A New Rear Bumper for the D2!!!!!

[Kyle]

Departue is over rated.... If you want to hack things off the frame in the ass to accomplish nothing at all then have at it... I am 6'5" , the hood on the big white truck hits me between my elbow and my shoulder. My hitch hits , it hit when it was stock , it hit when it was slightly lifted and it will always hit. If I cut it off , the frame that its welded to would hit . I have knocked the dog shit out of it many many many times on rock and it still tows the boat when I need it...... I dont see the issue...

 

[Kyle]

RJ , the horror....... lol But you know , there really arent any levels of ugly , after a certain point you cant hurt it anymore....

 

[Iron Boots]

RJ , the horror....... lol But you know , there really arent any levels of ugly , after a certain point you cant hurt it anymore....

That is excactly it I've given up LOL! I love my 8274....it's blinded me...I justy want it on the truck.

 

[Snwbord24]

Well, it's only an issue if you think it is.

If it were a huge issue on my rig I would just taken the first DII rear bumper I saw and been done with it. I'd prefer to keep my bumper intact but eventually it's gonna get busted if I'm using the Disco like I should.

I'm not talking about just removing the hitch to get a better departure angle. I'm talking about replacing the stock bumper with one that will take a hit or two on the trail and not need to be replaced. Now, as I already said, why not improve the departure angle at the same time?

Fact: Things fail from fatigue.
Fact: You will hit less with a better departure angle.
Fact: The less you hit the longer it lasts.

 

[Bruno]

If you can integrate the hitch (and maintain the stock towing capacity)

The fabricator has been advised to have "release of liability" forms signed for those customers who insist on an integral receiver. You would be required to sign a statement acknowledging this addition as a "recovery point only" . A towing point is not something to mess about with, imagine a 7000 LB load hanging of the back of your Discovery.

Bruno.

 

[Kyle]

Well the bumper is really only doing something to guard the quarters. It does nothing in the center..
And again , I have hit mine on every single trail I have ever run that had anything to it. I still back up and hook the boat and its alllllllll good.... I dont know what else to tell you. I try to retain as much of the truck as possible and I work around whats there as best I can... If I start hacking things off I may as well buy something that is designed more for my needs..

 

[Snwbord24]

I agree with for most part. I don't think replacing your rear bumper with one that will hold up better to offroading is hacking up your vehicle, just a difference of opinion there. I never said the hitch wasn't strong enough to hack it. It most likely is, but it wasn't designed for that. In the end I'd rather have something that was designed for it.

 

[syoung]

I think the only solution to this for for him to remove the stock hitch, put it in a box with all the bolts etc and send it to me. My friggin truck didn't come with one and I need one.

I thought the weak part of the DII arse was that if/when the bumper took even a small shot form underneath, it pushes up to the bottom of the spare. Is that not true?

 

[Snwbord24]

Steve,

You can have my hitch as soon as I find a rear bumper with a rated hitch integrated and is as sturdy and good as taking the abuse as the stock hitch is.

 

[F18Guy]

LOL.

I autographed many rocks in Moab with my rear trailer hitch.

 

[Kyle]

Thinking back there is a good part on the Rubicon DVD when I hit the hitch and the bumper and pretty much everything back there and just slid off and kept rolling. No fuss , no muss.... I do however apologize to the hitch each time I am mean to it...

 

[rover4x4]

http://www.discoweb.org/moab2001/pritchett/DSC00099.JPG


had too.

 

[Kyle]

Yup , digging in the sand. I recall that day well. The hitch didnt stop me , I got up on the rock and drifted off to a large hole to the left then said fuck it and went around. YOu know that spot it the canyon right Phillip ? Its right before Rocker knocker . Ax who is lower made it past the hitch spot as well and decided he would try a little harder , which in turn got him into the hole I was avoiding and got him winched out .. Are you telling me that if we didnt have hitches we would have made it ?!?!?! I am going out now witha torch... Did you make it after you cut yours off Phillip ?

 

[gadams]

LOL. My favorite thing about this thread is seeing Kyle get going. Kyle, when you get on a horse you're going to ride it until its broke! I learn a ton in these threads but I especially have learned that Kyle missed his calling. At 6'5", he could easily start an new extreme sport, debate mixed with ultimate fighting. I wouldn't bet against him.

Greg

 

[curtis]

I autographed many rocks in Moab with my rear trailer hitch.

LOL. Paul, if they only knew. Your rig was not a trailer queen. It was a drag queen.

Seriously though. On my D2 I called my hitch my 5th wheel. I used it to save my bumper and the glass of the rear door (spare hitting rock) many many times. The support arms on the D2 also provide good tank protection.

Removing that hitch is a bad idea.

 

[Snwbord24]

I'm not talking about just removing the hitch, that would be stupid. I'm talking about replacing it with an entire rear bumper that:
1) gives the same if not better level of protection
2) improves departure angle
3) retains the same towing capacity as stock

 

[curtis]

Shane,

It would be very difficult to accomodate all three of those circumstances. Even if you could, I seriously wonder what advantage it would realistically bring. The plain simple truh is that you are going to bang your ass no matter what you do. Hell, for arguments sake that was one of my main reasons for getting a D1 after owning a D2. Guess what? I still bang ass. Maybe a little less, but it still happens more than I would like. The only differnce is that the D2 has a much better reciever than the D1 and can take a helluva lot more abuse. The D1 requires a reciever shackle to maintain its shape. The D2 can get by without it.

There are so many advantages to keeping the stock reciever in place on a D2. I have no desire to go into it further at this point. I do have a rudimentary fabbed up rear bumper for the D2 that I made a while back though. If someone wants it please let me know and I will be happy to let you keep up the work for a very nominal fee

 

[AndyThoma]

This slightly off topic but .... in a d1 is the hitch strong enough to keep bashing on rocks? I was under the impression it was. I need to replace my rear d1 bumper and was wondering if there is a solution to protecting the frame rails, gas tank and rear bumper while increasing the departure angles without the hitch. So is keeping the hitch on a d1 a good or bad idea? I know, get a bigger lift than my old settled ome, but that's changing in Jan/Feb. The thing I love about Moab is waiting for the hitch to hit so you know you are off of the ledge.

Another side topic ... Kyle... ever have any plans for a rear bumper? After seeing Steve Rupps front KVT I got bumper envy. If you did replace a rear bumper on a d1 or d2 would you do the wrap around protection to the rear quarters?

 

[Kyle]

Well here is the thing. Bottom line , $G has the best rear bumper for a Discovery , best design , best look and best function. There are some others that have ripped that off and are selling them but I think its very poor form . Since I havnt thought up a better way I just havnt built one. I am not a big fan of $G but I respect how difficult it is to come up with an original idea....

 

[AndyThoma]

Fair enough, what are your thoughts on RTE's rear bumper. (without those silly slider bumperettes on the side because they are ugly)