🛠️ Member Build Overtrail Upgrades

[Bluegill]

Bluegill - as someone who has had multiple off-road rigs with steel bumpers and sliders - how did they fare over time and did you have to do anything to maintain them (rust/corrosion/etc.)?

Out here in AZ nothing rusts. Seriously, I put a custom-fabbed steel rear bumper on my 2004 Discovery and it came to me raw (powder coating was not an option from the fabricator). It came from the eastern US and it had some minor oxidation on it when I received it. I was so lazy that I ran with it raw for 4.5 years before I got around to painting it. I just checked my old photos and I installed it in April 2015 and finally painted it in October 2019. Over the years the raw bumper developed a nice patina but no real oxidation.

Installed in 2015:

September 2019:

Finally got off my butt and painted it October 2019:

The key with rust is to just make sure that you touch up scrapes and don't let the rust get under the paint and start to bubble it up. If the paint is bubbling then you have to bite the bullet and scrape & sand it down and repaint it.

 

[Bluegill]

Update from Blue's Garage:

Sliders were almost easy. If it weren't for a couple bolts on each side that are incredibly difficult to get to (and to get a wrench on), this would have been a breeze.

Having a big side step is so much nicer, the kids and wife love it. And they are perfect for standing on and accessing the roof rack with the doors open or closed. Previously I was trying to balance on the door sill and/or the rear tire to get to the roof rack and I had to hold myself up there with one hand work with the other hand. Now it's like having scaffolding to stand on. Very much worth the entry price.

 

[jclaffee]

Wow those look a lot better than the other "step" sliders I've seen here. For some reason the round tubing just works better for me.

 

[Bluegill]

 

[Bluegill]

One thing I just realized...none of my standard and well-used 3/4" bow shackles fit in the front recovery points of this JW Offroad bumper! They just barely don't fit - it must be the powder coating finish that reduces the inner diameter of the recovery point hole by a millimeter or two. I figured I'd pop on a couple bow shackles before heading out in the snow in case I get stuck or have to pull someone. No can do! Total fail. I'll have to drill them out when I get back home.