LOD Armor Lite Shorty Front Bumper with Bull Bar and Winch Mount

[Snarf77]

When it came time to upgrade my OEM bumper that I modded with the VDP stubby bumper kit, I had lightweight in mind. After doing some serious forum reading, I went with LOD's Armor lite front bumper which was available at the same price as similar bumpers from other manufacturers. And the fact that it doesn't require vacuum pump relocation had me sold.

So here was what the advertised item looked like..love it. I just love the functionality and look of a stubby/shorty front bumper and I had to have this one with the pictured bull bar and integrated front skid plate.

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The bumper is pitched as lighter than my old OEM bumper while looking a billion times better, with integrated recovery points and ability to mount any winch. I ended up with the Engo E9000. The bumper is a modular design so I was able to have it built just like the pic (yeah..original, I know) and made from 1/8 steel plate. I did the bull bar with hopes of later making the addition of lighting easier. Added the fairlead for synthetic line and shackle mounts which are a must. Lastly, this bumper offers the ability to utilize the factory fog lamps, which was a nice feature that saves some dough. I don't think the factory foggies do much anyway so why mod them for now.

Here is my before:

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My packages from LOD arrived without any issues. The first package contained the base bumper, clevis mounts, fair lead mount and hardware. The second box held the bull bar and the third and thinnest package was the bolt on skid plate. Anyone who has been on jeep forums will have read some story or thread about receiving bumpers with scratches, dents, paint damage, or some other physical atrocity resulting from poor package or shipping. NOT THESE. These were some of the best wrapped parts I've received to date. Wrapped in 4ish mil plastic, zip zip tied at both ends, boxed, and surrounded by what appeared to be expanding foam.

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These things were TIGHT in the boxes. I actually turned the boxes upside down and shook them in attempt to break them free from their bonds, but no luck. The bull bar was packaged in the same manner without a scratch, as was the skid plate. So absolutely no concerns with the shipping, LOD did a top-notch job here.

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[Snarf77]

The Shorty bumper’s powder coating was flawless; again, zero damage before, or during shipment. Components were straight, well put together, welded well and just sexy. I happens to be a terrible welder so I enjoy a nice weld line. Love these massive recovery hooks.

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Removed the front OEM bumper. The hardest part about removing the front bumper is the frustration of removing the silly plastic clips that hold on the lower air dam and plastic trim pieces below and above the stock bumper. We just popped them out with a pry tool and disposed of them accordingly. It is possible to salvage them but to what end? After removing the plastic, the bumper comes off easily with a ½ inch bar and an 18mm socket. Give yourself 30 minutes or so.


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Set the bumper on the jeep to just see how it would look.

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Took it back down and installed the OEM headlights in the perfectly aligned mounts. I had to drill out the OEM light's holes a bit, but that was pretty easy and then they slid right on.

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[Snarf77]

Bolted all the pieces together and added the winch on. The way this is set up, it would be pretty difficult to steal the winch as the bolts would be a challenge to access once the bumper is installed.

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Bumper went on easily and the skid plate went on directly after. The LOD skid plate that integrates with the shorty bumper had several pre-drilled holes meant to line up with my 2012's subframe and it mostly did. I added a few of my own holes in locations that were sturdy and used some stainless hardware we had lying around and mounted it right up. The skid is substantial inspires confidence.

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Off came the steel cable!

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Added synthetic line and we're in business! Here is my final product after a good afternoon of install. Thanks to my buddies for helping me through this one. It was my first "real" mod on my 2012 Rubicon and I'm super pleased with the outcome.

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[Snarf77]

So I'm pretty excited to have an incredibly lightweight yet strong front bumper. It allowed me to put a winch on the front end without sending my rubicon into a nose-dive every time I hit the brakes. The Engo E9000 winch with synthetic line is a solid setup and much lighter with the blue rope swapped in.

The Rubicon actually drove a bit better after the swap. I have the 6 speed manual transmission and whenever I left off the clutch in anything but a gentle manner, the front end would proceed to point towards the sky until the torque is fully converted to forward motion and the vehicle settled down. With the additional weight on the front end of the winch (the LOD Armor Lite Shorty added no weight vice stock), the front feels much more under control and the acceleration is more level front to back with less vertical movement on hard acceleration. That’s a plus for every day driving.

I might have lost a hair in the MPG category, but its a negligible amount that I can live with it for the added self recovery capability of the Rubicon. I’m guessing that the addition of the LOD bolt on skid plate likely minimized the loss in MPG. I'm taking a guess that it effectively served whatever purpose the stock plastic lower air dam (I refuse to name it skid plate) had on the stock jeep.

Bottom line final thoughts on install of the LOD Armor Lite Shorty Bumper, Bull Bar, skid plate, and Engo Winch: Hell yes. I’m fortunate enough to live in an area full of jeepers, seeing at least 4 or 5 on my daily commute each way and 4 more at work. I get regular compliments and inquiries which I do my best to answer. There was rumor of an “Armor Lite” Series of rear bumpers with a similar look and feel and I’d love to see one without a tire carrier (keeping with “Lite” theme) and hitch integration for bike racks, cargo racks, and the occasional light towing.

Either way, hats off to these guys for a bumper well built!

[JeepLab]

We need to see a rear bumper.

[Snarf77]

LOD doesn't seem to have advertised an "armor lite" rear bumper yet. What I see are there signature series bumpers being made out of lighter high strength steel. They advertise a 21% weight savings without any sacrifice in strength. I doubt they could fudge that too much because their rear carriers hold up to a 40 inch tire. A lot of rear carriers stop at 37 inch right? Either way, I'll soon be rolling 37 KM2s and an LOD rear should leave me room for adjustment of my spare to where I need it.

[JeepLab]

LOD makes 2 options for tire carriers,

one that swings with the tailgate, and the other is for carrying more gear.

Both are cool. I like the look of the back all loaded up with fuel, and other stuff. But I HATE opening the extra gate to get to your gear.

The other side of that, is how heavy your tailgate would be with all that extra stuff.

I'd love to know the real overall weight so we could compare it to AEV and others to see how much lighter it really is.

[Snarf77]

LOD makes 2 options for tire carriers,

one that swings with the tailgate, and the other is for carrying more gear.

Both are cool. I like the look of the back all loaded up with fuel, and other stuff. But I HATE opening the extra gate to get to your gear.

The other side of that, is how heavy your tailgate would be with all that extra stuff.

I'd love to know the real overall weight so we could compare it to AEV and others to see how much lighter it really is.

I'm with you. 100% swing with door on my jeep. I'm in and out of the back door all the time. When I'm shopping rear bumpers, I first make sure it will hold a 37, then I make sure it opens with the door. Everything else is tertiary.