obscurotron said:
Anyone here use or have experience/knowledge of the Kennesaw Mountain rear bumpers for the Tacoma? They look pretty nice w/ a swingout tire carrier, heavy duty hinge (optional; recommended if you're going to carry a heavy tire), jerry can and CB antenna mounts, and not prohibitively expensive (to my budget). But I'm looking for input before I drop the cash on one.
Thanks
read the Delphi thread. If you are local to them you can probably do alright since those who have Kyle's bumpers that got them installed at his shop haven't had issues. However, I would not have one shipped.
My advice remains the same; buy local if you can. If you don't know of any local shops that make bumpers, start doing some research and find one. If you still can't find one there are several members located from the west coast to the east coast who do and each of them can be trusted. Where are you located?
I'm very happy with my KenMt bumper but I had to do quite a bit of reworking to get it where it is now.
But, to answer your question more thoroughly, I don't believe anyone here has tried one of their rear swing-outs. Demello makes one and a company called Stout used to but I don't think they are around anymore. Atwinda has come up with his own design that seems well trail tested.
Rear swing-outs are tough to make and require massive over-building and rear frame reinforcement to make them safe for you AND other vehicles on the road...ask David Hale about that one
The rear frame on the Taco just won't handle the tremendous stresses that such a heavy bumper will place on the metal. the frame must be either plated or otherwise reinforced and boxed in to be able to handle it. So, just throwing on a big-ass bumper won't cut it. Hopefully David will catch this and post some pics of his setup.