Truck Bumpers Explained: Protection, Upgrades and Buying Tips

Immerse yourself in nature and escape daily routines. Overlanding is the ultimate way to explore remote and secluded locations, provided you equip your truck the right way. Pack all essentials, including adequate amounts of water, extra fuel, warm clothing, food and cooking supplies for the length of your trip. And necessities like sleeping gear, deep-cycle batteries or generators, lighting and first-aid kits, just in case. 

Check vehicles for battery health, slap on a decent set of grippy tires, ensure proper coolant and lubricant levels and you’re just about ready to go. The only missing item is an appointed off road bumper front and back. Bumpers keep your truck safe and sound on unchartered trails, prevent damage to the bodywork, transmission and engine and provide the practicality for off-roading and overlanding essentials, including winches and recovery gear. 

Role of Truck Bumpers 

Protection from Impact 

A sturdy and well-designed off-road bumper is your truck’s first line of defense in collisions and impacts. Typical off-roading obstacles such as trees, rocks and ditches can leave you stranded in direct hits at speed, and cause serious vehicle damage or injuries to occupants. The same goes for animal strikes, which can render critical components like headlights and radiators out of operation. A bumper’s main purpose is to provide all-round protection by absorbing the force of impact and minimizing damage. They’re essential additions in any off-roading and overlanding outing.  

Improved Off-roading Capabilities 

Removing the factory bumpers and replacing them with aftermarket variants provides better approach and departure angles, making ascents and descents easier and safer. This is essential in technical trials, and exploring off the tarmac. Moreover, the increased ground clearance pairs well with other off-roading additions, such as lift kits and larger off-roading tires to steer the truck clear of obstacles and protect the undercarriage.  

Practicality 

Recovery gear, including snatch straps, shackles and winches are indispensable off-roading items and bumpers provide the perfect place for secure installation. Look for bumpers with integrated winch cradles and the required strength to cope with the weight of stranded vehicles. Equipped with mounts for weight-rated recovery tow points, bumpers also double in towing tasks as well as vehicle recoveries. And with mounting points along the tubing for off-road lights or CB radios, bumpers boost practicality and utility in remote, dimly-lit areas. 

Major Types 

There are dozens of types of aftermarket pickup truck bumpers, each suited to different purposes. The parts also differ in shape, vehicle coverage and features. Major off road bumper types include: 

• Bull bar bumpers: These off road bumpers cover the entire front section of the vehicle, offering superior protection for the headlights, radiators and other vital parts in head-on collisions with animals and other vehicles. 
• Modular: A basic design that allows for customization and varying levels of protection with a range of add-on parts. Common additions are integrated lights, winch cradles, skid plates and additional hoops. 
• Tubular/pre-runner: Tubular bars consist of several metal tubes that cover more of the vehicle. They consist of large-diameter, thick-walled tubes for superior impact prevention. Slimmed down versions are pre-runner bumpers, with a single tube running along the full width of the truck. these assume a sleek and low profile ideal for improved approach angles, but miss out on the comprehensive protection in bigger types. 
• Stinger bumpers: Designed for hard-core off-roading, stinger bumpers assume a triangular profile that protrudes at a 45-degree angle. This prevents trucks from tipping over in steep descents. The bars also add leverage and lift when tackling exceptionally large obstacles. 

Choosing the Right Bumper

Widths

Full width aftermarket bumpers are largely self-explanatory, and match the width of the stock bumper. They may not protrude out far, but wrap around the vehicle front to also shield the side panels, and to a degree the wheel flares. Mid-width bumpers go to the outer edges of the headlights, leaving the wheel flares exposed. 

Rear versions extend from the left and right tail lights, with little or no coverage for the corners. Lastly, stubby or shorty bumpers go with the shortest widths and least protection, but provide ample space for more tire clearance and open wheel arches without missing on extras like winch cradles and mounting points for lights. 

Materials 

Materials determine strength, weight and price. Steel bumpers are the most common, usually as high-grade, heat-treated and coated alloys. Mild steel is a low-cost option with decent strength, but can corrode when exposed to water and abrasive materials such as sand. Up strength and rust resistance with higher steel grades that have undergone extensive treatment in thicker (3/16″ or 1/4″) tube or plate designs for enhanced durability. 

If weight is a concern, switch to aluminum. These are also rust-resistant, but may not provide the strength and durability of thicker steel bumpers. Newer options are composite materials such as glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRP) and carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) for improved impact absorption, considerably lower weight, superior corrosion resistance and the flexibility for varied designs. These have yet to become widespread, largely due to high production costs. 

Bumper Features and Accessories 

Besides the necessary strength in materials or correct sizing for all-round protection, consider bumper features and accessories for enhanced practicality and utility. Choose aftermarket bumper brackets or replace bent or dented mounting brackets, can adapters for carrying jerry cans, light brackets for light bars and driving lights, swing-out tire carriers on rear bumpers when there’s a flat, and bumpers with integrated hitches or hitch adapters and tow hooks for towing. 

Bumpers and bumper accessories can be ordered from specialist truck and off-roading parts online retailers or in-store, along with other off-roading kit such as suspension parts, recovery gear and camping equipment. Consider where and how you’ll be driving and get a fully-optioned bumper that meets all your current and future overlanding and off-roading needs.