JL JOURNAL : BADASS BUDGET BUMPER & How to Flip the Sway Bar Disconnect

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Maybe it's because Cindy and I came from humble beginnings and pretty much every modification we made on our first Jeep either came from the Pennysaver or was something I had to make but when it comes to things like bumpers, we still prefer to keep things simple. I think it's for this reason that we were so inspired by the "Jeep King" JK Wrangler concept that was revealed way back at the 2007 SEMA show and it's why much of Moby and Rubicat were built up the way they were. Needless to say, now that we have JET Li, our 2018 Jeep JL Wrangler, we decided to move more in that direction as well - first by removing his rear bumper and now, by minimizing things up front as well. In other words, we wanted to give him a no frills - no thrills, badass, basic front bumper that could be had on a budget. Now, to do this, we installed a WARN winch plate that we had originally bought for our factory steel front bumper and just left the bumper part off. To secure it in place, we recycled D-ring mounts that we still had from a previous JK bumper and just bolted everything to the frame rails. That's it - just the essentials and nothing else. In this short video, you'll get to see what we did and just how easy it is to install. As an added bonus, we'll also show you how to flip or clock a Rubicon electronic sway bar disconnect motor and for cheap. While we weren't able to keep this setup with our new WARN winch plate, it is something that we do hope to make work out with some day. Of course, depending on your front bumper setup, it may still be something you can benefit from.


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What You'll Need to Make Your Own Badass Budget Bumper
WARN Winch Plate: https://amzn.to/2OsCn29
EVO D-Ring Mounts : https://amzn.to/2unK14i
D-Rings: https://amzn.to/2DBOntR


:cool:
 

JTCO

Meme King
I really like that setup. Super clean, simple, and affordable. This setup might be going on our next build.
 

aai

Member
I wished we had saw this before buying the Mopar stubby last month lol :doh:. This looks so badazz
 

Jeeeep

Member
I like the minimal look, I spend way too much time trying to find the 'right' bumper :doh:

The easy install part would be an issue not being able to garage park my Jeep.

The winch would be gone unless I welded or used security bolts all around.

Dealing with a bumper is enough of a pain in the ass I haven't had issues with my JK winch - that or maybe because it's a Quadratec winch and thieves took pity on my the last 2 times
 

JIMBOX

New member
:D I like that idea and now that I have a new JLU--I think I'll give that a try--

Thanx

:idontknow: JIMBO
 

GCM 2.0

New member
The best modifications are the simplest ones. I think it is a compliment to Jeep’s past history of minimalist/simple bumpers. Just look at the “C” channel piece of metal on your Jeepster, CJ5 or that flat stock on the CJ3B.
 

MrGiant

New member
It looks cool, but I quite feel like you said in your video Eddie....not sure it it stays that way. Its a bit empty there. But definitely a lot better than most afermarket bumpers.
Something I have to ask since I never gained any experience with winch installation: is your (or generally every?) Winch always powered? I saw you clamp both calbes onto your battery poles and wondered if there is any shut off switch except the wired remote control? This is a very basic question so I am sure its easy for experienced people to help me expand my knowledge a bit [emoji4]

Mr.Giant - '92 YJ
Giant 2 - '18 JLUR
 

frenchjk

Member
nice super simple look and functionality...

So basically JK D ring brackets work? In other words any simple JK bumper could go on with minor modifications?:eek:
 

LauraRose

New member
Great video for those of us on a tight budget! Can functional D-ring mounts be installed on the front of a 2018 factory steel JL Rubicon bumper? (I haven't seen any installed.) Thanks Eddie & Cindy!!

Laura Rose from PA
 

GCM 2.0

New member
JL JOURNAL : BADASS BUDGET BUMPER & How to Flip the Sway Bar Disconnect

.........is your (or generally every?) Winch always powered? I saw you clamp both calbes onto your battery poles and wondered if there is any shut off switch except the wired remote control?

Mr.Giant - '92 YJ
Giant 2 - '18 JLUR

Yes, all winches wire directly to the battery. Between your starter and your winch, these are the most amperage hungry devices to be installed on a vehicle. Notice the gauge cable needed to run between the battery and winch? Once your winch controller is plugged into the winch, that is the on/off switch.
 

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JAGS

Member
I really like the LoD bumper of most out there. But dropping that winch between the rails really looks great. And of course, can’t go wrong with the red D rings. [emoji6]
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Definitely love the simple, clean, and functional look.

Thanks! In a sea of big and gaudy bumpers, I think the change is quite nice. :cool:

I really like that setup. Super clean, simple, and affordable. This setup might be going on our next build.

