Feature Friday: 11 Front Bumper Setups on the 5th Gen 4Runner

Michael Devecchio (@mammoth4runner) Addicted Offroad

Feature Friday: Top 11 Front Bumper Options for the 5th Generation 4Runner in 2021 – Front Bumper Inspiration Guide

This Weeks Topic: Front Bumpers

For this week’s Feature Friday we’re showcasing some KILLER Front Bumper options for the 5th Gen 4Runner. Below you will find a good mixture of hybrid, low-pro, aluminum, and steel bumper options to help inspire YOUR build. There are many factors that come into play when figuring out what front bumper will suit your rig best, biggest to me is functionality and weight. If you are spending some serious coin on a front bumper, you want to make sure you are getting it for the right reason.

You may be thinking about going the hybrid bumper route. This will allow you to add everything from a winch to external lighting, all while giving you added ground clearance and the ULTIMATE front-end protection. The low profile versions have grown to be a really popular option in the last few years with companies like C4 Fabrication, Victory 4×4, and Southern Style Off-Road offering some really high-end options. These low-pro bumpers allow you to keep the OEM style look of your 4Runner while adding a bit of protection. They will also allow you to run a winch, LEGIT recovery points, and external light bars.

Weight is a HUGE thing to consider when choosing a front bumper as well. Full/Hybrid steel bumpers can weigh close to 200lbs as you’ll see with the CBI Fabrication bumper we have featured by @4Rununleashed. On the other side of the coin, you have aluminum bumpers as an expensive alternative. This option cuts the weight of steel bumpers literally in half as seen by @trail.hntr with his 59lbs Hefty Fabworks bumper.

This list is in no specific order, just a general list of awesome 4Runners running various front bumpers! You will also find some important stats about each bumper and what the owner likes about their setup. Be sure to check everyone out on Instagram and give them a follow! If you have any questions for a particular build, you can reach out to them directly on IG.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

If you want to be featured on Feature Friday next week, submit your build through Trail4R.com/feature (the topic is A/T Tire Setups)

Top Brands Featured

• Lil B’s Fabrication
• CBI Offroad Fab
• C4 Fabrication

1. Nico Alvarez (@trail.hntr) Hefty Fabworks

• Front Bumper: Hefty Fabworks Aluminum – Full Guard (3 Hoop)
• Customizable: Optional Fog Lights
• Weight: 59lbs
• Price: $2,555.00

What I love the most about my setup is that it’s a very unique headlight choice. Only a handful of people have them. (And I got them for free). Attached to the Hefty Fabworks bumper is a Badlands ZXR9 winch with synthetic cable, Factor55 ultra hook, and Midatlantic off-road fog lights. I’m running Dobinson IMS shocks to support both the rear and front bumpers with 3” long travel front and 3” rear. 

2. Andres (@Darkrnr) Lil B’s Fabrication

• Front Bumper: Lil B’s Fab Hybrid Front Bumper
• Customizable: Several design Options and TSS Compatible
• Weight: 115lbs
• Price: $1299.00

What I love about this bumper is that it’s sleek, clean, works perfectly with my Baja Designs pods. Lil b’s fabrication hybrid front bumper. Made for 2020 4runner. TSS sensors are compatible. No bullbar lined up with 2 Baja XL Pro and 4 Baja squadron pros. Accompanied with warn industries Evo10 winch and Baja Designs Pro Xl80/squadron pods.

3. Austin Baune (@versatileoverland) Lil B’s Fabrication

• Front Bumper: Lil B’s Fab Hybrid Front Bumper
• Customizable: Several design options and TSS Compatible
• Weight: 115lbs
• Price: $1299.00

Honestly, the look of this full bumper is very slick, clean, and pretty sexy. It’s capable of holding a winch, increases your approach angle, and installing any lights on the bumper is a fairly easy process (I haven’t installed any yet but I know others that have). I was able to visit Lil B’s fabrication in person and they were extremely helpful with setting me up with a new bumper right after I had an accident in my 4Runner. As long as you’ve got a couple of hands to help you put the bumper in place, the install was fairly straight forward and simple. I have Shackle Mounts, Winch-ready, compatible with most 10k winches. I personally have a Warn VR EVO 10-S winch and use Rhino USA D ring shackles.

4. Mo & Mauriahh Esquivel (@4runningtheozarks) Victory 4×4

• Front Bumper: Victory 4×4 Front Winch Bumper – Blitz
• Customizable: Steel or Aluminum With or W/ Out Tube Work
• Weight: Steel 60lbs Aluminum 35lbs
• Price: $799.00

We like this setup because it gave us some solid protection up front it’s compatible with the TSS found in some Toyota’s, it allows for us to have a winch upfront and gives us two solid recovery points. It was also an easy install to perform and we like the way it looks and how it flows with the front of the 4R. We have a Smitty Built 10k winch with a factor 55 fair lead and flat link. Lastly, some Baja designs lp6 pros to light the way.

