geoffbeaumont Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Started planning what to do with the Discovery now the Range Rover is gone. I've got Southdown axle/diff guards to go on it (kept them from the Range Rover), so that angle is covered, but I need to do something about bumpers and recovery points. I think tubular bumpers look naff on Discover, so I'm after something that looks broadly similar to the standard bumper, and I don't want anything that sticks out a long way. It needs to have decent recovery points, I guess jacking points would be a good move too. Not sure whether to go for a winch one or not. It certainly won't have a winch in it for the time being but I like to fit one later - it would only be a fairly light duty winch though. If I do fit a winch I'd rather recess it into the grill and have less overhang than mount it in front. The truck will be used for laning and the odd play day, as well as general road use and towing, so I don't need it to be built to survice winch challenges. A bit of searching the net and the forum archives has turned up these candidates for the front bumper: First Four Offroad have a non-winch option, which looks pretty naff on their site, but I'm not sure whether that's just the rather poor photo. Anyone got a decent piccy of one? Available in galv, which I'd prefer. Famous Four do one that looks okay in the photo, but it's not shown on a truck so it's a bit hard to tell - think it might stick out quite a long way. Devon 4x4 do a nice looking one, but at roughly half as much again at the competition I don't think I could justify it. It may well be a better bumper, but if it is do I need the extra quality for what I'm doing? The back bumper will stay standard for now - I've a heavy duty tow hitch to use as a recovery point and fend off the worst blows (and get me stuck... ). When the time comes: the Discoparts one looks good and reasonably priced. Looking at this, though, I'd have to lose the standard tow bar and fit a tank guard/removable hitch? Galved and powder coated too First Four Offroad to a very similar looking bumper, but their's is either galv or coated, not both - can't see how that one attaches. Any opinions on the above or other candidates to consider? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Scorpion do some nice ones I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Baldwin Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 The First Four bumper front looks as good in the flesh as it does on the photo.... Cheviot also does a slimline front bumper. A friend has one, and aside from the generous rust coating, personally I think it looks daft. It's so slim you end up with a huge gap between the bottom of the bumper and the steering guard. You may love it though. D4x4 might be more money, but I personally think you get what you pay for in terms of build quality and finish. Although, I grant you the difference in price between D4x4 and some of the others will go a long way to paying for a winch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 I remember reading about these guys in TOR a while back and thought their bumper looked pretty tidy. IU definately prefer the tapered design to the more square cut ones as sold by Paddocks & co. http://www.4x4rus-online.co.uk/Products.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 I have the discoparts rear bumper, its a good bit of kit and highly recommended, but it is very heavy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Of course you could always make your own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 I know this is a D2 but its the same type shape of bumper. I bought this from sodbury last year for £120 and you will struggle to find anything tougher. even if it is a little on the large side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Guardian offer a budget range on ebay that look half reasonable shape-wise, but I'm not sure I'm too keen on the finish. Looks like the front winch bumper is very close fitting, but the rear one leaves a little to be desired!! The link is to their ebay shop BTW, so you can see all of their range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katluke Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Paddocks do a pair of heavy duty bumpers for the Disco 1.Heres a link to them http://www.paddockspares.com/scp/OFF_ROAD/...Heavy_Duty.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted October 2, 2007 Author Share Posted October 2, 2007 Scorpion do some nice ones I think Not to fit my truck they don't.... The First Four bumper front looks as good in the flesh as it does on the photo.... Okay - think we can rule that one out on purely aesthetic grounds then Paddocks do a pair of heavy duty bumpers for the Disco 1.Heres a link to them http://www.paddockspares.com/scp/OFF_ROAD/...Heavy_Duty.html I had seen them - they're exactly the same as the First Four ones (presumably made by First Four?). Cheviot also does a slimline front bumper. A friend has one, and aside from the generous rust coating, personally I think it looks daft. It's so slim you end up with a huge gap between the bottom of the bumper and the steering guard. You may love it though. No, it's not to my taste either - I don't think the big chunky braced A-bar on top of a slender bumper does it any favours either. It's also the most expensive one so far. Guess it might be worth a look if I was after something really solid but not obstructive for winch challenges, if their claims are true, but I'm not. D4x4 might be more money, but I personally think you get what you pay for in terms of build quality and finish. Although, I grant you the difference in price between D4x4 and some of the others will go a long way to paying for a winch. Agreed - I'm thinking I probably don't need the best, but if I can't find a cheaper one I'm happy