I am looking getting an off road bumper for 09 black fx4 and was wondering what everyone had. Im not real familiar with them so I was wondering the pros and cons on some of them. I've noticed the price range on them is drastic. Is there one that is good quality for a decent price, thanks for everyone's input.

 

Fab fours vengeance I love it

 

Ranch Hand Summit Bullnose here and am very very happy. I'll try to get a picture soon.

 

I'm designing and building my own front bumper (did my back bumper in March). Lots of work. But if you want to save wads of money but don't want to build from scratch, go to: https://www.movebumpers.com/ DIY bumper kits.

Have fun!

 

Im a week into having the fab fours premium front winch bumper.

Pros:
I'm confident that if I hit something smallish that it won't stop me from getting the truck home.
My intercooler is much better protected than the stock bumper. Will be better with RCI skid plates if I can get ahold of someone there to sell me some.
It looks awesome and comes with daytime running lights and turn signals in it.
It allows me to add a winch
It allows me to add a light bar to it relatively easily.
Cons:
Weighs 185 lbs vs probably 50 lbs for the stock stuff that came off. Going to add another 70 lbs with a winch. That's a lot of weight way out in front. I do notice it as I have less traction in the backend when I'm unloaded in the bed. Can be fixed by adding aftermarket skids, rear bumper, and side bars to even out the extra loads. Obviously that has consequences as your entire truck weighs more.
I'm worried about rust in the long term. Most aftermarket bumpers in the northern states look like **** after 4 years. I'm counting on having to remove, sandblast, and repaint the bumper after 3 years.
Crashes:adding this aftermarket bumper that mounts directly to the frame with a solid bracket will carry the energy into the frame rather than dissipate it as the stock bumper would do when it bends and breaks. That could cause more harm to passengers and other parts of the truck. I'm going into this knowing that, and I feel that the benefits of protection on off-road and major accidents outweighs it. I have read that the crumple zones still function in the truck in a major accident which keeps my occupants safe.

 

I'm curious about your comment on the RCI skids protecting the intercooler.

I have the RCI skid plates, and I don't see where they contribute any added protection to the intercooler. Help me out here.

Remember, the RCI skids for an EcoBoost do NOT come all the way up under/behind the bumper like they do on a 5.0. The front bolt mount is on the lowest cross member. But please let me know if I misunderstood

 

My buddy Drew Graves at Graves Truck Gear makes some kickass equipment. He's on the higher side of the price spectrum, but well worth it. Or Move bumpers. Around $400 for a basic DIY weld it yourself kit, plus options.

 

Any chance you can send me a picture? I assumed they started the skid right where the stock towhooks go, which would wrap under the intercooler. Ive sent RCI a pm, email, and Vm so far and can't reach anyone there. I don't want to spend a ton of cash on their skids if they can't protect my intercooler. That's the main reason why I want skids. That's disappointing that they can't modify to cover the intercooler.

 

I'll try to remember to get a pic for you tomorrow.

FYI, Skid plates are not/never designed to protect intercoolers. Intercoolers mount all over the place and are rarely in danger of any impact. Skid plates protect the oil pan, tranny pan, t-case, etc.: i.e. "undercarriage".

If you want to add ANY protection for your CAC, then get a lower vent grille. Here's what I run:

 

Thank you I appreciate it. I had the exact same intercooler cover that you had when I had the stock bumper. I actually still have the bumper laying in a garage since I don't need it anymore.

My new bumper.




I get that skid plates typically are on the bottom of the rig to protect the usual suspects, but with this particular truck they put that intercooler in the perfect spot to be the first thing to get blasted by a rock and put the truck out of commission. There is plenty of clearance to put a plate under the intercooler and have it bent so that it can connect where the oem tow hooks go. That is where my aftermarket bumper mounts, but it specifically leaves the last bolt open to accommodate a skid plate. If I had a metalworker buddy I guarantee that someone could easily attach a skid that connected the truck bumper to the underbelly skids just like a baja truck does.

These are RCI's exact words on their full skid plate package. Notice they point out protecting the Intercooler. Seems silly to point out that they protect the intercooler if they really don't.

Protects expensive EPAS power steering unit (new trucks), front differential, front cross-member, engine, engine bay, low hanging intercooler (Ecoboost models), transmission, exhaust, oil pan, transfer-case and vacuum pump