Spy photos....

Looks pretty damn sweet liking it more over the arb...how does strength and all that compares to arb

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Strength and all that? Well I guess either would destroy a Prius. I think it comes down to whether you prefer an exposed or concealed winch.


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4speedfunk said:

Strength and all that? Well I guess either would destroy a Prius. I think it comes down to whether you prefer an exposed or concealed winch.


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Click to expand...

I shouldve of been more specific...like material size and strengt wise are they the same thickness, do the wings on the thor's bumper are affixed by just bolts to the bottom part how does a front side collision would translate would it give you a better advantage like the arb seems it does...i know now with how high I seat and will seat and with the SAS id probably mount on any sedan on the road I collide with either front or rear. Or if you were to hit a god damn terrorist deer like I did way back when I first got the truck I think if I had have the arb id have been better off with the help of the bull bars.

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This new THORparts bumper is all steel, 3/16" thick except for the recessed light buckets. Those are 14ga steel. The wings are bolted to the top of the bumper with (3) 1/2" grade-8 fasteners. If inclined...the customer could weld the wings in place to the top of the bumper. I think this could be done "secretly", with the welding all hidden from view. I use the bolt-on method for several reasons. (1) the knocked-down bumper can be shipped via UPS-Ground. (2) it makes replacing either side easier, since you don't have to replace the entire bumper. (3) it gives previous THORparts customers the option to easily upgrade their original GEN I front bumpers to this newer style. (4) it lends itself to custom mods, since the wings can be moved around separately from the bumper by slotting the bolt-holes.

As far as a collision? I honestly feel it would depend what you hit, that would determine the outcome of the bumper...

Tree?...probably be okay if crawling or a glancing blow.
Isis-Deer?...probably splattered.
Back end of a parked dump truck?...no hope, the H3 would be destroyed.

As far as "strength"...you could hang an H3 from the THORparts winch bumper, if you had enough balls to hoist your truck vertically that high off the ground. (I would recommend a steel bridge beam or something more substantial than a tree limb).

I have a cracked plastic grille from hitting a small tree when off-roading. The original GEN I bumper stops short of the ends, and the wings & grille are made from very thin & lightweight steel. Its not designed to provide any corner protection. At the time that was the look and use I was going for (and many guys probably still prefer it). I simply could not make a full-width bumper look like anything but ass! But, after a year of wadding up cardboard and steel mock-ups...I finally arrived at a bumper design that gives better corner protection without looking like it came off of some other vehicle. It fits nice & tight against the body and compliments the lines. All of the other H3 bumpers look over-built and bulky to me, which is why I came up with the first THORparts bumper. This one is a compromise of the original THORparts bumper...slightly wider...slightly heavier. The center portion is still the same piece as before, with a fully exposed, high-mount, winch position.

Looks good. Can't wait to see finished product. Question on the light pods/holes sizing: I can't tell what that is you are holding up there in the first pics. Are you planning to size these for a specific light? Is that a 4" LED? Would you consider a space that is flexible for different set ups?
I'm thinking like a set of two Rigid Duallys fitting in there on each side. I like running a flood on the outside, and the hyperspots on the inside. (Maybe even the new side throw cube Rigid has on the outside).
Whattya think?

Nice work looks great

Yes! The buckets will come totally smooth, ready for whatever lamp you want.

Cool. Really have to give you credit the more I look at these pics, those angles and the fitment, I can tell that's not easy to do. What's the target date you're looking at now?

Mid April.


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Will the factory brush guard mount up to this, clear everything, and still have the original spacing from the grill? Bumper looks awesome!

Will the factory brush guard mount up to this, clear everything, and still have the original spacing from the grill? Bumper looks awesome!

Click to expand...

Can't say for sure at this time but, I think so. The original base bumper did not change much at all. If you are ever passing by...stop in and we can throw your b.g. on it and see what it looks like.

This has been in the works for over a year...several prototypes, and many different minds adding input to the design. A lot of time went into creating a bumper that met all the requires on our list but, still looks semi-attractive. We wanted it to hug the front end, and compliment the looks of the H3, without appearing "bulky" or "adapted from some other vehicle". We are now done fiddling with it, and these latest photos show the exact bumper. We are anxiously awaiting the final production bumpers (welded, ground, and powder-coated). I'll post up some pics as soon as they come out of the oven.

