True North Fabrications Hybrid Light Weight Rear Bumper – Review & Overview

We’re always on the lookout for lighter mods. Whether it’s armor, RTTs, drawer systems, or tires, shedding a few pounds whenever possible is always beneficial.

After building numerous 4Runners and Tacomas over the years, our goal has become straightforward: to reduce weight without sacrificing functionality. For nearly every modification on my current 4Runner, I made an effort to consider weight. From my front aluminum bumper with a steel cradle to the Go Fast Superlite and even a plate system over a drawer system—every mod was selected with weight in mind.

The True North Fabrications rear hybrid bumper is another one of those mods I was stoked to test because it’s only 46.7 lbs. and does not require any crossmember modifications. That’s absolutely insane! This is literally the lightest bumper ever manufactured for the 5th Gen 4Runner. The frame mounting plate and skid supports are all made of 1/4 gauge HRPO steel, while the remainder of the bumper consists of 3/16 HRPO steel and 1.75″ .120 wall DOM tubing.

We installed their DIY option. We had Stellar Built in Sacramento weld it up. Read that article here.

Find It Online:

• Welded ($999+): Check Price
• DIY (Non-Welded – $699): Check Price
• Product Overview (CAD – PDF): View Online

Video Overview

True North offers the bumper in a couple of configurations; with or without a swingout and welded or non-welded (DIY). The welded version starts at $999 and can go up from there depending on what you option; swingouts, swingouts with MOLLE, powder coating, etc. The DIY version should be a bit cheaper than the welded option. Currently priced at $699.

High Clearance

Even though the bumper sits relatively low on the body, the clearance is impressive. Unlike many overland plate bumpers that take up the entire lower D pillar body plastics, the True North hybrid requires a much lower cut and doesn’t sit lower than the factory crossmember. The factory hitch is removed and a new high clearance hitch is integrated into the bumper with no modifications needed to the factory crossmember. The new high clearance hitch bolts to the OEM location using the same six OEM bolts.

Weight

Without swingouts, the weight is only 46.7 lbs. We have not weighed the bumper with swingouts. You may want to reach out to True North for questions regarding weight with swingouts.

Crossmember Mods?

There are no cross-member modifications needed. The bumper bolts directly onto the crossmember and only requires cutting your factory bumper plastics.

Recovery Points

The bumper includes two 1/2″ welded recovery points on both the passenger and driver side. The internal eyelets are around 1″ and provide more than enough of an opening for standard bow shackles (d-rings) and/or large soft shackles.

Fitment

The fitment on the frame rail is perfect. Everything bolted up just fine. True North laser scanned the 4Runner so that the frame plates are within .005 with slightly larger mounting points to accommodate older vehicles and tweaked frames. The tube work on the bumper follows the 4Runner’s body lines very well, however, since this bumper is compatible with swingouts there is an open gap around the lower d-pillar body plastics.

Strength

The bumper is incredibly stout. It’s bolted to the frame rail with six bolts on each wing and another 6 bolts at the hitch. 18 total bolts are used and 6 are OEM bolts on the hitch. There is an option for added strength if you want to add a bolt through the crossmember. The frame plate brackets (see image here) that brace the top of the crossmember have a provision for a through bolt that would go through the crossmember from the top to the bottom. There is already a hole in the crossmember for this so no drilling is needed on the passenger side. On the driver’s side, you will have to drop the 7-pin connector bracket and either drill a hole in the bracket for clearance or buy a 7-pin connector relocation bracket.

Hitch

The hitch is an industry-standard 2″ hitch receiver with eyelets for chain hooks. True North does not quote load ratings on the hitch but it bolts together with the same six OEM hitch receiver assembly bolts on the same surfaces. We did try to fit a bike rack into the hitch and there was a bit of raised metal that we had to grind off for our 2″ hitch to fit. I just took a Milwaukee Band File and sanded down the area until the bike rack fit.

The only downside to the high clearance hitch is that it does stick out further than the OEM hitch. The OEM hitch assembly drops down which allows the receiver to sit somewhat behind the crossmember. If you buy the DIY version of this bumper, you can cut a hole in the crossmember and weld the receiver inside the crossmember or run it as is, just know the hitch will stick out roughly 3 1/2″ past the tube.

Swingout Options

You can run a swingout on the passenger side only. True North also provides the option for MOLLE panels built into the swingout. You can choose the MOLLE on the passenger side, driver side, or full MOLLE (both passenger and driver).

Pros

There are quite a few pros for this bumper.

• Lightweight: Only 46 lbs
• Strength: 18 bolts total, 6 at the hitch and 12 on the outside frame rails
• Wing braces: Primary wing brace and cross brace welded to frame plates and tube
• High clearance
• Laser scanned for precision fitment
• Integrated hitch bolts to OEM holes and uses OEM bolts
• 1/2″ welded recovery points
• Minimal design
• Minimal bumper removal

Cons

The only downside I see to this bumper is the tube fitment around the body lines when not running swingouts. If you’re running swingouts, you won’t have to worry about this. However, if you’re not running swingouts, you’ll notice a gap at each corner of the bumper. It would be nice if True North designed a non-swingout-specific tube that followed the body lines closer.

Another potential downside is how far the hitch extends from the tube. There’s not much that can be done for this. If you want a high-clearance bumper with an integrated hitch—without requiring cross-member modifications—something has to give. This isn’t something that True North can easily address, it’s just the nature of the mod.

The last area where this bumper could be improved is side protection. A set of tree savers on the tube would be a nice value add here.

Given the weight and clearance it provides, I can live with these potential cons.

Final Thoughts

This is a no-brainer option for anyone looking to run a minimal, lightweight rear bumper. I’ve run a lot of bumpers in the past and weight is what sold me most.

The fact that it’s only 46 lbs, comes with an integrated hitch, does not require crossmember mods, and can be optioned with a swingout is pretty impressive.

For the majority of people out there overlanding and moderate rock crawling, this is a great option and will hold up well for moderate hits.

This bumper sits up so high that big hits are going to be rare. For trails like Gold Lake, Slick Rock, and Deere Valley, for example, this bumper offers plenty of protection. For trails like the Rubicon, Fordyce, and Dusy Ershim, you might need more protection on the sides.