Aftermarket bumper scare

My buddy backed into my Tundra and it's going to require a new bumper. He said he'll pay for it. I took it to a body shop and they quoted 1k to fix it. They gave me a list of parts that needed to be replaced. I've sourced them on the internet and it's coming out to be around $500. I'm debating on just saying screw it and order an aftermarket steel bumper. Considering that this is the second time my truck has had to have bumper work. My only concern is the safety of steel aftermarket bumpers. I never off road my truck since it's a 2wd. I've looked at frontier steel bumpers and ranch hand. The reason why I'm concerned is, wouldn't a steel bumper negate the safety features and crumble zones that Toyota designed our trucks to have? I'm worried it'll make higher impact wrecks more dangerous. It's my front bumper that has to be replaced.

 

I think that’s a valid concern. There’s probably a reason why some end up with slightly bent frames after a rear end collision. The rear part of our frame is open C-channel. That might be to help with flex, but it also might be to aid as a crumple zone and impact absorption. If so, Toyota’s engineers might also have designed the frame’s impact absorption to work in conjunction with the OEM bumper. And if that’s also the case, then yes, a stronger aftermarket steel bumper could affect that safety design. It could also cause the frame to bend more so than designed if the bumper is stronger since the force of an impact will affect the weaker link - the frame in such an instance. By contrast, a stronger bumper might provide better protection with relatively lighter impacts, such as a more minor rear end collision. I’d be interested to hear experiences from those with stronger aftermarket bumpers who may have been in rear end collisions and how everything fared.

 

Exactly, that's why I've always been skeptical of them. It was my front bumper btw. I should've clarified that. Considering I'm keeping this truck for upwards of 5+ years. That's a lot of time for a wreck to occur. Hope to God I won't have one but I'm looking towards the future and all of the possibilities.

 

I know that one of the billion after market bumpers out there is designed to function with all the safety feature. I just can't remember which one it was. Might have been rough country. I'll dig around as I have time, and if I find it I'll put a link in.

 

I believe you're talking about ARB. They're an Australian company, very nice stuff.

 

ARB bumper is airbag approved....not sure about crumple zones etc

https://arbusa.com/toyota-tundra-2014-2018/bumpers-protection-equipment/

 

Thank you. Yeah they're nice.

 

Some stuff I found in googling.

From this forum -> https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/aftermarket-front-bumpers-and-air-bag-systems.80111/

One member wrote:
The difference is at low speed impact. The ARB uses the factory crush cans where some of the others do not. The airbag sensors are inertia triggers. Meaning that is takes a certain amount of G-Force to set them off. There are several other factors but they are not related to the bumper. DOT requires that a bumper has to survive a 5 mph impact with minimal damage. The crush cans absorb the energy from the impact reducing the G-Force transmitted to the occupants. Without the crush cans 100% of the impact is transfered which is more likely to trigger an airbag in a low speed impact. ARB retains the cans so the it retains the factory carachteristics. With some other brands thet ommit the cans and are mounted solid to the frame. The high speed results are the same as stock however at lower speed impacts the bag trigger may be more sensitive.

 

That makes sense since the airbags are deployed when the car rapidly de-accelerates. I always felt like steel bumpers were like going back to the mindset that cars were built like tanks back in the 50s yet a minor accident would kill you due to lack of safety features.

 

Most of the aftermarket bumpers are designed with vehicle preservation in mind, whereas the stock set up is designed to sacrifice the vehilce to preserve the occupants. Can't really have both. If you want the crumple absorption you stay stock. If you want idiots in parking lots to fear you, go after market.

Also, go check out road armor's site. They have testimonials of people that have been in accidents with their bumpers. Good source of info.

 

If you have a trailer hitch on the rear it doesn’t matter. I’m switching to metal after hitting a tiny deer and the cost of the parts. When I took it apart I was appalled at how flimsy the bumper covers are built. I’m going to switch both to metal.

 

I lean toward the aftermarket myself, especially after seeing the trucks and testimonials for some of the bumpers. I just have limited options for the rear, because I got the blind spot and rear cross traffic alert. I love those features, but I wish it didn't restrict rear options so much. Moot point right now. I have to start saving up for more important things.

 

ARB keeps the crush cans, at least on the 2 vehicles that I had.

 

They doo, but you also have to chop up your front end, don't you?

 

I never have. I had ARB bumper on my 99.5 Disco II and 99 4 Runner. No chopping of anything. From what I have seen there is no chopping of panels for the Tundra. I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

 

I can't say for sure either. I've never had one. Here's a pic, and I circled a spot that I assume you'd be trimming, and if not, I don't think it's going to protect that spot from damage. If it's not trimmed, then it sits in front of it, and any impact is going to drive the bumper back into the body, and grill. It looks like it would increase damage to the truck.

 

I had an ARB on my ‘03 Tacoma. Great bumper but pricey. Not sure about the Tundra ARB bumpers but the one for the 1st gen Tacomas was airbag compliant and designed to work with the crumple zones. I was lucky enough to never have to test it, though.

I also had a Duffco prerunner tubular bumper made out of .120 DOM for a ‘99 Tacoma. I had a local welder fabricate stronger mounting brackets and support braces. That one helped the front end survive an accidental hit into an earthen berm at about 35-40 mph. It bent slightly, which is what it was designed to do - absorb some of the impact - and save the frame. The airbags never went off, either. I was wearing a seatbelt and came out unscathed, but the next day I felt pretty sore. So my guess is that instead of the stock plastic bumper absorbing the hit and having the force of the impact activate the crumple zone, some of the energy from the impact may have transferred to my flesh and bones leaving me sore the next day. But I’m no crash expert so I don’t know. I also don’t know what would’ve happened to me or the truck had the hit taken place at a higher rate of speed.

Like someone else said, I guess there’s a trade-off with these bumpers, assuming they work as designed. I think the worst case would be a very strong bumper with a weak or poorly designed mounting system. An impact might actually serve to push the bumper inward causing more damage to the truck and could possibly even affect the crumple zone as originally designed with OEM parts. What kind of bumper or mounting system that may be, I don’t know.

 

Even at a stock set up you would have been sore. I speak from experience. Long story short, I intentionally rammed a toyota avalon head on into a dodge stratus at a friend's scrap yard. It was a 35-40 MPH impact with TWO crumple zones to absorb the impact, and a lot of the energy went into sending the dodge stratus rolling back another 20 feet until it hit a flatbed trailer. No airbags deployed, and I had some whiplash and a bruise from the seatbelt. 10 out of 10 fun, and would do again.