrome coating on them to slow the rust down some.

That is sort of startling. Ceratinly not at all good in the rust belt.

Hmmm... Well perhaps mine had that when it was new, hard to tell. But now it looks like bare metal. Who knows.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

I took a look. The bracket they're saying is required is only $28... That's not enough to deter me - it's still cheaper than LMC.

Ryan

 

[Brian_B]

Oh ok. That is not bad. You never know what the "hidden costs" are on things. Best to check early.

Did you ever get that fender fixed?

 

[O'Rattlecan]

still have a big ugly dent... I'm constantly searching for a suitable candidate to replace the entire bed. I think when she hit me, she knocked it off square. The bed isn't straight anymore - it's a bit of a parallelagram. If I can find a good bed, I'm replacing the whole thing.

Ryan

 

[tomtoc]

pics or a thread on this? Guess I missed it.

 

[Brian_B]

still have a big ugly dent... I'm constantly searching for a suitable candidate to replace the entire bed. I think when she hit me, she knocked it off square. The bed isn't straight anymore - it's a bit of a parallelagram. If I can find a good bed, I'm replacing the whole thing.

Ryan

That is an easy fix too. Too bad you live so far away. A couple of Saturdays and we could have that straight, patched, welded, and sanded.

I can't remember...does your have the fancy chrome down the side? That would need to be replaced after paint.

 

[Brian_B]

I found the thread Tomtoc:

http://www.fordtruckfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2358&highlight=bed

I just realized the fender is rusted around the wheel well too. Bedside replacement would be the way to go. Unless you just find a bargain on a whole bed. Talk to Tom (Mr. Fixit). He told me there are a lot of farmers who pull beds off around him to use flatbeds.

 

[Lost]

I have drop stainless bumper. Same hight as stocker tho. It had been on 5 trucks about 200000 miles and still looks good. But I have had better luck with after market bumper than stocker.My 94 I have now the chrome
was basically none existent on it as far as shine.

I'm not saying generic but a good vendor . Will be as good rating wise and some even better .

 

[O'Rattlecan]

cool guys - I'm not as weary as I was before. I was expecting some horror stories.

Ryan