Fab Fours
Somewhere in our testing after one of many swaps from Jeep to Jeep, this bumper got the nickname Spaceship. With its "progressive" design, the Fab Four's bumper certainly earned the name. We liked using it day to day, but the hold-open bent in no time flat. We're told that all-new bumpers ship with new hold-open mechanisms, and we retrofitted ours. But it was right at the end of the test, so while it did work and is much stronger, we have no idea how it would work in the long run.
Like: That same spaceship-like design from above worked really well in the installation phase. This bumper was, by far, the easiest to assemble and install. This is the way a bolt-on bumper should work. Beam me up!
Dislike: For an otherwise very solid unit, we saw more vibration than we thought there should be for something in this price range. There needs to be some bushing between the swing arm and body to cut it down.
Olympic 4x4 Products
Tire carriers, by and large, are really starting to get up there in price, so a modular unit is a nice idea. Buy a part at a time, or because the price is so reasonable comparatively, grab the whole thing and go. For some reason, while there were a few textured, powdercoated units, this one seemed to absorb mud and just not come clean. With a better hinge and latch, this bumper could be a contender.
Like: It had a low rear-tire mounting location, and we had no problems seeing out the back window.
Dislike: The unit seems to rely on the powdercoat to stay tight. Once the coating wears off, it starts to rattle.
Rock Hard 4x4
This is a well-thought-out unit. From the dual-action safety latch to the pressed-before-welded hinge design to the solid tube steel construction, this is a decent bumper. There's also a ton of bolt-on accessories available for it.
Like: We like the safety-latch mechanism and tailgate stiffener/rubber snubber setup.
Dislike: The tire is spaced out too far to clear the Hi-Lift jack, and we kept tagging the tire upon departure from obstacles. That can't be good for the unit's longevity.
M.O.R.E.
We like Mountain Off-Road Enterprise's stuff, by and large. On this one, though, there were a few things missing: it's a $1,000 bumper with no finish, and there's a really neat laser-cut emblem that can't be seen once a tire is on it. For a carrier in this price range, vibration shouldn't be a concern, but there was enough vibration for us to be concerned about its longevity. In 5,000 miles, it never had a problem. In fact, it's currently on Hazel's Steal-J with over 15,000 additional miles on it and still hasn't broken off, but the steel where the hinge mounts still flexes.
Like: This is a great bumper day to day. Operation of the swing arm is easy, the hold-open stays open the way it should, and it doesn't make any noise.
Dislike: The lack of an available finish.
Tomken Machine
This is another modular approach to the bumper design. We like the post idea for rescue operations and the modular design, however, we had a passel of problems getting this bumper assembled and then onto the test Jeeps.
Like: The modular design, greasable hinge, and unique recovery points were great.
Dislike: It had a lack of lateral support for the upright on the tire carrier.
Warn
The warn unit has been around for a long time, largely unchanged, because it's simple and it works. The hinge has a dual-shear setup, which helps in the strength department, and while we messed around with the latch, we were never able to get it to where we thought it should be.
Dislike: The latch is too simple.