Step bumper reinforcement

[Wood90]

I was just curious what the back of the rear bumper is supposed to look like. My truck spent the better part of its life as a farm truck and I always wondered how the rear bumper survived, turns out the PO really reinforced it  :eek:  P.s it easily weighs 50lbs






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[ParadiseMJ]

That looks pretty decent, reinforcement wise.  I always see step bumpers that are bent on one end or both ends and it drives me nuts.  Most often it's an aftermarket step bumper that are nice and shiny on the outside and made of stamped faux diamond plate sheet metal.  Also, although they have a place to put a hitch ball, are not meant for towing more than a small aluminum boat (e.g.).  If you want to tow anything bigger with it, I'd recommend the guy on here (krustyballer) who makes good solid hitches and/or just hitch plates.  I have one of his hitches and it is beef.

[Wood90]

Thanks! Yeah that drives me nuts as well that's why I'm glad I (might) be able to avoid it in the event of a fender bender with the reinforcements. Also, I actually took it off to paint and shine it up a little to mate it with one of Krusty's hitches  :thumbsup:

[ParadiseMJ]

When I got the hitch I was surprised how hefty it was.  I pulled a small tree stump out with the hitch and a chain last week...something I never would have tried with just a bumper mounted ball.

[krustyballer16]

[Wood90]

Wow that's impressive sounds like complete beef to me, no haven't even gotten your hitch yet haha but I can tell it's going to suck because i'll have to put the bumper and hitch on at the same time. Floor jack may help!

[gogmorgo]

Unless there's some structural reason not to (like it's rusted out or cracked and doesn't work as a step any more), it might be best just to remove the reinforcement. You may have to anyway. I had similar gusseting on the corners of mine (but significantly lower quality) and it interfered with the side plates of the hitch. You'll also have to remove the ball because the hitch tucks up right against the bottom of the bumper and the nut underneath the ball gets in the way, looks like the gusset for the ball will probably be okay but if it got welded to the ball or the nut at all it may as well go.

[ParadiseMJ]

I have a Fey bumper and the hitch crossbar is not right up against the bumper.  At first I said "crap, there's a 2" gap there...but I like the way it looks now.  I was a tiny bit confused, since it did not come with any instructions, but once I figured it out, I realized that all bumpers are not created equal, so instructions may have just confused the issue.  I put the hitch on first and then sandwiched the bumper brackets between the rails and the hitch plates.  It took a bit to "figure it out", but once I did, it slid in there like it should and bolted right up.  That sumbitch is solid.  No complaint on the hitch, it's probably the heftiest thing on the truck...LOL.

[Wood90]

Thanks for all the info been a great help. Yeah sounds like the install will be interesting but worth it haha i'm sold on the hitch for sure, come pay day I'll have to order one!