BEST BUMPER & WINCH COMBO FOR 1/2-ton CHEVY/GMC Z-71 4x4 ?

[Stuart Kent]

These aren't the best quality photos, but you can see the truck and accessories clearly enough. The bumpers are 1/4" thick CNC cut, powder coated (and available in almost any color imaginable) mild plate steel. They are TOUGH!!! They come in a few different styles and you can order these bumpers with any lighting configuration, I prefer the dual recessed cans. Another nice feature is the that bull bar is removable if you only want the bumper or need to reduce weight. But don't let that fool you, the mounting mechanisms are BEEFCAKE. There are a lot of reasons to like these bumpers, but mostly because they are made by a small company that only makes bumpers and they are made in the USA - which in this case is a really good thing! They don't skimp on anything. As for the winch, the Superwinch Talon is lightning fast (I think it is 62 feet per minute) totally sealed against dust and water, lower current draw than other 12,000lb winches, and really high quality solenoids. This is a winning combination and I strongly recommend this setup.

Again, if you decide to go with either of these products I might be able to help you out with a discount because they sponsor my work.
hope this helps.

Attachment 127402

Attachment 127404

Attachment 127405

Attachment 127406

Attachment 127407

Attachment 127408

Attachment 127409

here are a few extras of the new rig.

underseat storage - I will never own another truck without this!
Attachment 127410

wheel well toolboxes. very narrow but I like the bed length and this works for my needs, so I like this trade - not for everyone though.
Attachment 127411

good luck with your truck, I look forward to seeing how you set up.

[General Automag]

We'd love to see your pictures, but unfortunately the attachments will not open up. Could you repost them? Thanks

[Stuart Kent]

sure thing, not sure what happened there, let's try this again.

Buckstop Bumper angle.jpgBuckstop Bumper front.jpgBuckstop Bumper side.jpgfront bumper accessories.jpglight cans, interior.jpgrear bumper 2.jpgrear bumper installed.jpgTalon hawse lead (8).jpg

here are the toolboxes and the under-seat storage solutions - very cool.
IMGP9430.jpginstalled, full of straps and tools.jpg

[General Automag]

'Very nice bumpers! Actually, they're the best I've seen for this model, especially because they make a rear bumper that matches.

Is your truck a 1/2-ton or 3/4-ton? What size of lights did you install on the front bumper? Did you use the stock (factory) fog light switch and connectors to power one set of those lights? Regarding the lights in the rear bumper, what size did you use and did you wire them with a separate on/off switch or wire them into the reverse (backup) lights? Thanks

[Stuart Kent]

I agree, they are the best I've seen also, and I cannot stress enough how nice they are. My truck is a 1/2 ton, with a 5.3 litre gasoline engine.

It was a happy accident that the Superwinch hawse fairlead and the synthetic rope are both blue. It never occurred to me, but it sure does look good-like it was planned for a blue truck.

All accessory lights are PIAA ATP, wired into factory controls. The outer lights in the front bumper are 4" wired in to the factory fog light control.
The inner (larger) lights in the front bumper are 6" wired into the high beams. They cannot all be used simultaneously, which is okay because they draw a lot of current, and will most likely be used with the winch at the same time - heavily taxing the batteries. The rear lights are wired into the factory reverse lights.

[Stuart Kent]

Sorry, I forgot to mention the rear lights are a second pair of the same 4" PIAA ATP lights as I have in the front. I should also tell you that I rubber dipped the aluminum diamond plate pieces on the rear bumper. I also discarded the included rivets and over-bored the diamond plates and corresponding bumper holes to accommodate 1/4-20 carriage bolts with lock nuts. I just don't like pop rivets, no matter what the application, they rattle and fail.

[General Automag]

Sorry, I forgot to mention the rear lights are a second pair of the same 4" PIAA ATP lights as I have in the front. I should also tell you that I rubber dipped the aluminum diamond plate pieces on the rear bumper. I also discarded the included rivets and over-bored the diamond plates and corresponding bumper holes to accommodate 1/4-20 carriage bolts with lock nuts. I just don't like pop rivets, no matter what the application, they rattle and fail.

What size and type of lift and tires do you have on your truck? We're thinking of a 2.5" lift like this one: http://www.readylift.com/c-35-chevy-...-6-lug-25.aspx. It's 2.5" for the front and a replacement block for the rear leaf springs which is roughly a 3" lift. I like to keep the factory "rake" so the nose of the truck won't point up when you have a heavy load or two. I thought I would try this route as it's cheaper before I look at larger lift kits. Yours looks nice and about right.

[Spargman]

Please post pics if you have them. So you're saying that bumpers for a 100 Series Land Cruiser will fit on a full-size Chevrolet/GMC truck? I didn't see the mounts you mention at www.liquidironindustries.com.

Here are more details, I made this thread a few days ago. Call up Liquid Iron and ask for Tim (owner), I'm sure he can help you as I know he saved the dimensions.

http://www.gmc4x4.com/topic/162-arb-...vy-bumper-mod/

I run a TAG (Tactical Armor Group) rear bumper and it's JUNK. The mounts are not made correctly, it's rusting internally b/c they didn't paint it correctly and the welds are awful.

[Spargman]

No, we haven't decided on one yet. Would you mind posting pictures of your setup if you have any? We're thinking about a rear bumper too, just to protect the rear end from the all-too-common unaware texting driver. The ARB bumper for the Chevrolet looks all right in the few pictures I've seen, but there are a lot of posts showing folks using the Land Cruiser 100 Series ARB bumpers on Chevy/GMC full size trucks. I also looked at the Tough Country bumpers.

I'm don't see the need to replace the steel cable with synthetic line on our other winches, simply because the steel cables haven't broke yet, but I do see how the weight savings would make a difference on a 1/2-ton. (There's 150' of 3/8" cable on our Warn 8274 which has to weigh a few pounds).

Here is a writeup I completed on the Synthetic vs Steel debate

http://www.gmc4x4.com/topic/245-synt...-steel-review/

[Spargman]

sure thing, not sure what happened there, let's try this again.

Buckstop Bumper angle.jpgBuckstop Bumper front.jpgBuckstop Bumper side.jpgfront bumper accessories.jpglight cans, interior.jpgrear bumper 2.jpgrear bumper installed.jpgTalon hawse lead (8).jpg

here are the toolboxes and the under-seat storage solutions - very cool.
IMGP9430.jpginstalled, full of straps and tools.jpg

Great looking truck Stuart - really nice mods!! They did a great job with that front bumper keeping it close to the grill.

I also run a Talon Superwinch 12.5...great piece of equipment.