Reviews wanted on Expedition One Rear bumper with tire carrier

[Crash98]

I like that it operates as a single unit. I'm in the back a lot and having to swing the tire carrier out as a superstructure step would get annoying.

As for the coating, yeah I noticed that too. It's been snowing and raining a lot up here in the PNW, and I'm not the kind of person who ruined off his car after every drive. I figured I'll just hit it with some rattle can touch up black paint/ rust inhibitor as needed.

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[John Bronco_ I am here]

Note: this doesn't look good at all, for 2 months That's quite a but of surface coating failure. Probably cuts its life down to "only" 10 years, but something to monitor.

Not to minimize the importance of coatings, especially in some parts of the country where they do not know the cure for cancer, but that is 3/16" mild steel, even with no coating structural integrity would not be degraded from rust for decades. On the order of 70 years.

These are mass produced and good help is hard to find. You can get them bare and coat with whatever or however you want. The cost is about ~$120 for the coating they offer, you get what you pay for (well usually). The low paid worker just failed to swing the powder gun to every part as they should have. Had the same issue with a Trail Ready bumper I got for my superduty. On the bright side their metal forming, jig settings, and weld quality appear to be very acceptable.

 

[Pdiddy22]

just received mine yesterday, build quality looks great and was packaged well for shipping. I’ll be installing over the holidays and will update with some install info and pics. Will mention I ordered the bumper 4/22/2022, picked it up from Estes trucking yesterday 12/15/2022. The wait times are no joke, if you want one order soon and be prepared to wait.

Agree with the wait time. Ordered mine in February and received it in September.

 

[Rick Astley]

Not to minimize the importance of coatings, especially in some parts of the country where they do not know the cure for cancer, but that is 3/16" mild steel, even with no coating structural integrity would not be degraded from rust for decades. On the order of 70 years.

These are mass produced and good help is hard to find. You can get them bare and coat with whatever or however you want. The cost is about ~$120 for the coating they offer, you get what you pay for (well usually). The low paid worker just failed to swing the powder gun to every part as they should have. Had the same issue with a Trail Ready bumper I got for my superduty. On the bright side their metal forming, jig settings, and weld quality appear to be very acceptable.

Hard to know where you live (assuming Nevada or Arizona where rust isn't an issue), here where it rains 300ish days a year, having a surface coating fail in the first few months is not a good sign. Even rattle canning a self etching primer will do more than that.

I'll stand by 10 years with the weight it bears constantly. At least that's when my unicycle starts going south of cheese with rust.

 

[John Bronco_ I am here]

At least that's when my unicycle starts going south of cheese with rust.

Thoroughly impressed you have a unicycle built from 3/16" plate steel.

 

[Samsquanch75]

I have this bumper and I really like it. There was a minor issue where they forgot to include the piece that connects the tire carrier to the tailgate and I didn't realize until I had it almost completely installed. So had to secure the swing arm with some rope while they sent the part, which they were pretty quick to do. Instructions are mostly good and easy to follow. Install was relatively simple and can be done with one person. Had to make a few adjustments after install to get it to fit just right, and since then it's been great. I've had it on for almost 2 months now and I like the look and function of it. Happy to answer any questions you might have about it.

I have this bumper and I really like it. There was a minor issue where they forgot to include the piece that connects the tire carrier to the tailgate and I didn't realize until I had it almost completely installed. So had to secure the swing arm with some rope while they sent the part, which they were pretty quick to do. Instructions are mostly good and easy to follow. Install was relatively simple and can be done with one person. Had to make a few adjustments after install to get it to fit just right, and since then it's been great. I've had it on for almost 2 months now and I like the look and function of it. Happy to answer any questions you might have about it.

Curious if your parking air sensors are working properly after installing in the this bumper? Pic looks like you have them, I’ve installed the same bumper and now get an error flashing the parking sensors failed. Expo One states they may not work properly, I’m not concerned by it but it more of an annoyance having it pop up every time I go into reverse.

 

[Crash98]

Curious if your parking air sensors are working properly after installing in the this bumper? Pic looks like you have them, I’ve installed the same bumper and now get an error flashing the parking sensors failed. Expo One states they may not work properly, I’m not concerned by it but it more of an annoyance having it pop up every time I go into reverse.

Mine work. Initially, I got an error because I didn't have the sensors plugged in right. The rear harness has 5 plugs, but 1 of them is a plug for the license plate light. They all look the same. I had to cut the tape on the harness a bit to give me enough slack to plug in the 4 proper plugs to the sensors. The 2 middle one need more space since the sensor holes are a bit wider than on the factory bumper.

