When you have a truck, you’re seen as a useful hero among your family and friends. There are quite a few things you could do with a truck that you cannot do with a regular ol’ sedan. For instance, you can:
- Haul big stuff like a washing machine or a couch
- Help people move
- Rescue stuck vehicles
Actually, not all trucks have what it takes to tow out a stuck vehicle. Most trucks have enough torque to pull another vehicle out of a ditch, pond, or snowbank, but not all trucks have the right bumpers. Stock bumpers aren’t really made for recovering vehicles.
Why The Right Bumper Matters
Whether your truck is stuck or coming to the rescue, you need a proper bumper. That means a strong bumper with proper recovery points. Stock bumpers are lightweight, and only provide minimum protection in an accident. They’re not made for vehicle recovery. Even if you have bumpers that will mount a hitch ball, you should still never use a hitch ball for vehicle recovery. It’s very unsafe.
Do you take your truck off-road a lot? Or do you seem to be the go-to person for stuck vehicles? If your answer to either question is yes, a sturdy aftermarket steel bumper would be a sound investment.
Stay Away From DIY Bumpers
Photo credit: Ford-Trucks.com user gweeds
DIY steel bumpers are becoming more and more popular. Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s good, though. While some DIY bumpers could turn out looking good, they’re almost never strong enough. Most DIY bumpers don’t:
- Provide enough protection in a crash
- Have enough strength to recover a stuck vehicle
In fact, there are tons of stories about DIY bumpers ripping right off when people try to use a winch on them. DIY bumpers are almost as bad as stock bumpers when it comes to strength and reinforcement. There are many reasons why. We discussed these reasons in this post and this post. Let’s sum them up:
- Aftermarket bumpers are built by professionals, while many DIY bumpers aren’t.
- It’s one thing to weld together steel table or bracket. It’s a completely different thing to weld together a bumper that could see more than 20,000 lbs of force applied in a recovery situation. These welds need to done perfectly. It’s easy for bad welds to crack and rust out, compromising the bumper’s strength and durability.
- A lot of DIY bumper kits don’t fit together well, which weakens their structural integrity.
- Many DIY bumper kits need extra steel reinforcement. This costs more money and doesn’t guarantee additional strength.
- Most DIY bumper kits don’t even come with internal bracing. This almost guarantees that your bumper will rip right off if you try to use a winch on it.
- Most DIY bumper kits are designed with aesthetics in mind, rather than safety or strength.
So a DIY bumper is much more likely than not to be poorly constructed. That means it can be ripped off your truck, which can lead to expensive repairs. This is especially true if your DIY bumper has bad welds and poor internal reinforcement.
If you want a quality aftermarket steel bumper, go with one that’s built by experienced and skilled professionals.
Throttle Down Kustoms Is The Ideal Brand For Steel Bumpers
When you’re ready to upgrade to steel bumpers, Throttle Down Kustoms should be the first and only brand to look into.
All TDK bumpers are made of CNC cut solid steel, and they’re welded by certified welders. That alone deems a TDK bumper suitable enough to handle a recovery, but there’s more. Clevis mounts are standard on TDK bumpers, or an option, depending on the bumper. Last, but certainly not least, all TDK bumpers are designed to fit your vehicle precisely.
With a TDK bumper on your truck, recovery will be so much easier going forward.
TDK makes steel bumpers for all types of trucks, including Chevy trucks, Toyota trucks, Dodge trucks, and more. Check out all the designs we have here!