5. Raul Yordan (@txmade_125) C4 Fabrication

• Front Bumper: C4 Lo-Pro W/ High Clearance Add-Ons
• Customizable: HIGHLY
• Weight: 75lbs
• Price: Bumper: $735.00 High Clearance Addition: $399.00

Where do I begin with this amazing product!?! This c4 fabrication bumper has one of the best fit and finishes in the game. Solid welds that look like stacked dimes and not to mention they are a group of badass individuals! The way the high clearance add-ons make the 4Runner look so much more aggressive but it allows me to get more approach angle when coming up to those tricky obstacles! The install was super simple and the design is stout. There is a reason why they are leading the game in the aftermarket bumpers. The luxury of adding a winch and having it hidden behind the bumper so thrives can’t get their hands on it and the cut out for the lightbar just give it that extra sauce. That’s money dude!

6. Osvaldo Maldonado (@D3v1lsmr) C4 Fabrication

• Front Bumper: C4 Hybrid Front Bumper
• Customizable: Bull Bar Options, Plus Lighting and Winch Choices
• Weight: 120-135lbs
• Price: Bumper: $1399.00

What I like about this bumper is the aggressive look, but mostly the clearance it’s gives me and the strength of the stainless steel bumper. The bumper offers more clearance for better approach angles and makes it easier to fit larger tires. This thing has been thru so much and it’s still super solid! Great product and great customer service! C4 for the win.

7. Austin Walker (@t4r_canyoncrawler) Hefty Fabworks

• Front Bumper: Heft Fabworks Hybrid Front Bumper – Prerunner Hoop
• Customizable: Cooler Liner Skids
• Weight: 98lbs
• Price: Bumper: $1345.00

The keystone to the truck and the protector of myself & my precious cargo is the Hybrid front bumper. I feel they really did a good job with the bumper as far as clearance and mounting points for all the thought about off-road accessories.

Baja XL LINKABLES

When I first got these the name linkables made me feel like this was an adult Lego kit … and I was RIGHT! Basically, any sort of manipulation or tweaking you wanted to do with these you can and they’re SOO BIG it was hard to not contemplate ordering another set for my rank!

Smitty Built X20 10k winch

I’ve always been a believer in their products as it’s saved me countless times on and off the trail. The best part about this winch is I can shove it underwater and I don’t have to worry about it not working or malfunctioning on me. The biggest pro to this setup in my books it’s the wireless remote!! Yes, you heard me WIRELESS! While you’re helping people back to safety you can stay out of harm’s way at a safe distance from the recovery.

Factor 55 Flat Link

Some as why I didn’t go with a hook. I can truthfully say I’ve had multiple winches and the more moving components and the bipolar weather Utah has it tends to wear those moving components out with the snow, salt, etc so the fewer moving components the better!

Baja Squadron Pros

Ha, I felt naked without fog lights so I put these little firecrackers to work, and trust me they know how to light up a path! I’d never think less of them for being one of the smaller ones in their production line because they got really bright personalities.

8. Dustin Smith (@calrunr) Southern Style Offroad

• Front Bumper: Southern Style Offroad Slimline Hybrid Front Bumper
• Customizable: HIGHLY
• Weight: 60lbs
• Price: Bumper: $769.00

When choosing a bumper, I agonized over the decision like pretty much everything else in my build. Maybe a little more… Because this is literally the smile on the face of the rig. At that point in my build, I was also trying to keep the runner looking relatively stock and wanted to do as little cutting as possible. So, the only bumper options I considered were the C4 Lo Pro and the Southern Style Offroad Hybrid Slimline.

It was pretty close to a tossup for me, but the simplicity of the SSO helped me make the decision. The clean front plate with no light bars or cutouts, and the angled lower plate with only a winch cutout and side cutouts to access the winch, looked the most like the stock bumper, but more angular. I don’t love all the cutouts and indentions in the C4. But with the SSO had triangular shackle mounts, mounted on the lower plate-like the C4. Sadly, there wasn’t the option of creating a literal hybrid between the two.

The install was super simple, and surprisingly, I nailed the cut perfectly. I installed the SmittyBilt X20 winch along with the bumper, and the Factor 55 Hawse Fairlead and Ultrahook. I’ve done a few self-recoveries with this setup, the Rhino USA tow rope, and tree saver, and I’ve been pretty happy. The Smitty struggled a bit getting me out of some deep white stuff last winter, but I haven’t had anything else to compare to, so no legitimate complaints.