 

[Samsquanch75]

Mine work. Initially, I got an error because I didn't have the sensors plugged in right. The rear harness has 5 plugs, but 1 of them is a plug for the license plate light. They all look the same. I had to cut the tape on the harness a bit to give me enough slack to plug in the 4 proper plugs to the sensors. The 2 middle one need more space since the sensor holes are a bit wider than on the factory bumper.

Thanks for the input! Who would have thought the 12v line for license plate light would have the exact same connector as the sensors? Found the offending connector and got it sorted, everything is working as it should be now.

 

[Felix808]

Here are some pics of how it connects and also height of bumper. Kind oh hard to tell what's going. Bottom picture, I had the tailgate open to 45 degrees to try and open it up a bit. With the extra weight of the bumper, I sit almost level with factory HOSS 3.0 suspension. You lose your 3rd brake light, but I added the oracle brake light ring. Also have a Brandmotion rear camera, which explains the extra wires.

I also ordered mine way back in April and it was a 20-24 week lead time. Website now says something more reasonable, I think.

Thanks for posting. I've had mine on order since the end of July. Just went to powder coat Christmas week. Hopefully it will be on the truck next month

 

[Felix808]

I just got an email telling me it's shipped

 

[Arokcrwlr]

I just got an email telling me it's shipped

Excellent! If you don't mind, please post up a review with lots of pics when you get it installed.

 

[aniljavali]

I have this bumper and I really like it. There was a minor issue where they forgot to include the piece that connects the tire carrier to the tailgate and I didn't realize until I had it almost completely installed. So had to secure the swing arm with some rope while they sent the part, which they were pretty quick to do. Instructions are mostly good and easy to follow. Install was relatively simple and can be done with one person. Had to make a few adjustments after install to get it to fit just right, and since then it's been great. I've had it on for almost 2 months now and I like the look and function of it. Happy to answer any questions you might have about it.

quick question.

does the parking sensors work? they mention on their website "sensor holes not guaranteed to work."

appreciate your thoughts.
thanks

 

[Knownman]

It was #1 on my list as the fuel storage and taking weight off the tailgate were key.

Their heim joint to marry the tailgate to the swing arm also looked like a fantastic solution.

That being said, their customer support was suspect, and that they still haven't come out with rock sliders for the 2-door meant I spent elsewhere.

Sorry that isn't a product review that you asked for. Their stuff looks great, I just didn't want to make the jump and see what showed up, however Their experience and duration in the industry indicates they probably make good stuff.

I can't give a review on their Bronco offering but I can give one on the dual swing gate for the Ram 2500 I had before this.
Customer support: 3 out of 10. and maybe should be less but I'm somewhat removed from it now. The very short story is the bumper arrived with a massive scratch underneath it. I had paid extra for an insurance they offer for this the of issue, only to learn that it's basically impossible to get that to be honored. They expect you to hold the delivery driver whilst you unbox and inspect everything before signing off on the package. It came on a pallet and was about 3 feet tall. All boxed up and from the outside appeared fine so I expected it was okay but once I got it open, at the bottom the main bumper had a huge scratch through the powder coating. Next came the challenges with fitment. The locking pins didn't fit into their place because of excess weld material, the aluminum top beauty plate I received was for an earlier model, so it didn't fit. Hardware was missing, which meant stop the build to get something to work. Instructions were incomplete and sometimes unavailable depending on what accessory you had, and the fit and finish wasn't really what I would expect for a $3000 bumper. For example the edges of every part not welded are all left as cut. In other words sharp because they're water jetted. This is an issue when they don't bother to put a chamfer on them both because it's sharp to the touch and will cut through strapping and such. But most often because the powder coating won't take to those edges well. It will easily chip off and leave unprotected steel in the elements. This is why dirt race car frames always have the tabs and gussets finished off with the flap disk grinder to add surface for the adhesion of the powder coating. And the swing away was only to one position which is odd. It seemed like there should be a second wider one but they didn't seem to like any feedback, regardless of if how it was conveyed. I did try very nicely and actually held back on critiquing whilst I tried to get all the parts I needed to fit it. Next was trying to get the parking sensors to fit. Let's start with the fact that the steel is 1/4" thick and the sensors have securing tabs that aren't made to fit in that thick of steel. Zip ties to the rescue, but it was always an issue and there's so little room to fit your hands in there. Then the rear tag light. Well its not plug and play and there's no harness for it. I basically had to build a new harness for that and the rear camera. No instructions needed thank you. And the opening for the rear plate, is only a quarter inch smaller than the size of the license plate. Which a pair of sheers took care of nicely!
Go try and talk with them about it and if you're lucky enough to get any response it will probably be like mine was. Rude and unhelpful. The owner was especially not interested in doing anything to resolve the concerns and she made it very obvious to me that she didn't believe me with regards to how the package arrived. Apparently I must have put the scratch there while I unboxed it. I had video of the unboxing but it was then obviously the shipper, which was super annoying considering there was a no way they could have done it either. No matter what, she was deflecting any accountability from Expedition One.

