I have a chance to get a mrap bumper. It's 450 pounds. Am I asking for trouble if I put this on my 2000 excursion 4wd? Will a proper weld job hold it safely on the front of the truck?

 

While I think the idea of such a bumper is really cool, the "real world" aspect of it is not a viable option in my opinion.

Adding 450 lbs worth of stress to the front of a 3/4 ton truck is going to bring you some problems. The payload of the front suspension of the Ex from the factory was designed to carry the weight of the engine and part of the body and a little more for extra "stuff". I don't have the numbers in front of me now, but I'm quite certain that an MRAP bumper will be too much. Of course, there are differing versions of that front bumper... are you looking at the simple straight iron piece that goes across, or are you looking at the MONSTER that sticks out real far and has the integrated winch and tow rings? (that one may come in closer to 600 to 800 lbs.)

On a purely visual note; I've been up close and personal with an MRAP.... not too sure that the overkill bumper would really look that good on the front of the Ex. Of course it all comes down to personal opinion on that one.

On a personal note, I added a Warn Trans4mer Brush Guard with winch mount and a 12K winch to front of my Ex. It put a slight squat to front and total weight for those things is roughly 120 lbs. I can't imagine 450 or more.

Keep us posted and for goodness sakes, if you do it.. give us Pics!

 

The ex is just a toy for me. I've seen the ranchhand bumpers and those are pushing 300 pounds. This mrap is the full bumper with hooks etc. The weight is spot on though.

 

I just saw what they look like when up for auction at Govt Liquidations, I would say, if you can make it happen, then go for it.

 

Then give it try!
If you can make it happen and it looks good and is functional, then you may start a new movement on here....
Like I said before though..... we need pics if you do it.