Heavy Front Bumper

[magman777]

Hey guys, I don't do much posting or asking questions so if I'm in the wrong place just nicely nudge me in the right direction please. I bought my 2018 1500 Tradesman 4WD 5.7 Hemi a few months ago. 2 weeks later hit a deer. Most of the damage was the bumper and drivers side headlight. I was talking with the owner of the body shop the insurance company set up and he said I could order an aftermarket bumper if I wanted. Well I get on American Truck and after weeks of viewing decide on this monster that covers the grill and headlights and all. I think it weighed in close to 400 lbs. It looks good but (non) experts keep telling me my front wheel bearings will go out, my suspension will suffer damage, just all kinds of negative comments. I would like to hear from some real experts what I need to watch for or if I need to do any adjustments or additions to my suspension?

 

[dhay13]

As long as you are under your GFAWR you should be ok but you will be nose heavy causing reduced rear traction. You can find your GFAWR on your drivers door sticker. The other issue is you also reduced your payload rating by probably 350lbs. So if you had 1500lbs before ow you only have maybe 1150lbs. If you don't tow or haul much then no big deal.
To be sure you are under your GFAWR head to a CAT scale and weigh your truck.

 

[magman777]

Thanks for your reply, I really had a hard time believing that the bearings and suspension were that weak. Right now it's riding pretty level with 5 buckets of sand in the back for winter traction. But I'm pretty sure when I unload that in the spring there will be a noticeable difference.

 

[Burla]

I have had my bumper on for ten years, no issues yet, but I did get oem shocks off this thing and I would not use spacers with this bumper either.

 

[Burla]

400 pounds if pretty dang heavy though, now sure I would want to go heavier then 250ish like the fab fours, I wouldn't mind it being a little less. It's gonna be harsh over pot holes being that heavy with major work.

 

[LumberJakl]

Should be no issues running a good bumper in the front, but the suspension will defiantly take a beating. If you haven't changed out your struts, it would be highly recommended (Take it from experience lol)

 

[GTyankee]

There is a reason that they don't suggest that plows be run on Ram 1500s
Maybe find out how much the Meyer Plow for 1500s weigh & compare that to the front bumper grille guard weight

If your front end does act funny, you may want to beef the front end up

 

[tron67j]

Hey guys, I don't do much posting or asking questions so if I'm in the wrong place just nicely nudge me in the right direction please. I bought my 2018 1500 Tradesman 4WD 5.7 Hemi a few months ago. 2 weeks later hit a deer. Most of the damage was the bumper and drivers side headlight. I was talking with the owner of the body shop the insurance company set up and he said I could order an aftermarket bumper if I wanted. Well I get on American Truck and after weeks of viewing decide on this monster that covers the grill and headlights and all. I think it weighed in close to 400 lbs. It looks good but (non) experts keep telling me my front wheel bearings will go out, my suspension will suffer damage, just all kinds of negative comments. I would like to hear from some real experts what I need to watch for or if I need to do any adjustments or additions to my suspension?

Dhay13 has told you exactly what you need to do. There are no experts here that can replace you getting your front axle weighed and doing the math to see if you are under the max weight rating. And you have to consider that some of that weight in your bed is being supported by your front axle. Not much now maybe, but you and other people and things in the cab are contributing to the weight on your axle. Back to weighing the front axle, recommend you do it with full tank, and people plus gear you carry. You may find you are over the weight rating for the front axle and you are on your way to possibly problems down the road, no pun intended.

 

[Lyle Longboat]

I have an iron cross push bar front bumper that needs to go on my 1500. She’s at 200 lbs and I’m waiting for my front 2.5 shocks to get here before I install the bumper.

 

[Badger 13]

You could look at Herd bumpers, not cheap, but aluminum and less weight.

 

[Dean2]

Try these guys. Truly tough bumpers and far less weight. Half the oil patch runs these with a winch and they still come in under 400 pounds. They will take a hit from a deer with no problems. Being Canadian Dollars your cost is 75% of the posted price.

2010-2018 weighs 160 Lbs and $2450 Canadian.

The next one down with the full Wraps is 210 pounds.

Bulletproof Bumpers

Bulletproof Bumpers