Raptor Winch Bumper- Fail?

[DewarT]

While I'm in the market for a '23 Raptor (working on a couple available at the moment), I have been looking at accessories. In particular front and rear bumpers, but I'm concerned on the mounting points- they are mounted in essentially one plane and that would be prone to failure in real world use.

To quantify- I have built numerous vehicles, own two heavily modified Classic Broncos, and I have been rock crawling & off-roading for 25+ years. I can’t leave my vehicles stock. I have a purpose built rock crawler so the Raptor won't see that kind of abuse, but I want the bumpers to be as sleek as possible, protective of sheetmetal, recovery capable and overall- reliable. To that end- I really liked the appearance of the Addictive Desert Design (ADD) Rock-Fighter bumpers.

I have reviewed hundreds of videos and dozens of builds here and on other forums- until I came across @FiveAngelsOutdoor Raptor build. He seems to use his Raptor- nothing crazy, but real world use. Then I see the video that I snapped the below pictures from. Mount fail during a snatch recovery on an ADD front winch bumper. While the bumper seemed to come out OK, clearly it lacked support.

ADD advertises " two reinforced clevis mounts for soft shackles to provide recovery options " and points this out in their videos as well. It was a pretty aggressive snatch, but this is common in many off-road situations- especially on a heavy vehicle.

I have seen other posts about the factory recovery points being tweaked in recoveries, hidden winch mounts damaging the frames and accidents reveal a really weak front structure of the Broncos. So- what are we to do with this information? I have seen some winch bumpers that come with additional brackets to strengthen the bumper mounting point, are they enough? I don't want to weld onto the frame to support loading of this nature. There was additonal damage to his electrical system- a lot could go wrong here.

Any better bumper designs with real world snatch recoveries that would demonstrate the strength- without damage? What about rear bumpers where I’m more likely to use a snatch rope or strap? Similar type mounting points to the front.

I think @FiveAngelsOutdoor is a member here- maybe he can comment with better pics of the failure. Maybe someone from ADD or another bumper company can chime in. Either way- looking for real world input. Dropping $90k on a Raptor and then $6k on winch and bumpers is a significant investment to put at risk in this manner....

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[PWillette]

Not a fan of winches being mounted on top of the bumper...just creates strain on the bumper mounting points. I went with BAMF winch bumper on my BL...winch line and recovery points are virtually in line with the frame rail mounting points and the thing is STOUT. Not sure if they have anything for the Braptor. In the end I suppose it boils down to the frame rail connections and recovery point location...looks like the pic you posted the recovery points are low (below frame rail mounting points) and it just pulled off the frame. Several brands sell frame rail mounting reinforcement plates.

 

[swamp2]

Full video of the failure here:



Could that be a tow strap not a snatch line? I'm used to seeing snatch ropes round but know you can also get them flat. Let's hear some details about the recovery.

Although I am not in the market for a bumper(s), I do think ADD makes about the best looking Raptor bumpers. I'd love to hear their input on this scenario too.

 

[orion]

Full video of the failure here:



Could that be a tow strap not a snatch line? I'm used to seeing snatch ropes round but know you can also get them flat. Let's hear some details about the recovery.

Although I am not in the market for a bumper(s), I do think ADD makes about the best looking Raptor bumpers. I'd love to hear their input on this scenario too.

That's exactly what that is! Wrong tool for the job. But reinforcement are needed, in my opinion no matter what.

There's a couple of companies building brace kits, TD Distributing is one I can think of, the other I don't remember. I thought it was LOBO, but couldn't find it on their site so maybe not.

 

[DewarT]

Its hard to tell the difference between a snatch strap and tow strap from that short video. While the correct strap is far superior in these situations, there is still a mounting failure on the Bronco and bumper that is a big concern

 

[DewarT]

After searching a bit- there are brace kits, but its odd to me that ADD sells theirs separate and not as a part of their bumpers- designed to be used for this purpose. Seems like a huge liability.

ADD’s separate bracket kit (brackets on both sides)- still less significant than the ‘major brands’.

The Ford winch plate (Made by Warn?) has 4 additional parts in their kit (per side) to strengthen the mounting location.

If you look at the legacy brand name winch bumper manufacturers, most of them have some bracing as well. Warn’s Elite bumper has some significant bracketry (different than the winch plate)

 

[DewarT]

ARB bumpers also have some significant bracketry

The Tricky Dick brackets are impressive.

LOBO does offer a completely unique approach as they ties bumper reinforcement into the body mount with their 'Crash Bar Erase Kit'- a significant structure. Thanks for pointing them out!

The fairly popular Rough Country high winch mount and their tubular bumper offer no frame support brackets.

Similarly the popular DV8 bumpers also do not offer any additional frame support

Clearly this isn’t an extensive review of bumpers and winch mounts, but I think this is great information on what to look for when shopping for a winch mount. I should also note that without seeing the structure of the bumpers themselves, the offset and internal support structure of winch mount or recovery points looks different on each bumper/mount and some seem to have less support there as well.

 

[Fordified1]

I have been paying attention to bumper install videos and the factory bumper flange / framehorn does look pretty flimsy to me. It’s a huge concern especially in a flat towing situation behind a motorhome (as I will be doing) where lives are at stake. I ordered one of the bracket kits that addresses this, but I wish it was made out of slightly thicker material. I may also add some weld and gussets, but don’t recommend a novice welder doing this. That crashbar delete/body mount replacement structure that ties into the bumper mou shown above is clearly the best option.

 

[Fordified1]

ARB bumpers also have some significant bracketry

The Tricky Dick brackets are impressive.

LOBO does offer a completely unique approach as they ties bumper reinforcement into the body mount with their 'Crash Bar Erase Kit'- a significant structure. Thanks for pointing them out!

The fairly popular Rough Country high winch mount and their tubular bumper offer no frame support brackets.

Similarly the popular DV8 bumpers also do not offer any additional frame support

Clearly this isn’t an extensive review of bumpers and winch mounts, but I think this is great information on what to look for when shopping for a winch mount. I should also note that without seeing the structure of the bumpers themselves, the offset and internal support structure of winch mount or recovery points looks different on each bumper/mount and some seem to have less support there as well.

I was also impressed with pics I saw of the Tricky Dick brackets but could not find them. Saw a thread that ended without a source for them, maybe because they’re not a sponsor on here?

 

[PWillette]

I was also impressed with pics I saw of the Tricky Dick brackets but could not find them. Saw a thread that ended without a source for them, maybe because they’re not a sponsor on here?

Google search Tricky Motorsports

 

[PWillette]

I was also impressed with pics I saw of the Tricky Dick brackets but could not find them. Saw a thread that ended without a source for them, maybe because they’re not a sponsor on here?

https://td-distributing.myshopify.com/

 

[Mdozier]

You might check @Valhalla’s build. While it’s a badlands, he modified the ARB front end with a winch for his rig and it’s impressive. Not sure what frame mount differences you might face with the raptor but the info may help

 

[Mdozier]

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/valhallas-long-term-build-thread.64748/post-1832636

if I did it right Valhalla’s ARB bumper install starts about here.

 

[Fordified1]

https://td-distributing.myshopify.com/

Been to his website a couple times. Can't find the brackets. They are a nice thickness and have gussets.

 

[PWillette]

Been to his website a couple times. Can't find the brackets. They are a nice thickness and have gussets.

Possible he's out of stock. What say @Tricky Mike

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