Low profile front bumper

any recommendations for a low-pro front bumper for a winch and lights?
I have a 2023 Off-Road Premium.

 

Hey
Nice truck
I’d love a winch bumper later this year.

Give these popular brands a look for sure:

C4
Body Armor
Cali Raised
Greenlane
Ironman
Victory 4x4
RCI
CBI

 

Southern Style Offroad is another good one to take a look at.

 

Ya man they’ve always been very nice

But beware of some troubles they’ve experienced
https://www.4runners.com/threads/burned-by-southern-style-offroad.34391/page-4

 

I have no experience with any particular bumper but I have done some research. If I were in the market these are the things I’d be looking at:

1. Fit and finish

Specifically how closely does the edge of the winch bumper conform to the shape of the 4Runner bumper? How big is the gap? Does it come powder coated, and is the powder coating a quality job?​

2. Is the bumper TSS compatible?

There’s a TSS relocation kit available but some folks who’ve installed it report having to have the TSS recalibrated. I’d rather just skip all that rigmarole.​

3. Are there recovery points? And if so are they on the vertical face, or are they lower, on the downward sloping face?

I’d prefer them on the vertical face so that during a recovery there’s a straighter pull back to the frame.​

4. Are the hand holes in the front of the bumper of sufficient size and placement to facilitate access to the winch controls?

Some folks get around this issue by cutting a hole in the plastic valence under the hood, above the radiator, but why do that if it can be avoided.
​

5. Does the installation require any drilling? Is it totally reversible? (aside from the huge hole cut in the 4Runner bumper of course.)

6. Are there holes for lighting? Are lights that fit those holes ubiquitous or will I be limited in choice? If the choice is limited, how much are the lights? And in any case, are compatible mounting brackets and hardware available?

I don’t know if the Goldilocks winch bumper exists, but these are the features I’d be looking for.

 

This is the best response / advice / guidance that could ever be given on this topic for how this questions was asked. Hats off to you.

That said...C4 fits all those very well minus access to winch. Get a winch that can be controlled remotely or wirelessly. Or can have buttons mounted in the cab.

Love the cut a hole in the valence idea. Easily replaceable plastic.

 

https://www.4runners.com/threads/5th-gen-armor.1532/

 

I have been contemplating a low profile front bumper for some time, just can't get myself to cut the factory plastic.
The one bumper I found to look almost OEM but provides provisions for a winch, lightbar, and recovery hooks is the RA Motorsports bumper (https://ramotorsports.ca/collection...20-4runner-stub-bumper?variant=32674830418017). The fit seems to be spot on and it has the option for steel or aluminum recovery hooks. Being in the northeast, I was attracted by the aluminum construction for corrosion resistance.

 

+1 for the C4 low pro/ Warn Evo10S
I went with an ExtremeLED dual function lightbar. Works great!

 

Looks good. On the C4 website they show a picture of the bumper from the side that shows how much it protrudes from the front of the vehicle. Is yours the same? From the photos you posted, it seems like your bumper sticks out more.

 

It's the same. But in their image there is no winch hook or license plate installed.
https://c4fabrication.com/products/hawse-license-plate-mount-1

That image also shows the low hoop option, which doesn't work with the front radar/ camera. The high hoop I have does.




These low profile bumpers are all made very similarly. Here are a few threads on this topic:
https://www.4runners.com/threads/low-profile-bumper-and-winch-combo.20796/

https://www.4runners.com/threads/which-minimalist-front-bumper-winch.22392/

 

Ouch, hadn't heard about that yet. Thankfully, I didn't run into any problems with them when I ordered the sliders for my FJ.

 

The questions above were the same questions I asked myself. I also wanted a full set of skid plates, and I wanted to get them from the same company to ensure proper fitment which may be something you also want to consider.

I have had my CBI covert bumper installed for a little over a month now along with a smittybilt 12K winch, and a Baja designs S8 light bar. Fit and finish is pretty good, as it integrates pretty seamlessly with the front bumper, with some minor gaps (see attached images). The powder coating seems to be of excellent quality but only time will tell, though I have plowed through some pretty thick brush with no ill effects. The bumper is compatible with both TSS and the front camera. Recovery points are on the front vertical face which I also like. I can access the winch controls through the bumper itself but I think it would be easiest through the top.

Installation was pretty straight forward, no drilling or cutting into the frame or frame supports but I did have to bend the A/C line slightly. The bumper came with the mounting kit for the light bar but know you can't run any light bar taller then a Baja designs S8. If you have any other questions or would like to see any other pics let me know and I can try and grab them for you.

 

SSO slimline

 

How do you access the winch clutch?

 

I don’t have a winch installed. But if I did, it would be a remote access

 

Electronic winch clutch? Is that a thing

 

they make a wireless remote to control the winch or a plug and play corded handheld version.

 

I have a warn platinum zeon. It comes with a blue tooth remote. That fucker runs out of batteries like it's paid to. And it sucks.

A wireless remote IMO is best. IMO it's best to get a winch that has a plug in wired remote, then get the blue tooth dongle which allows you to use your phone as a winch remote.

 

Yea I have one. But I cannot operate the winch clutch remotely. My Warn Evo10S with wireless adapter (connects to phone) can only spool in and out remotely.

To free spool the winch requires that you physically reach in and use the clutch on the winch. That's why many of these low pro bumpers have cutouts near the fairlead; to allow you to reach in and operate the winch clutch. Without that all you can do is use the remote to spool out... which takes forever... and is one reason why winches have a clutch...

I was curious if some more fancy winches have a electronic clutch actuation. Because I've never seen that.

Regardless if you have a normal winch, you'll need to have access to the clutch.

Definitely a consideration if you're looking for a bumper specifically to mount a winch.

 

You can see the clutch in this diagram:




With your SSO bumper, the only access you have to this is removing or modifying the radiator cover in order to reach down (hopefully far enough) to actuate the clutch.

 

ive seen them cut a hole in the plastic cover to access as well for the SSO’s that dont have the cutout window in the bumper.

 

I want winch

here’s a good example of access hole in cover

 

Most hidden winch bumpers don’t allow access to the spool itself which can be a problem.

Something like this would be ideal if you encounter a problem regarding the spool. Unfortunately the winch rope will be exposed to more dirt, debris and UV so there’s a trade off there.



But not having access to the clutch without cutting another hole makes zero sense to me.

 

I have the Victory 4x4 Blitz in aluminum for weight. I think this one and one from Greenlane are the only ones in aluminum. Pretty happy with it. Did modify the opening for the light bar and grill over the light bar. If you look at pics of the bumper of Victory’s website you will see their logo in the middle and blocking the middle of the light bar. To allow all the light through, I cut out the portion of bumper behind logo so bottom edge of opening is one continuous level edge and had a local shop laser cut a new grill piece without the logo. You can see in the pic now the middle of light bar is no longer blocked.

 

I just put the Cali Rasied stealth bumper with the Warn evo10 winch. The install took me about 5 hours. I had to take my front skid plate to a shop to cut it down 3” and have it sanded. Was able to still see the TRD logo - forgot to add that total weight is 177lbs

 

You removed about 20 lbs worth of factory crash bar and plastics so you're closer to only 157 of added weight.
Not bad!

 

I was living in Colorado Springs at the time, so for me it was a no-brainer to get my front bumper from Hefty Fab, with the high hoop. I didn't opt for the lights, but I do have a Warn winch mounted behind the license plate (which is quick detach with thumb screws). They make a good bumper, it's a hybrid, with steel substructure and aluminum shell. It makes for an incredibly strong bumper that ends up weighing only a bit more than factory (minus the winch).