I recently put Smittybilt Fenders on the truck. From the brochure pictures it looked like they would be slimmer at the front than the Bushwackers. Unfortunately this is not true ..and I really don't like the fenders not ending flush with the bumper. So I went on a search for a Raptor bumper and found one a 2014 on craigslist for practically free. The Raptor bumper is 7 inches longer than the standard bumper, giving me an extra 2 inches at least on each side. I pulled all the hardware off the bumper and brought it to an AB friend of mine. He believes we can get it hot enough and bend it or do a small triangle cut and it should line up. I'm going to paint when its finished. I searched through a lot of threads on this and no one has really tried to do it. Thought i'd post the about it since it will be a sort of DIY. I know a lot of people are going to say just get a Raptor, which is fine but this is for those out there that want to fix the little gap they have. It is a reasonably cheap mod as the Raptor bumpers are really really cheap these days.

Fender Gap:












Bumper with all hardware removed:












Right Side View of bumper: (Can't decide on tires..KO2's probably in 305's)











I am going to wait until it stops raining this weekend and put the bumper on my truck to show how much extra width there is. I'm taking it back to my AB guy Monday. Should have an answer to the cutting or heating method. Will post back when bumper is on.

 

Cool!! Can't wait to see how this turns out. I would love to do this cause I have bushwacker flares and don't like the difference in width either.

 

Very intetested !

 

Subbing...

 

Can't wait to see, I was wondering about this, if you have flares like that, if you mounted a raptor bumper would it be close to being flush, never saw anyone do it....until now

 

Can also be done by sectioning the ends of a regular bumper to that of a Raptor's (as done by SuperJoJo) ...*Have acquired a Raptor front bumper and it's also on my list of mod's-to-do-list.
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It's hard to see on my phone, But that's an awesome look!

 

Installed the Raptor bumper this weekend. Only 4 bolts and 3 screws. Be careful to disconnect the fog lights fist. I just zip tied the connectors up and out of the way as i'll be adding fogs to this bumper if I can get it to fit right. The regular bumper is pretty heavy so be careful or have a friend help whe you pull it off. The Raptor bumper is actually lighter than stock so thats a nice bonus. After lining it up you can see where the bumper ends sticks out. Just the last 8 inches or so need to be curved in but the length should line up. I'm bringing it to my AB buddy tomorrow so we'll see. This will be PTM so, you can ignore the dent removal scratch. Wish me luck, I do like it a lot better.

 

where did you get that grill??