Pulled my rear bumper to touch up some scratches on the lower rockers caused by excessive flexing... Found that the sides of the bumper are completely totally unsupported! Is this typical or am I so how missing some of my bumper supports?

In these pictures, the only thing removed is the black plastic step/cover and of course the chrome bumpers (left and right). Those came off with just three 13mm bolts.

 

Unfortunately that's the way these bumpers are made on our trucks. It's another form of light weighting in the name of fuel mileage. Keep in mind that bumpers today are also only required to sustain a 2.5 mile per hour bump with out significant damage to the rest of the vehicle. This in turn gives a whole new meaning to "light duty" bumpers.

 

Thats equal parts good news and bad news I suppose. I've seen pics of other F150 bumps which had heavy duty "wings" extending out to support the ends. Any idea what years those ended and if they are compatible?

 

Bumper Questions and Answers

There is no regulation that dictates bumper strength on any light truck. The airbags are not activated by a bumper collision on a light truck from front or rear like on a passenger car.

These bumpers are all about aesthetics, period.

 

Tim that made for an interesting read. However it's another form of government contradicting themselves. Because light trucks and suv's as well as vans are all subjected to all the same crash tests as passenger cars. Including the 2.5 and 5 mph bumper impact tests. And the manufacturers are graded accordingly. Also air bags are never deployed by a "bumper impact" they deploy by measurement reading of the force of impact a vehicle sustains in a collision. However it doesn't stop there anymore on today's vehicles. Other factors play a part in the deployment of an airbag in todays cars and trucks. With each generation of the air bag technology more and more variables play a part into the deployment and the speed at which the air bags deploy. Things like whether or not an occupant is wearing there seat belt at the point of impact, weight of the occupant, and position of the seat in relation to the steering wheel/dash board in the vehicle. And one other thing to keep in mind about air bags today, is that many vehicle now have two stage air bags. Meaning that just because an air deployed once already in a vehicle crash doesn't meant it can't or won't go off again.


Now back to the bumper discussion. Another thing to keep in mind about the design and structure of light truck bumpers, is that they are also engineered to absorb energy and crush faster in a collision than they are with a small car. And that is in an effort to try to protect the occupants of a smaller car when in a collision with a larger vehicle. There may or may NOT be any standards set for this. But these scenarios are tested and recorded, and play apart by the manufacturers in design new vehicles.

 

I suppose the actual impact bumper isn't so much the concern here. Its the metal and chrome "appearance" bumper, or should I say fascia? Guess it is what it is, just a fascia like a plastic bumper would be... Sure would be nice if it was stouter, though. Perhaps I will watch the parts market for an offroad setup, though they cost an arm and a leg.

 

Mine was slightly bent on the drivers side corner. I was surprised to find that I could bend it back into shape by hand. That's terrible.

 

The rear bumpers on these trucks are of harbor freight quality standards. I tore my rear bumper off after catching a t post. Made my own replacement from 5/16 flat and channel stock I had. Never had a single issue. Below you can see the oem bumper and how mangled it got. I also discovered faulty welds on th

e hitch receiver and stress cracking so I had to make a new one while I did the bumper.

 

Now that is a stout looking rear bumper. And I bet it would look awesome in chrome. Have you noticed a decrease in mpg's since you installed that bumper?

 

I go with the light weaght to meet Fed standards on mpg.
That is why your hitch is bolted to the frame. Bumper hitches went out a long time ago.

 

Not that I have noticed. The bumper has been moved to a different truck and both trucks are right around 13mpg combined average. Plus the front bumper and all the other heavy steel like the steps, skid plates and the headache rack probably all take away more mpg than the rear bumper combined lol.