with I'd rather save up and buy quality than stick something shonky on the truck. I remember reading about these guys in TOR a while back and thought their bumper looked pretty tidy. IU definately prefer the tapered design to the more square cut ones as sold by Paddocks & co.http://www.4x4rus-online.co.uk/Products.htm Interesting - not heard of them before, but they aren't far from me and I like the look of it so definitely worth considering. Any idea what sort of prices they charge - none on their website? I have the discoparts rear bumper, its a good bit of kit and highly recommended, but it is very heavy... It's a lardy discovery, what difference is a few more kilos going to make? I guess it would be hard to make a lightweight bumper that would survive a loaded discovery dropping onto it. Sounds promising - am I right in thinking that it can't be fitted at the same time as a standard tow bar? Of course you could always make your own That had occurred to me, but as my total fabricating experience to date consists of aquiring a welder I'm thinking this probably isn't a sensible project for the near future I'll stick to things that are less structurally critical for now... Jules - great buy if you want the toughest thing going, but rather chunkier than I had in mind. Guardian offer a budget range on ebay that look half reasonable shape-wise, but I'm not sure I'm too keen on the finish. Looks like the front winch bumper is very close fitting, but the rear one leaves a little to be desired!! I can only see a tubular rear bumper? They've certainly done a good job of tucking the bumper in, and they appear to have gone to some lengths to keep the weight down. Can't say I'm over keen on the looks, though, and the corners on the one fitted to the truck look rather ropy and lethal to pedestrians - although the one on the stand looks fine. Has anyone got one of these? Do they look better in the flesh? What's the quality like? Thanks guys - that's some useful feedback. Any more suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
signia Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Like you, my aim was for a bit of fun laning, so the winch was for emergencies and nothing too heavy. As much as I'd like an ARB, I couldn't justify it on a budget, so I got a rebel 4x4 front bumper. It was very easy to fit, but does stick out a bit more than I'd like it to, and doesn't reqquire cutting the grill. It's not caused me any problems but I think I might need to lift the car a bit if I go a bit more extreme. It's also pretty heavy, so over time, and I'm sure it's common generally, standard springs might sag a bit. It does however incorporate recovery and jacking points. Picture of mine here before I fitted the winch, which you have to buy as part of the package. They also assume you use the existing bolts, but I went to LR and got 6 new ones and nuts (old bumper uses just four). You can add the extra bolts using larger washers and existing holes in the chassis. Since then I've also mounted a bumper light bar designed for a defender, on top of the bumper which spans across infront of the winch where I've mounted driving lights. I'll get a pic up later if I can. Not sure how different steering guards interact with the bumper, as the guard mounts onto the same points as the bumper on the chassis. The one I got was a little tricky to fit because of this but I just put everything together quite loosely and tightened up each bit gradually so it all locked in place. It's a pretty tough combination overall, but the bumper does tilt a slightly upwards when jacking from the front but I think that's because the bolts are slightly smaller than the holes in the chassis so it moves a tad. (Anyone else have this quirk???) Also have the discoparts rear bumper which I'm quite pleased with. Also easy to fit, but incorporating the rear lights was a pain when the original bolts were rusted through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted October 3, 2007 Author Share Posted October 3, 2007 The trouble with the Rebel4x4 ones is that they say they won't supply them without a winch, which I definitely can't afford at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 I have the discoparts rear bumper, and it is a superb bit of kit - granted it's not light, but it will take some knocks... I have it fitted along with a Southdown tank guard which picks up on the tow bar mountings, so I don't see why you can't have a standard tow bar fitted at the same time as the bumper... On the Front I have a third or fourth hand scorpion one I have to admit that it is actually very good. It keeps the winch well tucked into the grille, and doesn't look huge. In the past I have seen these at sodbury for sensible money, although mine came via eblag... hth Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 ...but it will take some knocks... Yep - knocks, shoves, landings............. believe me, most things that he throws his Disco at come off worse!!! About half way down on the left hand side of the original Guardian page is the Disco front bumper. The more I look at it, though, the more I think the holes could be a bad thing in something so structural....... No involvement, etc... Guardian just came up at the budget end of the market when I was looking for rear bumpers a little while ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougstar Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 yep sorry defo love the cheviot one as upon closer inspection you will see they have a grove on the corner's of the bumper to allow you to winch off something behind the front line of your car should (and i would be very happy to be equipped) that be the only thing in site where a ground anchor was not feesable!big selling point for me i,m afraid also i have just fitted my new steering guard from the same 'bombproof' range