LOL - I'll be honest and say that I wasn't 100% sure how it'd come out but once installed, I really like it now. :yup:

I wished we had saw this before buying the Mopar stubby last month lol :doh:. This looks so badazz

Well, there's a big demand for the Mopar bumpers :crazyeyes: :D

I like the minimal look, I spend way too much time trying to find the 'right' bumper :doh:

The easy install part would be an issue not being able to garage park my Jeep.

The winch would be gone unless I welded or used security bolts all around.

Dealing with a bumper is enough of a pain in the ass I haven't had issues with my JK winch - that or maybe because it's a Quadratec winch and thieves took pity on my the last 2 times

Sucks that you live in an area where that would be an issue. I wonder if a tamper proof security bolt on at least a couple of points would help to be an adequate deterrent.

:D I like that idea and now that I have a new JLU--I think I'll give that a try--

Thanx

:idontknow: JIMBO

Awesome :)
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
The best modifications are the simplest ones. I think it is a compliment to Jeep’s past history of minimalist/simple bumpers. Just look at the “C” channel piece of metal on your Jeepster, CJ5 or that flat stock on the CJ3B.

Damn straight and couldn't agree more. :yup:

Love that look! Nice work!

Thanks! Just the basics and oh so nice :)

It looks cool, but I quite feel like you said in your video Eddie....not sure it it stays that way. Its a bit empty there. But definitely a lot better than most afermarket bumpers.
Something I have to ask since I never gained any experience with winch installation: is your (or generally every?) Winch always powered? I saw you clamp both calbes onto your battery poles and wondered if there is any shut off switch except the wired remote control? This is a very basic question so I am sure its easy for experienced people to help me expand my knowledge a bit [emoji4]

Yup, always connected to the battery but you can't really use it without the controller hooked up to it.

nice super simple look and functionality...

So basically JK D ring brackets work? In other words any simple JK bumper could go on with minor modifications?:eek:

Well, more or less. The problem you'd have is that the JL grill is more curved and depending on the JK bumper in question, that would be a problem.

Great video for those of us on a tight budget! Can functional D-ring mounts be installed on the front of a 2018 factory steel JL Rubicon bumper? (I haven't seen any installed.) Thanks Eddie & Cindy!!

Laura Rose from PA

I don't think so or at least, not without a lot of modifications to the front bumper. This is mainly because the factory bumper has crush cans you have to deal with.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Very clean easy install [emoji106][emoji106]. Like the D-Rings. Wish the stock Rubicon bumpers came with D-Rings

I agree, it would be nice if they came with some kind of d-ring mount much like the AEV bumpers do.

Yes, all winches wire directly to the battery. Between your starter and your winch, these are the most amperage hungry devices to be installed on a vehicle. Notice the gauge cable needed to run between the battery and winch? Once your winch controller is plugged into the winch, that is the on/off switch.

Yup, this ^^^ :yup:

I really like the LoD bumper of most out there. But dropping that winch between the rails really looks great. And of course, can’t go wrong with the red D rings. [emoji6]

LOL - are you still running a plastic bumper?
 

JAGS

Member
I agree, it would be nice if they came with some kind of d-ring mount much like the AEV bumpers do.



Yup, this ^^^ :yup:



LOL - are you still running a plastic bumper?

I am still running stock and plastic everything. But I added stickers for a little extra horsepower. Lol.

I can’t decide between the Rancho lift (with arms and goodies to get all dialed in) an EVO enforcer with king bypass, which I love on my JK or to hold out a while longer for something else to hit the market.

I’m indecisive and yet impatient at the same time. Ha ha.
 

MrGiant

New member
Yes, all winches wire directly to the battery. Between your starter and your winch, these are the most amperage hungry devices to be installed on a vehicle. Notice the gauge cable needed to run between the battery and winch? Once your winch controller is plugged into the winch, that is the on/off switch.
Thank you very much for that info, I appreciate that!

Mr.Giant - '92 YJ
Giant 2 - '18 JLUR
 

benatc1

New member
I am still running stock and plastic everything. But I added stickers for a little extra horsepower. Lol.

I can’t decide between the Rancho lift (with arms and goodies to get all dialed in) an EVO enforcer with king bypass, which I love on my JK or to hold out a while longer for something else to hit the market.

I’m indecisive and yet impatient at the same time. Ha ha.
If you go this route with the plastic bumper to start, like I did, you dont have the lower threaded bolt holes for the L brackets. So you have to add your own bolts. Holes are there, just empty. Really was super simple and cheap way to get a good winch set up.

Sent from my SM-N960U using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
 

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