We Asked 9 4Runner Owners What Accessories They Mounted To Their Aftermarket Front Bumpers – Here’s What They Said & How They Chose
This Week’s Topic: Aftermarket Front Bumper Accessories
Welcome back to another Feature Friday! If you missed last week’s FF, we check out some of the coolest SR5 4Runners in our overland/off-Road community. For this week’s Feature Friday, we take a look at what accessories 5th gen 4Runner owners are adding to their aftermarket front bumpers.
Adding an aftermarket front bumper to your 4Runner opens up a whole new world of opportunities. You gain so many benefits by adding just this single piece of armor, even before adding any accessories. While it’s pretty obvious that an aftermarket front bumper gives your rig added protection, most will provide additional ground clearance as well.
Obvious benefits aside, individuals find themselves in the market for front bumpers to easily mount recovery equipment and 3rd party accessories. When Toyota designed the 4Runner, they did have off-road enthusiasts in mind, but only to an extent. They (nor do most automakers) don’t make it very easy to mount a winch, 30″ light bar, or LED light pods to the front end of the vehicle. In addition, aftermarket bumpers provide robust, easy-to-access front recovery points.
Arguably, you could add most of these items to the factory bumper – but boy is there a lot of plastic cutting and frustration needed to achieve a clean install!
Having an aftermarket front bumper makes adding auxiliary lighting and recovery equipment a breeze with pre-fabricated mounting locations.
Below you will find a variety of Lo-Pro and full-front bumper-equipped rigs to help you decide what combination is the right fit for your 4Runner.
Top Brands Featured
- CBI Offroad Fabrication Armor
- Prinsu 4Runner Roof Racks
- C4 Fabrication Armor
- Cali Raised LED Accessories and Armor
- Runnin4Tacos Accessories
- Agency6 Recovery Gear Accessories
Front Bumper Accessories
1. Ryan Lau (@4runnersaurus) – 2021 TRD ORP
Front Bumper
- Southern Style Off-Road Versa w/ Bull Bar
Accessories
- Morimoto 4Banger HXB Wide Pods | White
What Do You Like About Your Setup?
I originally had the Morimoto pods mounted as ditch lights but decided that it wasn’t my favorite aesthetic. By mounting them to my bumper instead, I essentially get super-wide headlight supplementation.
The wide pattern HXB 4Banger is super bright while remaining SAE/DOT compliant when mounted at fog light height and aimed correctly, so I can now use them whenever I want.
2. Aly Graff (@ladyredrunner_) – 2016 SR5
Front Bumper
Accessories
- Smittybult 12K Winch
What Do You Like About Your Setup?
I love the sleekness of the CBI Covert bumper – clean lines and no bull bar. I love how the bumper adds pop to the front end! The winch is amazing and operates very smoothly! It sits perfectly behind the bumper with no issues.
3. Miguel Fittoria (@t4thless_runner) – 2018 TRD ORP
Front Bumper
- Trail Standard Off-Road LoPro Bumper
Accessories
- FieryRed 13k Synthetic Line Winch w/ Wireless Controller
- 30” Lightbar w/ Spot/Flood Combo
What Do You Like About Your Setup?
I researched for months which slimline-style bumper I wanted to install on my 4Runner. Given that I do a lot of trails solo, I wanted it to hold a winch, lights, and have recovery points, but still be subtle. I’ve always loved the factory look of the front of the 4Runner and didn’t want to mess with it too much. Trail Standard Off-Road’s LoPro bumper is tucked tight, follows the OEM body lines, and is absolutely solid.
It is held on by 5 bolts on each side and has plenty of space for a heavy-duty winch, light bar, and shackles. It looks great, has allowed me to recover from a couple of sketchy situations, and has even endured a couple of uses of a jack to lift up the rig.
As if it couldn’t be any better, the owner is amazing, easy to communicate with, has excellent customer service, and offers an unbelievable price point!
4. Jonathan & Leeza Reyesb (@sd4hnid) – 2019 TRD OR
Front Bumper
- C4 Fabrications Hybrid | Full Height Bull Bar Option: Check Price
Accessories
- 30” Baja Designs Lightbar | Amber
What Do You Like About Your Setup?
First off, this bumper is phenomenal! Not only does it give you crazy amounts of clearance to fit bigger tires but the fitment, in general, is awesome!
This bumper is sleek, aggressive, and provides excellent clearance off-road! I chose this bumper not only because of all the accessories it can hold such as a winch, light bar, and three different styles of lights, but it also saves weight by incorporating a tube system vs full plate.
The C4 team definitely took the time to create and master this bumper, I highly recommend them!
5. Cory Anderson (@fur_4runner) – 2017 TRD ORP
Front Bumper
- Expedition One Trail Series w/ Full Bull Bar
Accessories
- Smittybilt a 12K Winch
- Baja Designs Squadron Pro Fog Lights
What Do You Like About Your Setup?