Other than the clean look, the best thing about this bumper is the powder coating. Many bumpers come raw, and I’ve seen some bad, rusty PC jobs lately. The SSO paint has a smooth, but slightly textured finish that seems super legit. I’ve had zero rust or issues in almost two years of use. Seems to me it’s gonna keep that clean look for a long, long time.

9. Matt Pearson (@4Runleashed) CBI Fabrication

• Front Bumper: CBI Adventure Front Bumper 
• Customizable: Steel or Aluminum
• Weight: 200lbs
• Price: Bumper: $1720

The way the vehicle and CBI bumper flow together is what makes me look back every time I walk away from my 4runner. I scoured the internet before I landed on CBI and I’m happy to put my faith behind their products’ abilities and looks. Powder coating the bumper white was something a little different than I had seen and a nice clean look.

The bumpers integrated light bar mount was the perfect placement for the Black Oak light bar. Black Oak has impressed me with their insane light output, being completely waterproof, and having the durability to handle everything I’ve thrown at them. These lights give me so much confidence when out in the desert at night.

The Warn VR10 winch with synthetic line has worked flawlessly whenever it’s been needed. I would like to get a wireless remote kit for it because getting the wired remote plugged in can be a bit of a struggle.

I recently added the small washer skid just for peace of mind. The skid protects those parts and it looks a lot cleaner to have them hidden behind it.

Overall I am extremely happy with the way everything has come together. I still want to upgrade to some Black Oak fogs and I imagine there will be other improvements down the road but for now, I wouldn’t change anything about it.

10. Michael Devecchio (@mammoth4runner) Addicted Offroad

• Front Bumper: Addicted Offroad
• Customizable: Light Options
• Weight: 115lbs
• Price: Bumper: $1600.00

I love what my current setup has to offer, found a sweet spot getting the 35’s to fit… it’s enough to get it through some of the toughest trails. The addicted off-road front bumper is one of my favorite upgrades, offers amazing protection while still staying lightweight at 115 pounds compared to most full bumpers being heavier. I’ve tried to keep the 4runner mods lightweight where I can. Speaking of lightweight.. full skids underneath is another favorite although it’s heavy the steel RCI skids make for great protection and I’ve definitely given them a beating. I went with an aluminum gas tank skid to keep some of it not so heavy. Lights! Pretty obsessed with the Alpharex headlights and tail lights.. pretty excited to see the new tail light become available for everyone, I had the pleasure of test fitting these tail lights, I love the sleek design and Alpharex is reliable so I know I get to have them on the rig for a long time. Shout out to Ryder offroad for their Awsome wheel design, I’m rocking RR03 matte black wheels that make the build pop giving that aggressive-10 offset. Obviously, my king suspension is one of my favorites as well although only being mid-travel it’s perfect for what I use it for (will be going long travel in the future) I mixed my kings with Icon UCA, rear springs, and hydraulic bump stomps in the back, King and Icon are two of the best companies in the game and I was glad I was able to get both companies on the rig. The build has been a lot of fun. Can’t wait to take it to the next level! I tend to modify the most after I do a trial. I recognize weak points and can’t really rest until it’s “fixed” lol that inspiration tends to take the build to the next level each time.

11. Clinton Saephan (@Amg_t4r) 4x4Labs

• Front Bumper: 4x4Labs Front Plate Bumper
• Customizable: Brush Guard and Light Options
• Weight: 100lbs
• Price: Bumper: $2095.00

What do I love about this bumper? It replaces the whole front bumper while giving this mean aggressive look while it follows the stock body lines. It has the highest clearance and the best approach angle any bumper has to offer on the market. Another thing is it’s only 100lbs for a plate bumper which is lighter than a lot of bumpers out there. I do nothing but rock crawling so I’ve hit and landed on this bumper so many times and it still holds up like a champ. This bumper has held up everything I threw at it and it’s still in one solid piece. Great product and service so you definitely can’t lose with a 4x4labs bumper. 

Final Thoughts

What an awesome Feature Friday to get you juiced up for the weekend! Personally, I have yet to pull the trigger on a front bumper due to how many options there are out on the market. I know I want to go with an aluminum lo-pro style bumper though for my setup. This will allow me to run the same springs upfront and not have to mess with anything really suspension-wise. This list has definitely helped me out with some options that are out there on the market.

If you would like to be considered for next week’s Feature Friday, the topic is All Terrain Tires. We want to know what tires you are running and how you like them, submit your build for Feature Friday and you might get featured. If you would like to submit your build for next week, include your tire details and some awesome photos showcasing them. Have a great weekend guys!!