The main winch-mount piece received only one minor tweek...we cut the top of the fairlead window completely off. Having installed and removed countless THORparts bumpers, this was a mod that I came up with to make winch removal and installation easier. Before...the entire winch line had to be pulled-out...the line disconnected from the drum...so the fairlead and winch could be removed. This often meant hooking the line back onto the drum and "bench spooling" all 100 feet of it back onto the winch using a 12v source. So now with the top cut off...you simply unbolt the winch, unbolt the fairlead...and the entire thing can be lifted straight up and removed without un-spooling and disconnecting the line from the drum. This saves a ton of time, and makes winch servicing & access much easier. I can't believe it took me this long to address this issue!

The light pods are entirely new, in every aspect. They are bolted to the bumper, and the grille is bolted to them. This is much different from the original THORparts bumper that required drilling and mounting these pieces separately to the radiator support. The new pods are the same 3/16" thick steel as the bumper. The grille is 14ga. steel. They are slightly heavier than the GEN I light pods but, now they extend out past the plastic grille to provide better corner protection. The recessed lamp buckets are made from 14ga. and these will come smooth with no provisions for lamps. Given the choices available and the different tastes and opinions on lighting...we opted to give the customer a 4"x6" area to mount whatever lamp he wishes. The 14ga steel is easy to work with (hole saw, cut, or drill), and these buckets are removable from the front side so adding lamps will not require removal of the entire bumper. We are curious to see what sort of lamps show up on them.

It's coming along nicely and finally a bumper close to what I'm after. Not that I want to compare but I've been looking for sleek stealth bumpers for our h3s for a while now and even tried searching for people to work with to design something that fits my liking and I've been eyeing the high clearance bumpers the Toyota guys have been making ... here are a few I've been eyeing ...


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Keep up the awesome work you've been doing!


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Come & get em...$975...




Now I have to add some lights. I've been researching that....stay tuned.


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Hill my Predator SAR brush guard work with this bumper

How much for just the pods for doing a retrofit?

jbrand11....probably.

JPaul...PM Sent.

Looks awesome!!! Some one else asked but I didn't see a final yes or no... will the factory brush guard fit on them?

Again...probably.

The bumper does not stick out any further than a stock one, so I doubt if there would be any fitment issues. But, until someone stops by my shop...lets me bolt-on a brushguard to see for sure...or somebody buys one and installs their brushguard...I'm going to go with "probably". These are so new that I don't have any feedback yet from such installs. I have the one you see here on my truck, and a couple dozen more getting packed in boxes.

Looks good, nice job. I'm curious too about the retrofit and the lights...:corn:

Nice

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Ok...here's the lamp install.
I bought the typical Chinese 18w LED cubes that a lot of guys run. These are super cheap ($24) and they have a flush-mount flange on them...

I started by covering the backside of the bezel with painters tape. Then I located the center by using the corners...

Next I measured the lamp and drew a cut-line onto the tape...

Then I grabbed a cut-off disc and a hack-blade (for the corners), and went to work...

After a test fit, I drilled the four mounting holes...

Satisfied with my cut...I traced the same opening onto the other bezel and repeated the same procedure...

A quick touch-up with some paint (to keep the edges from rusting), and the lamps are almost ready to bolt-on...

Now I'm waiting on weather-pak plugs. These will allow me to plug the new lamps into the factory harness without chopping wires. Stay tuned!

So my weather-pak connectors arrived today...

These are called a "9005" connector and they mimic the bulb plugs in the factory driving lamps...

I'm not into butt-splices or electrical tape and I wanted to make the new lamps plug & play. With plenty of pig tail length on the GM harness, I chopped the new tails relatively short...

Reinstalling the bezels is pretty simple. I use No-Ox on terminals and anti-seize on the small stainless screws...



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Final pics...




These little guys are bright as hell...not sure if they are legal or not. I don't plan to use them on the road. I can't imagine needing a full width light bar...these are plenty!

The design of this bumper gives me so many good modding ideas. There are a lot of ways to get creative with this as a base.