Poison Spyder BFH Front Bumper

[WhiteRavenRR]

Today let's take a look at Poison Spyder's BFH front bumper. I was shopping around looking for front bumpers for a very long time and I even made a list of things that I wanted in a front bumper.

My initial list of must-haves:

• Mid- to Full-Width
• Grill Guard
• Fog Light Mounts
• Recessed Winch
• American Made

As you can see I wanted a bumper that had it all, initially. As my search wore on I ordered the VDP Stubby End Caps for the factory bumper. And then I kept searching, and searching, and searching. I looked at all the major manufacturers. Little did I know that the stubby bumpers started to grow on me as I really liked the front approach of the front tires to obstacles and how much it opened up the front end. I also wasn't really liking the stinger look, but they too, grew on me.

As my search was finally coming to fruition and my purchase loomed closer, I had them narrowed down to:

• LoD
• JCR Offroad
• Poison Spyder

I really liked LoD's bumper and it was my very close second choice as it had everything I was initially looking for. I settled on the Poison Spyder (obviously, as the title states).

I liked the very minimal look of the bumper as it barely straddles the frame and the front angle on this bad boy is unbelievable on the approach angle.

The build quality is phenomenal and the welds are a masterpiece. The biggest deal with this bumper is the fact that you have to cut the crash bar off and 2" off the front of the frame to slide it on. You better make sure this is the bumper you want because it involves some major modification to your rig to install.

Now let us get to some eye candy:

The crash bar that has to go bye-bye:


Even the mounting tabs have to go:


The bumper as it comes, beautiful raw steel:


Removal of the front bumper and grill:


Cut 2" off the front frame measuring from the backside of the original mounting plates:

[WhiteRavenRR]

The first mock up. Make sure everything is square before marking and drilling the mounting holes!:


Clean, prep, self-etching primer, spray on bedliner:


Final product:


My temporary set of lights that serve as fogs until I can order some LEDs:


I will get a better pic of the bumper in better lighting. I love how this bumper is very minimal. There's not much to it. I don't have any weight numbers on it but it can't weigh much more than the factory bumper, especially if you order one without any kind of guard.

The top of the bumper comes with mounts for a winch but you will have to order a fairlead plate that is separate. There are also several gussets underneath the bumper to give it strength.

Well of my initial list of must-haves, I ended up with only two

Overall, I am very impressed with the Poison Spyder craftsmanship as I will probably order other products from them in the future.

[JeepLab]

The first mock up. Make sure everything is square before marking and drilling the mounting holes!:


Clean, prep, self-etching primer, spray on bedliner:


Final product:


My temporary set of lights that serve as fogs until I can order some LEDs:


I will get a better pic of the bumper in better lighting. I love how this bumper is very minimal. There's not much to it. I don't have any weight numbers on it but it can't weigh much more than the factory bumper, especially if you order one without any kind of guard.

The top of the bumper comes with mounts for a winch but you will have to order a fairlead plate that is separate. There are also several gussets underneath the bumper to give it strength.

Well of my initial list of must-haves, I ended up with only two

Overall, I am very impressed with the Poison Spyder craftsmanship as I will probably order other products from them in the future.

I wanted to go this same route, I think it looks great with the tires across the front. I couldn't part with the fog lights, so ended up with a JCR stubby crusader.

[WhiteRavenRR]

I like the JCR bumpers. I wasn't impressed with their stingers though once I decided on having one. My end plan is to have a small LED light bar across the top of the fairlead to serve as fog lights. I may have to get that set in a diffused pattern.

[JeepLab]

I like the JCR bumpers. I wasn't impressed with their stingers though once I decided on having one. My end plan is to have a small LED light bar across the top of the fairlead to serve as fog lights. I may have to get that set in a diffused pattern.

I was going to do the bfh bumper with no stinger. SUPER MINIMALIST.

Jcr makes the fairlead mount for the 12 inch led bar I use in that location. You have to tinker to fit a 12 on it, i think its made for a 10, but whatever, its a day at home depot with washers and such. not a big deal.

on the "diffused pattern", ive seen a lot of LED lights, and cannot tell the difference between the standard and diffused pattern. I think it gets a little gimmicky.

[DHewes]

Wait a sec...can we talk about your helicopter and plane? My Velocity XL-5 project is in it's 5th year of being a few months away from an airworthiness certificate. :-)

That said, I am in the same boat. With a 14 Rubi-X I do have a fairly unique front/rear bumper already but I want a stubby stinger, recessed winch, light mounts, D-Rings and I want to avoid the numerous "design it yourself" systems as I hate the look of all the bolts and still do not trust them as much as some quality welds. This definitely is a good looking bumper but as you point out - you better be 100% committed to it before you break out the saw.

[JeepLab]

Wait a sec...can we talk about your helicopter and plane? My Velocity XL-5 project is in it's 5th year of being a few months away from an airworthiness certificate. :-)

That said, I am in the same boat. With a 14 Rubi-X I do have a fairly unique front/rear bumper already but I want a stubby stinger, recessed winch, light mounts, D-Rings and I want to avoid the numerous "design it yourself" systems as I hate the look of all the bolts and still do not trust them as much as some quality welds. This definitely is a good looking bumper but as you point out - you better be 100% committed to it before you break out the saw.

Im going to have to require a pic of the velocity XL 5. Those things are super cool.

I too hate the design it yourself stuff. It looks homemade to me. I like clean welds also. And i dont find the design it yourself stuff to be cheaper overall.

The BFH had me very close to chopping my frame rails also.... Pete and Derek (sweet pea and tonka) will tell you, they had to stop me when I threw the idea out of modding the frame.

[WhiteRavenRR]

Sorry, no other pics on the prop job or whirlybird. That's my dad's shop. He does avionic work and has been in business for almost 35 years. A little background on the chopper though: it was donated to the highway patrol and is being refitted for their use. My dad was putting a new radio system in. If he has the room, it allows me to bring the rig in and I have full 360 degree access. It's nice in the winter.

I have another Jeeper who has a shop as well that I have access to. I'm trying to get him to do a write up on his bumper and lift. My garage is barely big enough to fit my Jeep into, let alone work on it. My driveway also slopes so it's not the best to work on suspension or work on mounting things up as it may not be straight once you hit the flat pavement...

I'm glad you have seen a difference in the LED patterns regarding the diffused lenses. Wouldn't a flood light be too much for use as a fog replacement? I'm definitely sure that a spot beam would be.

[Snarf77]

I'm glad you have seen a difference in the LED patterns regarding the diffused lenses. Wouldn't a flood light be too much for use as a fog replacement? I'm definitely sure that a spot beam would be.

I'd think that once you put a flood light in place of a fog light, that it is no longer a fog light. Fog lights tend to be a bit more directional with a specific light output for the purpose. Too much light in a flood and you're going to defeat the purpose right?

[WhiteRavenRR]

I don't disagree with you. I'm trying to find a solution for me and anyone else in my situation with bumpers that don't support the factory fogs. Apparently it can be done with some bumpers that accept aftermarket adapters for LED lights (Rigids, in particular) and tout them as fog light replacements. How legal is this if their output is so much more than the OEM fogs?