Need offroad bumpers for Chevy S-10.

[shortylickens]

I know I might be wasting my time but I thought I should post here anyway. Everytime I post at Pirate 4x4 I get picked on or ignored.
Have enjoyed my little S-10 in the mountains of Oregon for some time now. Moved back to Virginia and want to go out again but my vehicle needs a little work.

Its already got a 6 inch lift and a slightly-better-than-factory suspension. When I got sick of the rain in Oregon I took it over to a body shop and had the guys put some shit on the undercarriage thats supposed to be the equivalent to Rhino Lining. Just protecting it from water wasnt enough, it also had to stand up to abuse. The rubber stuff would peel right off after a day in the brush.

The front and rear bumpers are stock and they have taken a lot of damage from innattentive female drivers and assholes in parking lots.
I want to replace them with something generally considered good for off-road use. No plastic. No fiberglass.

Searched online for a week and I get plenty of results for full size pickups. The problem is I can't seem to find many parts for small pickups. Certainly not any performance parts designed to stand up to rocks on the trail. Are small pickups really so despised in the off-road community? Most of the praise for Jeeps comes from their small size being able to wiggle into tight areas a large pickup wouldnt fit.

Wondering if anybody knew of a place to get such things. I dont wanna spend more than a thousand dollars for each bumper but I am flexible.

Should I just keep the damaged factory bumper and slap a brush guard on the front of it? If so where can I get one for an S-10?

 

[angry hampster]

I couldn't find anything either. You're probably better off just getting a thick brush guard/bull bar. Too bad ranch hand doesn't make anything for small pickups, their bumpers are ridiculously heavy-duty.

 

[Throckmorton]

I have no idea why the S10 isn't a popular offroad vehicle, but it's not. This is even though there was an offroad edition with a lot of ground clearance.


Here's an S10 offroad site http://www.s10extremist.org/index2.htm

 

[Throckmorton]

BTW, you should keep your stock bumpers if you're concerned about inattentive drivers. A steel bumper will transfer full force to your chassis, and not absorb anything. Would you rather have stress on your chassis or on a plastic bumper?

Also, you should get skidplates for your underbody

 

[jlee]

Go to a welding shop and have them build one for you.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton
BTW, you should keep your stock bumpers if you're concerned about inattentive drivers. A steel bumper will transfer full force to your chassis, and not absorb anything. Would you rather have stress on your chassis or on a plastic bumper?
Also, you should get skidplates for your underbody

The bumper the thing came with is half plastic and half cheap steel. If I get bumped at 5 miles an hour it gets a HUGE dent and much of the paint flies off.
I dont know where you got the idea I wanted a plastic bumper. You might be thinking of those racing bumpers that sit right on the ground and cut wind resistance.
I specifically do NOT want those. I want something like this: http://www.4wheelonline.com/Pr...52485&ProductId=125898
but I cant find anything for small pickups.

The thing already has skid plates, but they arent the best quality and dont cover much.
Those will be replaced after the bumper. Its needed for offroad and street driving. Am tired of jerks in parking lots who clearly dont care about how they park.


Welding shop is not a bad idea but then I'm paying a crapload extra for custom work. Will have to think about that for a little while.
In the meantime I may just get a chrome factory replacement. Its only about 260 bucks and would still be better than what I have now.

 

[JJ650]

I used to post at S10Planet a lot when I had my s10. There were a couple of folks there who knew where to find some. You may want to head over there and inquire. I can't tell you who asked as it has been a long time since I've had my s10 and posted anything there.

What year is it btw?

 

[shortylickens]

Cant find anything in there about off-road bumpers or performance bumpers for the trail.
Good site though. I may join up and just post a new thread.

Mine is a 2003, so in theory if anything is available I should be able to use it. Almost all other aftermarket parts are available for a 2003 S-10 except heavy duty bumpers. Those seem to be limited to big trucks.

Apparently when Chevy moved to the Colorado they changed enough to make almost all previous accessories useless.

 

[JJ650]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Cant find anything in there about off-road bumpers or performance bumpers for the trail.
Good site though. I may join up and just post a new thread.

Mine is a 2003, so in theory if anything is available I should be able to use it. Almost all other aftermarket parts are available for a 2003 S-10 except heavy duty bumpers. Those seem to be limited to big trucks.

Apparently when Chevy moved to the Colorado they changed enough to make almost all previous accessories useless.

Yes they sure did. Completely different platform and design.
Not much that could be done about it.

But, look at the bright side. There are plenty of mods for the s10 and nomas out there and lot of them are freebies that are DIy mods (throttle body blade mod, EGR..which you don't have. etc) and they are a cinch to mod for ride height adjustments, etc.

If I see something I will let ya know. I still sniff around some of the truck sites.

 

[uli2000]

ARB does alot of stuff for mid size Toyotas (Tacoma, 4runner), Mitsubishis, Jeeps, and Hummer H3s. Maybe they would do something for s10/colorado as well

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
I dont know where you got the idea I wanted a plastic bumper. You might be thinking of those racing bumpers that sit right on the ground and cut wind resistance.

He's commenting that you already have a plastic bumper, and it acts like a crumple zone. No crumple zone and that shock goes right to your frame. It won't matter for parking lot dings (the other car is your crumple zone) but it can affect how it will take a hard hit.

I agree with the person that suggested bringing it to a welding shop to have them build you one. They may even be able to adapt one from another small vehicle (jeep, other small pickup) and put on new mounts.