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Frequently Asked Questions
Where are our products made?
We are in business as an American manufacturer who specializes in the metal fabrication of armor, storage, and vehicle accessories associated with general vehicle-based exploration. Our catalog is comprised entirely of products that we build right here in our own facility in Michigan, using domestically sourced materials and machinery whenever possible. There are supporting components of our products that are sourced overseas such as LED accessories and hardware components. If you come across a label on any component from us stating that it is made anywhere but the good ol’ US of A, rest assured that it is simply a supporting component on a larger product that was built by us, for you, here in our home state.
Do your products come painted or powder coated?
Most of our products are finished in powder coat, some of our builder style or DIY parts are shipped in bare metal.
What does bare metal mean?
Bare products will skip the powder coating step, but they will have the same raw surface finish as the products that we powder coat in-house. That means that all grinding marks will be sanded to a sufficient smoothness to be hidden by our powder coat process. If you are looking to apply a smooth powder coat, a thin automotive finish, or leave raw aluminum products bare, additional finishing may be necessary.
What is your powder coat process?
Our powder coat process starts with surface prep in fabrication where most surfaces are roughed up using mechanical sanders. The parts are then treated with a phosphate wash before an initial bake to remove all remaining surface contamination. The first step in the powder process is a zinc rich primer. This is designed to promote excellent adhesion to the base metal as well as to act as a sacrificial anode to inhibit corrosion. After the primer coat is baked on, we lay down a top coat of a durable sandtex black powder, then do a final bake of the parts. The coating materials and methods we choose for our products are designed to exceed a 6,000-hour salt spray under ASTM D 117-94 test methods.
Do you offer different colors of powder coat?
We only offer sandtex black powdercoat here.
I'd like to paint the product myself, any tips?
Sure! Check out our painting tutorial here.
What do you mean by "tube work" as a product option?
Tube work is the hoop or tubing welded to the top of the bumper. It is designed to help protect front end components of your Jeep, for style, and it can be used as a place to mount lights and other accessories (mounts not included.) Each of our bumpers has a unique profile of tubing designed to look best with that bumper on your Jeep, but many times you will have the option of ordering the bumper with no tube at all by selecting the "none" option (not available on all bumpers.) There is no additional change for either option.
What diameter tubing do you use?
Most bumper main hoops and rock sliders outer tubes are made from 1.75" x .120 wall tube. Some bumpers feature side hoops made from 1.25" x .120 wall tube. Our Classic Slider main tubing is either 2" x 2" or 2" x 3" x .188" wall box tube depending on vehicle model.
What type of steel and aluminum do you use? Where is it sourced?
For steel plate and bar we use A36, steel tubing is A500, most aluminum is 3003-H14 (unless specified.) We always look to buy USA made steel and aluminum, but we will use Canadian sourced products if there are any supply issues.
Do you offer a warranty?
Please see this page for warranty and order policy information.
Can I pickup my product at your location?
Arrangements for pickups need to be made by contacting us directly to place the order.
Is the product I ordered in stock?
If it's a common small item there is a good chance it's in stock and ready to go. We try and keep as many bumpers on hand as we can in various build stages, so they can ship out quickly. You'll find we have some of the best order fulfillment times in the industry; expect most bare metal products to leave our facility in around 10-15 business days, and an additional 5 business days if a powder coating option is selected. However, lead times are subject to change due to our current volume of orders. Please feel free to contact us directly for current lead times.
Is my payment secure?
Sure is! We use 256bit SSL encryption, look for the lock in the address bar (or status bar) in the checkout process to verify. Still not comfortable ordering online? Call us to place your order, 269-353-1184.
Do you offer a military or first responders discount?
We are proud to offer a discount for our military and first responders, see this page for more information.
What 1-ton steering is right for me?
This depends on a few factors, but we can give you a broad generalization. More than 4" of lift and you'll benefit from OTK steering, more than 6" and we'd make it a requirement. Read the instructions first! OTK installation takes knowledge and patience, and if your not comfortable with that, or don't have a local shop that you'd be comfortable doing custom fabrication on your rig, look into other options. Besides reaming the knuckles and pitman arm and maybe some track bar bracket mods (TJ Rubicon mostly) the UTK system is largely a bolt-on affair.
Do your DIY bumpers included bolts?
No, they do not. Please use whatever hardware grade and style you find suitable for your DIY project.
What are XJ Unibody (uni-frame) Tie-ins and why do I need them?
Please see our XJ bumper mounting page here.
What is the tow rating on bumpers.
Our bumpers are not officially rated for towing. We try and design them to be more than strong enough to handle the factory tow capacity of the vehicle, but when in doubt, please couple them with a factory style receiver for maximum legal towing capacity and safety. No hitch strength or towing capacity is assumed in our DIY bumpers, you will need to add gussets or support for your needs.
What is the weight rating of the roof racks?
More than the roof you are attaching it to. We design our racks to hold common items, fuel/water cans, roof top tents, spare tires, kayaks, etc... Any loads beyond those general weights (or beyond the rating in your owner's manual) are at your discretion.
Can you flat tow from the D-rings of your bumpers?
Yes! Some companies make tow bar d-ring adapter mounts specifically for that purpose (our d-rings are .750" thick for your reference.) We recommend connecting your safety chains to the frame or brackets mounted to the frame (not the bumper) for maximum safety and redundancy.
Any other questions? Contact us!
