Dissent Off-Road Rear Bumper For The 5th Gen 4Runner – Review & Feature Overview

Here it is guys, the long-awaited and highly anticipated high clearance modular Dissent Off-road rear bumper for the 5th Gen 4Runner.

There are a ton of aftermarket rear bumpers on the market but none of them fit the bill for exactly what I was looking for.

The perfect rear bumper for many of us would be high clearance without cutting out the cross member and feature a higher tow hitch. Most importantly though, the bumper would feature an incredibly well-thought-out design and utilize only the highest quality materials. In addition to all that, wouldn’t it be nice if you could scale your bumper as you go, allowing you to mount/dismount upgraded swingouts? Dissent Off-road is bringing all this and more to the 4Runner.

At a high level, the construction is similar to their Land Cruiser bumpers. Those are made of a 5052 aluminum shell to save weight with steel reinforcement brackets and stiffeners. This version, however, is going to be much more stout. It’s made of 3/16″ plate steel with 3/16″ gussets for superior strength and is finished with 1/2” steel recovery points welded on each wing. 

This is the rear bumper we’ve all been waiting for. 🤘🏽🤘🏽

Find It Online: 

• Dissent Rear Bumper: Check Price 

Features

This is one crazy feature-packed high-clearance rear bumper. While other high clearance options on the market offer some cool features, Dissent steps it up when it comes to the design, functionality, modularity, and build components overall.

This bumper is crazy feature-packed but one of the most impressive selling points is its modularity. You can run no swing out, a dual swing, or a single swing (passenger or driver). With the weld-in or bolt-on hitch options, you’ll retain towing or recovery functionality while yielding higher clearance and impressive departure angles.

Here are the high-level features of the bumper:

• Design: High clearance bolt-on bumper with aggressive approach angles and low profile side wings
• Shell Material: 3/16″ Plate Steel with steel gussets that run to pivot
• Recovery Point Material: 1/2″ welded bow shackle/soft shackle compatible
• Modular Design: Bolt on upgraded swing arms anytime
• Bolt-On Install: Grade 8 hardware & USA-sourced steel/components
• Powder Coating Options: Black or dark grey
• Accessories: Choose from a ton of swing arms and accessory options
• Swing Arm Material: Hybrid of steel and aluminum
• Latch: Dissent signature slam close locking latch
• Hitch: Multiple high-clearance hitch options

If this bumper sounds like it’s for you, here are some additional details to seal the deal:

• Double shear swing arm mounts with Grade 8 hardware
• Dual bump stops on swing arms to prevent metal-on-metal contact
• 1″ tapered pivot bolt with two 1″ roller bearings both greaseable via dual zerk fittings
• Stainless steel strike plate fixed on the shell with UHMW contact plastic content on swing arms
• Camp table on tire swing arm (comes standard)
• Adjustable tire mount (fits wide offset range, factory spare to -12 offset confirmed)
• Compatible with C4/Gobi ladder confirmed
• Relocation kit for 4-pin tow harness
• Safety chain mount points for towing
• License plate mount points
• License plate lighting kit (designed, engineered, and manufactured in-house)
• Dissent-branded logo badges

Lighting Options:

• Smoked-out lights
• Full-color stop, turn and reverse
• Universal fitment plates are available upon request

Design Overview

The rear bumper line from Dissent Off-road has long been a “want” and for many others, a “need”. The Dissent offerings for the Land Cruiser, GX, Sequoia, and many other makes have long been admired by the 4Runner community but for some reason, they never built one, until now.

Not only are they designed with incredible taste and style but they’re engineered specifically for clearance, utility, and functionality. With modular utility in mind, the Dissent Off-road rear bumper offers versatility and customization options to meet various off-road/overland needs. The lines on this rear bumper are just perfect, all while incorporating integrated dual 1/2″ steel recovery points, multiple provisions for auxiliary lighting, and a wide variety of swing-out options. This bumper provides incredible functionality and stunning aesthetics.

High Clearance

This is about as high clearance as it’s going to get without cutting out your cross member. Dissent has designed this rear bumper to tuck as high as possible against the cross member. More specifically, it’s within about 1/8″ of the factory cross member. This allows for impressive departure angles not only in the center but of course on the sides as well.

And before all the comments about other brands, skip to the Material & Quality section to digest some facts about the difference between Dissent and other brands. Is Dissent the cheapest? No. Are they the highest quality all while paying attention to every single detail? I would argue, yes.

This is, in my honest opinion, one of the best-looking rear bumpers ever made for the 5th Gen 4Runner. Paired with impressive clearance and trail-proven departure angles, it’s a slam dunk.

Hitch Options

You can choose from multiple options for a hitch. For the weld-in option, however, you will either need to be or have an experienced welder.

