05 Stock Bumper Strength VS Cadillac

gdane4x4 · Post by **gdane4x4** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:10 am

First post on PWR but figured this was too good not to share. Currently dd an 2005 PW for the last 5 years. Last night we got a couple inches of ice and snow and somebody local with limited driving abilities decided it was a good chance to check the strength of my factory bumper. Long story short it was head on collision slowed to about 30mph with an late 90's 4 door cadilac. Actually it was center of my truck vs their pass front corner after avoidance procedures were followed to no avial.. Happy to report PW came out victourious with only dented lower chrome bumper. Impact landed mainly on the front tow hook and winch mount area. Didnt not even break the fog light. Now for the cadilac.... complete total. Pushed entire front end over, shoved entire motor, strut etc all out towrad driver side. Ripped hood off etc etc. I have read where some people question the strength of the winch mout, tow hooks or factory bumpers and have to say it impressed myself and even the officer working the accident. When he walked up to the crash and seen the car he asked me were the truck was that hit it thinking I had just pulled up there with my hazards to block the area and was amazed at how little damage was done. Now onto another reason for post. I too have been searching posts and forums for new replacement after market front bunper like road armor, trail ready and everything in between but agree with the majority of other PW owners and do not like how far most of these bumpers stick out to accommodate a winch for non PW trucks. Will be ordering a new bumper obviously and hoping to find one that is strong and looks decent but doesnt stick out a mile. This all just happened last night and still havent heard if they have insurance or not but was def deemed their fault. Mercenary bumper looks good as well but just wanted to see what everyone has came up with as options for this. Plus of course share the story and post a pic if I can figure out how to lol. And btw no one was injured in the crash. Only mod I currently have is just some 35's but will be trying to piece together a lcg lift/ trim in future once the k2s wear out. This poor truck just seeems to atrack situatuins like this and is about the 3rd time it has been hit by someone else and their carelessness. Last winter was ran off road and into tree and modified the front right fender slightly but thats just an excuse for some prerunner fenders at a later date for the lcg lift. Thanks for your time. Gary

old sole mopar · Post by **old sole mopar** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:48 am

Nice to hear your ok. And nice to know you drive a real truck. Lol! Cadillac guy must be considering his next choice in transportation.

GunniPWguy · Post by **GunniPWguy** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:49 am

Welcome to the forum. I too am in need of a new front bumper. Will be interested to see what you go with. Been looking at Ranchhands because of their relatively inexpensive price. All the other ones are out of my league.

jeep_boy02 · Post by **jeep_boy02** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 12:49 pm

I really like my backwoods bumper. It really filled my need for not stock looking, stout front end but not stick out like a plow. Only sticks out 2" further than factory iirc

azracer · Post by **azracer** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:04 pm

I don't care for any that I have seen other than the Mercenary Off Road front and rear bumper. I do like the prerunner look, but just not on my PW. I think if Mercenary doesn't figure out how to utilize the OEM winch location then a stock bumper is my only option left. I have looked at many bumpers and all I see out there are what I call Jay Leno bumpers. Good luck on your search!

gdane4x4 · Post by **gdane4x4** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:08 pm

Looks really good. Curiois how a side pull would be with just the opening and no outer fairlead. Def like the looks of that one along with similar styles. Also some sights have different break in years for our PW so need to do some more research as well. 2" further isnt too bad at all. Some just look out of place and almost bulky when they make them to hold a winch.. Thanks for all replys and I def drive a PW. Wouldn't drive anything else and put this truck through its paces on a regular basis. Not so much for play but just work around property and daily duties along with long family road trips. If I want to get serious offroad fun thats what the crawler is for. Learned along time ago to seperate the DD from the weekend toy.

azracer · Post by **azracer** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:31 pm

A quick search shows this link for the only PW I'm aware of that had the Mercenary bumper put on. They relocated the winch to the bumper and made room for the smart bar.

http://americanadventurist.com/Forum/sh ... #post31395

.

jeep_boy02 · Post by **jeep_boy02** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 4:53 pm

As for side pulls the cable actually contacts the factory mount near the rollers before it would the bumper.

GunniPWguy · Post by **GunniPWguy** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:15 pm

Here is the Ranch Hand I mentioned earlier. Not exactly ready for our winches but it looks like a slot could be cut in the front to expose the rollers and cable. Maintains factory fog lights and tow hooks, and has a 2" receiver which could come in handy for $965.00 delivered from one website I found.

2wagons1driveway · Post by **2wagons1driveway** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:34 pm

I don't mind my smittybuilt to much...stout. Works with all the pw stuff.. Sticks out alittle far though like a nerdy hillybilly

Edit: and it wasn't that expensive 1000$? If I recall was like 1200$ by the time I got it with a fairlead

Sent from somewhere your not

gdane4x4 · Post by **gdane4x4** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:22 pm

Thanks guys I appreciate all the info and pics. Waiting to here back from report to see if they had insurance as well. Hoping they do but either way will need a new one. Need to price out the stock unit from stealership as well cause know they will want to know the price.

gdane4x4 · Post by **gdane4x4** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:23 pm

Thanks guys I appreciate all the info and pics. Waiting to here back from report to see if they had insurance as well. Hoping they do but either way will need a new one. Need to price out the stock unit from stealership as well cause know they will want to know the price.

RustyPW · Post by **RustyPW** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:25 pm

Welcome to the forum.

Stay away from fusion bumpers. Bad customer service, and they lie to you.

I have the Aluminess bumper on mine. So far it has 3 deer hits on it.

That's my red PW in the ad.

http://www.aluminess.com/dodge/dodge-po ... nt-bumper/

adeluca73 · Post by **adeluca73** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:44 pm

I like the Aluminess bumper w/o the brush guard. It's made to accommodate stock winch mounting, and comes in custom colors, but it's $2K, yikes.

I like the new AEV Ram bumper too. I think 2004Hemi lives near their shop & might have some personal eye witness account of how far it sticks out & how it accommodates the winch & maybe cost too???

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