Those things aside the design is pretty solid. It looks cool and will get compliments. The latching is pretty complicated and can work well, but also can come out of adjustment often and is pretty unintuitive for anyone who doesn't know how to use it. It holds a 37" tire with no issue but can be scary when the latch opens up and the tire tries to swing around while driving on the highway. Ask me how I know. Having to open the gate every time I wanted to access the tailgate was a pain in the butt especially when doing odd things like visiting the grocery store. And the build time is about three times as long as they state. Lots of refinishing, cutting, priming and painting, runs to the hardware store and readjusting the mechanisms required to get everything to fit properly. Aside from that and the fact that it literally weighed 225 lbs, it's great. This isn't a plug and play option. Read this as must have fabrication skills. Then don't forget to get some new springs and shocks on order.

But I learned my expensive lesson. Hopefully you all can benefit from it.

 

[Rick Astley]

I can't give a review on their Bronco offering but I can give one on the dual swing gate for the Ram 2500 I had before this.
Customer support: 3 out of 10. and maybe should be less but I'm somewhat removed from it now. The very short story is the bumper arrived with a massive scratch underneath it. I had paid extra for an insurance they offer for this the of issue, only to learn that it's basically impossible to get that to be honored. They expect you to hold the delivery driver whilst you unbox and inspect everything before signing off on the package. It came on a pallet and was about 3 feet tall. All boxed up and from the outside appeared fine so I expected it was okay but once I got it open, at the bottom the main bumper had a huge scratch through the powder coating. Next came the challenges with fitment. The locking pins didn't fit into their place because of excess weld material, the aluminum top beauty plate I received was for an earlier model, so it didn't fit. Hardware was missing, which meant stop the build to get something to work. Instructions were incomplete and sometimes unavailable depending on what accessory you had, and the fit and finish wasn't really what I would expect for a $3000 bumper. For example the edges of every part not welded are all left as cut. In other words sharp because they're water jetted. This is an issue when they don't bother to put a chamfer on them both because it's sharp to the touch and will cut through strapping and such. But most often because the powder coating won't take to those edges well. It will easily chip off and leave unprotected steel in the elements. This is why dirt race car frames always have the tabs and gussets finished off with the flap disk grinder to add surface for the adhesion of the powder coating. And the swing away was only to one position whi9ch is odd. It seemed like there should be a second larger one but they didn't seem to like any feedback, regardless of if how it was conveyed. I did try very nicely and actually held back on critiquing whilst I tried to get all the parts I needed to fit it.
Go try and talk with them about it and if you're lucky enough to get any response it will probably be like mine was. Rude and unhelpful. The owner was especially not interested in doing anything to resolve the concerns and she made it very obvious to me that she didn't believe me with regards to how the package arrived. Apparently I must have put the scratch there while I unboxed it. I had video of the unboxing but it was then obviously the shipper, which was super annoying considering there was a no way they could have done it either. No matter what, she was deflecting any accountability from Expedition One.

Those things aside the design is pretty solid. the latching is pretty complicated and can work well, but also can come out of adjustment often and is pretty unintuitive for anyone who doesn't know how to use it. It helps a 37" tire with no issue. But having to open the gate every time I wanted to access the tailgate was a pain in the butt especially when doing odd things like visiting the grocery store. And the build time is about three times as long as they state. Lots of refinishing, cutting and redialing required to get everything to fit properly. aside from that and the fact that it literally weighed 225 lbs, it's great. Get some new springs and shocks on order.

But I learned my expensive lesson.

This is what my experience has taught me will likely happen when a company isn't great to work with on the front end.

If they don't care about you before getting your money, they care nothing for you once they have your shillings.

Sorry you had to go through all that, and having sharp edges is a pretty lame way to cut costs. That "powdercoat warranty" always sounded like selling hens teeth. How do you administer that?????

FWIW, I have a Yoder pellet smoker and it has a viable 10-year warranty. The few who have had any rusting issues (not the surface rust junk that has B6g members nickers in a bunch), Yoder will reach out to a union welder in your city and hire them to come out, cut out the bad metal, weld in the new, and re-finish it.

I had assumed Expedition 1 would NOT be doing anything like that, especially as there are so very few positive reviews of their products which is a shame asthey sure look good!

 

[Crash98]

quick question.

does the parking sensors work? they mention on their website "sensor holes not guaranteed to work."

appreciate your thoughts.
thanks

Parking sensors work with no issues.

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