1. High Clearance Weld-In (pictured): Comes with a partially welded hitch to the front plate. Hitch, front plate, back plate, and bottom plate provided.
2. Factory Bolt-on Hitch Kit
3. No Hitch

Material & Quality

This section could have easily been #1 on the list. The main reason why I chose to finally run a rear bumper after all these years is because the quality is 100% there with Dissent.

I’ve seen just about every rear bumper on the market and very few of them hold a candle to what Dissent is producing. It’s not the cheapest option, but it’s arguably one of the highest-quality options with the most attention to all of the details.

Everything from the functionality to the accessories, and most importantly, the latch. So many companies get the latch wrong. Not Dissent, though. The design is almost rudimentary yet sophisticated at the same time. It’s not the same latch every other bumper runs.

After seeing a few Dissent bumpers at an Expo and then spending the weekend with Stellar Built’s 200 Series Land Cruiser build/bumper, I was sold. The quality you find in Dissent’s products makes other companies jealous. I am not kidding, they make the highest-quality armor I’ve ever seen.

For material, this bumper features a 3/16” steel plate with 1/2” steel recovery points and 3/16” steel gussets throughout. The accessories are a hybrid of steel/aluminum to keep the weight down where possible and all the hardware utilized is Grade 8. 

Recovery Points

Each wing has a welded 1/2″ recovery point that’s compatible with most common size bow shackles and even larger 1″ soft shackles. If you opt for one of the hitch options, you will also have a center recovery point, giving you three total recovery points in the rear.

Modular

This is one of the only options on the market that allows you to add swing arms after you purchase the bumper.

You can start with just the bare bumper and add a new swing arm (or two) down the road. The swing arms are bolt-on and easily (given your experience) removable, giving you the freedom of adding and removing weight as needed.

Hinge Design

At the core of what makes this bumper great is its dual shear swing-out roller bearing hinge with a gas-assisted strut (available in multiple strengths). It’s made from a 1/4″ steel bracket, dual 1″ tapered roller bearings, both with greaseable zerk fittings, and a 1″ hardened steel shaft.

Not only is this hinge stronger than most, but it solves the problem most traditional spindle hinges have; squeaking, rattling, and eventual failure over time.

This hinge is fully incorporated into the bumper instead of simply welded to the outside, like most options on the market. Dissent designed their swing arms to reduce as much weight as possible which is why the bottom portion of the swing arms is steel, and the rest of the material is aluminum, aside from the tire mount itself.

Swing Arm Features & Options

In terms of swing arm features, there are quite a few. Again, it features gas-assisted struts – designed to support the weight of a swing arm when you’re off-camber on a trail and/or setting up camp. There is nothing worse than a swing arm slamming into your back while you’re getting something out of the cargo area.

There are also bump stops on the inner and outer pivot to prevent metal-on-metal contact. That’s very nice when the weight of a full-size space takes your swing and slams it into the edge of a pivot.

Next, you have a camp table built into the swing arm with an easy-to-use deployment and securement latch. It’s confirmed to hold the weight of a grown man. I was able to sit and even stand on the table without it feeling flimsy.

The tire mount itself is made of steel and is fully adjustable. You can adjust the pitch as high or as low as you want to reach your desired spare tire angle.

Dissent offers quite a few options for swing arms and swing arm accessories:

• Tire Carrier Swing-Out
• Aluminum Tray Swing-Out
• Triple Jerry Can Basket Swing-Out
• Overland Panels Swing-Out
• Overland Pro Swing-Out
• Ladder Swing-Out
• Hi-Lift Jack Mount For Dissent Tire Carrier
• Single Jerry Can Mount For Overland Panel & Pro Swing-Outs
• Maxtrax Mount For Overland Panel & Pro Swing-Outs

Light Weight

The bare steel bumper weighs 125 lbs. while the hybrid steel/aluminum swing arms (without a tire) are 50 lbs each. This bumper keeps the weight low without sacrificing strength where you need it.

Lighting Options

You can order the classic Dissent full-color stop including turn, and reverse light housings. Or, you can opt for smoked-out lens covers for a stealthy look.

Final Thoughts

With all of the options on the market, it’s rare to see something so different. Dissent addressed so many areas for improvement that have been needed for the last decade – and not just for the 5th Gen 4Runner. This is how they have been making bumpers for their entire Toyota and Lexus line since they started.

The features on this bumper, and more specifically, the swing arms, are really what sets it apart from everyone else in the market. This bumper offers everything; high clearance, impressive departure angles, increased strength while reducing weight with its hybrid swing arm design, a ton of aftermarket accessory mounts, and built-in swing arm features galore.

If you’re looking for top-of-the-line build quality, you will find it in Dissent Offroad.