The Expedition One Trail Series bumper provides great clearance and protection. It’s great being able to have full access to the top of the winch for serviceability purposes. Mounting both the bumper and the winch was easy and didn’t require relocating factory lines.
6. Kelly Schwartz (@sheb_x4) – 2016 SR5
Front Bumper
- C4 4Runner Overland Series Front Bumper w/ Headlight Hoops: Check Price
Accessories
- Extreme LED X6S Amber/White 30” Light Bar (Added Option For Brackets)
- Baja Designs Amber Squadron Sport Fog Lights
- Smittybilt X20 Gen2 10k Waterproof Wireless Winch w/ Synthetic Rope
What Do You Like About Your Setup?
After a lot of research and consideration, I ultimately chose the C4 Overland series with the full bull bar and headlight hoops to match the off-roading and overlanding style we would be doing in my 4Runner. I’m also a mom driving around the Bay Area and see at least two wrecks a day, so this added protection is pure gold.
C4 Fabrication made it really simple to order lights that fit their bumpers straight from their website. I splurged on Baja Designs for fog lights but kept the lightbar modest with the Extreme LED. Eventually, I’ll swap this out for something brighter, but it’s my least used light so far.
I chose the Smittybilt 10k winch for its reliability and my local shop had it in stock the day of my front bumper installation. The TRD Pro-style grille from Overland Depot was the first modification I installed on my own for aesthetic purposes only. I’ve added special Lady Owned Toyotas (LOT) color touches to the front grille provided by Taco Vinyl to make sure and represent our amazing group!
7. Madalynn Carson (@mountainousmadi) – 2019 TRD ORP
Front Bumper
- C4 Lo Pro Winch Front Bumper w/ High Clearance Additions: Check Price
Accessories
- Extreme LED 30” Light Bar
- Warn VR EVO 10-S Winch w/ Synthetic Rope
What Do You Like About Your Setup?
I love the simplicity of the C4 Lo Pro bumper and high clearance additions. It’s a good in-between if you want a little more clearance than you get with just the Lo Pro bumper but don’t want to do a full front bumper. It fits my needs and I know I can rely on the C4 quality.
It’s easy to access the winch if needed and is tucked away nicely when not. The winch is wirelessly controlled, which is a huge plus! It is super user-friendly.
8. Blake McCormack (@faithful_overland) – 2010 SR5
Front Bumper
- Shrockworks Steel Full Hoop Front Bumper
Accessories
- Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro Max Fog Lights | Amber
- Movotor 7” Amber Spotlights
- SmittyBilt X20 10K Winch
- TruckAccessoriesGuy Center Grill Piece
What Do You Like About Your Setup?
The greatest joy I get from my front bumper setup is the overall functionality it gives me no matter where I find myself.
The bumper itself has a pleasing aesthetic while offering superior protection compared to the plastic factory bumper. The full hoop design is a bonus in protecting my headlights from crashing into any unwanted obstacles!
This front bumper setup is also a great platform for holding my Smittybilt 10K winch and the two welded recovery points aid with both self-recovery and others. The combination of amber and white lighting aids in safe travel through any weather or environmental condition that comes my way.
9. Brenan Greene (@Trail4R) – 2016 TEP
Front Bumper
- C4 Fabrication Hybrid | Full Height Bull Bar Option: Check Price
Light Accessories
- 30” KC FLEX Bar with amber shields
- KC FLEX 4s with backlit LED and amber caps
- KC FLEX 3s with backlit LED and amber caps
- KC FLEX Single with amber shields
- KC Amber Cyclones
Winch Accessories
- Smittybilt X20 Gen2 10k Waterproof Wireless Winch w/ Synthetic Rope
- Agency6 Black Fairlead
- Agency6 Orange Winch Shackle
- Orange D-Rings
What Do You Like About Your Setup?
The amber everything on MGM is pretty impressive. The light output on the trail is unreal. I can turn a pitch-black trail into daylight at speed. KC Lights are among the highest quality lights on the market and I’m still blown away that this is my 4Runner every time I walk up to it. The Smittybilt X20 Gen2 10k is a beast. It’s pulled me and a few others through some intense situations. I’ve also used my winch for a few landscaping situations around the house as well. The winch is probably my favorite mod on this truck.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you gained some inspiration from this week’s Feature Friday for your own aftermarket front bumper build-out! I know I have certainly had my interests piqued, they just look so awesome!
I hope you all have a great Independence Day Weekend! Get out there and enjoy it!
We want readers to get inspired by a variety of rigs/products. Submit your build for Feature Friday here to get featured. Next week we will be showcasing 4Runners with Silver/Gunmetal Wheels and asking owners what they like about their particular wheel setup. If you would like to submit your build for next week, include your setup details and an awesome photo that shows it off.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Do you know if the C4 Lo Pro winch would fit a 2021 Venture edition?