and am very pleased with it (pics to follow) however do not get excited about this bumper as i have been trying to get my grubby little paws on one for a long time now with no luck at all as it seems the laws have changed on the production of these style of bumpers the following is cut from a e-mail i recived from a nice man called ken at cheviot 4x4........... Hi dougie, Sorry to take so long but I needed to make one or two telephone calls on this subject of bumpers and 'A' Bars. From now on all our bumpers will not be fitted with 'A' bars. The law states that "the frontal protection system shall not be inclined forward of the vertical. The top parts of the fps shall not extend upwards or rearwards more than 50mm from the bonnet leading edge reference line of the line of the vehicle." Several companies around the country who supply bumpers with 'A' bars no longer do so. We have followed that route. We have a couple of Defender bumper bars left for off road use only but that is all. In future all bumpers provided by ourselves will not have the 'A' bar. That does mean that there is some redesign work to be completed to put the strength in the bumper in another way. So, we will be revamping our bumper product range. I do not have a timescale but I can tell you that when the new range is ready it will be put on the website. I am sorry to have kept you waiting so long. Best Wishes Ken if anyone hears any more on this matter or has a different view please let me know, in the mean time i,m still on the hunt for that ideal bumper to stick on my beloved dougstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 Well, I've stuck my neck out and ordered this, off an eBay seller called golddigger4x4. I get the impression he's a very small operator and I've never heard of him before, but he has consistently good feedback (including repeated favourable comments about the quality of his products) and I like the look and the price of the bumper. Now just got to wait and see if it lives up to expectations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Well, I've stuck my neck out and ordered this, off an eBay seller called golddigger4x4. I get the impression he's a very small operator and I've never heard of him before, but he has consistently good feedback (including repeated favourable comments about the quality of his products) and I like the look and the price of the bumper.Now just got to wait and see if it lives up to expectations I've been following this thread with interest as I'm looking to replace both the front and rear bumpers on my Discovery. Let us know what you think of the Goldigger once you get your mitts on it - I'd been looking at it as well as an alternative to the usual suspects. It looks good in the photos, but its hard to guage until you see it in the flesh. Hopefully you'll have it before Sodbury which may save me hunting around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 I won't be at Sodbury, unfortunately, or you could take a look in the flesh, but I'll post photo's and my (inexpert) views on it when it arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbloke Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I've got one of the Guardian Tubular bumpers on my Disco, And I am impressed with the quality of the welding. The finish isn't all that good, but its bloody hard wearing. If his new style tapered ends bumper is of the same quality then it should be good value for money. Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jojo Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I've got Scorpion Racing winch bumpers on mine and they look OK. They have jacking and recovery points built in. You have to cut a piece out of the grill when fitting a winch. The rear bumper takes the bumper lights and has protectors for them. I have also got a Scorpion quick release tow bar fitted which doubles as another point for a high lift jack. You can't fit the orginal headlight washers on the front bumper as they stick out too far and look a mess but you can do with out them or make/fit something else. Best, Jojo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtysouthUK Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I've got a golddigger front bumper on my disco. The build quality is good, it's well finished and has taken a couple of pretty hard knocks with no damage so far. Work has kept me too busy over the last couple of months to get the disco as muddy as I'd like but my impression so far is it's well worth the money. Dom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 I've got a golddigger front bumper on my disco. The build quality is good, it's well finished and has taken a couple of pretty hard knocks with no damage so far. Work has kept me too busy over the last couple of months to get the disco as muddy as I'd like but my impression so far is it's well worth the money. Dom That's good to hear Haven't heard a peep from them yet. How long did they take to deliver yours? Not that I'm getting impatient, you understand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 Heard anything yet Geoff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtysouthUK Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 They did take a while to get it out to me. Sure it wasn't more than a couple of weeks in total. I emailed them asking and they gave me a shipping date straight away. Dom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share Posted October 19, 2007 Contacted him via eBay and just had a reply - apparently he's had a big rush and is snowed under, but is planning on shipping my bumper next day delivery wed/thurs next week. As a bonus I'm getting his new design of bumper (looks the same but stronger) not the old model I paid for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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