[saigonsmuggler]

Hey all,

From my last off-roading trip, i sustained a few minor damage to my bumpers. Basically, i dented in the middle of the front bumper (no damage within). On the rear bumper, i cracked the fiberglass at the bottom. Here are a few shots:

 

[saigonsmuggler]

More pics:

 

[saigonsmuggler]

A few commentary:

Picture 5: Rear bumper. All fiberglass, relatively thick. No steel reinforcement. If you look at the end of it, then you can see the backup TeleAid antenna (look like cardboard plate).

Picture 7: Closeup of TeleAid antenna...one on either side of rear bumper. As you can see in the pic, the bracket holding the antenna broke...no big deal...will just tape it/screw it together. You can also see the Parktronic sensor under all the dirt/mud (close up in pic 8).

 

[ewalberg]

Interesting pics. See that large circular cut-out in the bumper mounts... (5th and 7th pictures down)... well, that's your "crumple zone" on a g-wagen. Pretty funny i thought... though the did buckle there when my rear bumper was crunched.

Also, when you're putting your rear bumper back on, you'll notice (or you may have noticed) that the bumper end caps are screwed into the fender flares. If you get hit on your left or right corner, it pushes the end cap forward and breaks the bottom flange off of your fender flare. I'd consider not replacing that screw because i suspect it does more harm than good.

 

[saigonsmuggler]

ewalberg - 4/19/2006 5:15 PM
I'd consider not replacing that screw because i suspect it does more harm than good.

Good point. Thanks. As for the crumple zone, i would suspect that the fiberglass bumper itself is soft enough to serve that purpose![] I just don't know why MB decides to make such a wimpy rear bumper. The front bumper is heavy and thick metal. At least, fiberglass is relatively easy to patch up.

 

[saigonsmuggler]

2nd post are pics of my skidplate. It is a little dented...so it's hammer pounding time![]I must say that the skidplate is heavy-duty...nicely reinforced in the back. It is definitely stronger than my '02 4runner's stock skid.

 

[ewalberg]

At least as far as fiberglass goes, they did a good job of making it thick, but yeah, something stronger would seem more appropriate.

Regarding the front, its actually pretty thin and ill supported to keep from bending as i've found after hitting somebody who ran a light, but better than nothing for sure. Ofcourse in comparison to the frames of most vehicles the bumper doesn't look much thinner, but it's a noodle compared to our frames. I think the thickness of our frames makes it a uniquely well suited vehicle to heavy duty aftermarket bumpers becuase you're no where near the risk of frame bending like on toyota's and jeeps.

I wish they had found a way to keep it more like what i have now (the tow pin bumper from earlier 463 model years) which may be a little thicker steel (although not a whole lot compared to my rear bumper), but it's reinforced and box sectioned from end to end much better than the current stock bumper... it seems like a strange direction to take the design since it often has a tranny cooler right behind it.

 

[Kerr]

so what are you doing? did you get new bumper or are you just having those fixed up?

I love how the front skid holds all that dirts. make a wonderful mess on the drive way when you wash it or it rains. []

 

[saigonsmuggler]

Kerr...just fixing it up to make it look pretty again.