I've been reviewing and shopping bumpers for the last week. I think i've searched every forum on here.. reading about and looking at/saving pictures of all winch bumpers. My final decision came down to the TJM or the Calmini.

Now I'm leaning toward the Calmini. Can you guys help me out and post some pics of your Calmini Bumpers (perferably on 2000 &2001)? They seem to be pretty rare as far as seaching goes. TJM bumper pics wouldn't hurt me any either.

I know that it all comes down to personal opinion, but maybe you guys can give me some advice along the lines of which one between these two I should get.. or how u like either of them. I'm just stuck!

--EDIT TO ADD:

Here are pretty much my main concerns that I have left (in no particular order):

--Skid Plates--
*Calmini comes with one.
*Does TJM have one that is compatible; Maybe the Shrockworks one for ARB? (see next concern)
--TJM Radiator/AC Condenser Exposure--
*Calmini has a skid plate.
*How much is left exposed with TJM?
--Tire Clearance--
*Which Bumper wings hang down farther and/or comes back farther toward the tire, effecting tire clearance?
--Approach Angles--
--Rigidity--
*Calmini- I've taken note that Calmini is very strong & overbuilt.
*TJM- Concerned about the Bolt-On Wings.

Please feel free to comment on any or all of the above! :p

Thanks all!

I think you will be happy with either. It comes down to personal preference. I went with TJM



I am very happy with mine....

If it was between those two I would go TJM, it does not stick out as far.

Andrew, Thanks for the quick pics!

Alpine, I think you mean that the TJM does not stick out as far in the front... therefore giving a greater approach angle?

Bingo!!!! I have coffee in the system now, I am good to GOOOOOO.

A little better approach angle not much, but some.

However the calmini you can get to the winch really easy.

Then again the winch is a little more secure in the TJM since it is concealed and harder to get to. The calmini is out in the open.

PHXX you have PM

Sweeeet truck Paul.....

Click here!!
Click Here !!
Clicky, clicky!
Ok, last one.

Well, the first time didn't work, so I posted links to the pictures. Sorry, best I can do. Hope these pics help you with your purchace.


Casper

Ok, I have the TJM T-17 and I love it!
The TJM does have a small "skid plate"/wind deflector that protects the condensor and radiator, and helps direct air flow over the radiator.
Clearance is fine with the wings and my tires, I only scrape the tires when I drive too fast through the "traffic control" dips in the streets in Denver.



This is the drivers side (impact side) after a 50 mph rollover on I-70 and the wings came out just fine.

They survived, but did the rest of yer truck????

Yep, his X survived. The first couple pics were a couple months after the last pic.

This is a picture of the X 9 months after the rollover

It runs great, looks great (unless you know exactly where to look you can't tell it's ever been in an accident), and wheels like a champ!
Not as worried as I would have been about body damage now too

Thanks for all the pictures guys!

Anyone else out there have the TJM T-15 w/ pictures?

Between the two - I'd get the TJM...but if I were free to choose the best one for myself, I'd get the Shrockworks...it solves all of the issues you raised questions about, requires none of the work arounds, and gives the best answers.

shrockworks

Might be a bit difficult to see, but...

ARB, Calmini, and TJM

YAY! I'm finally done hurting my brain about which bumper i should get!!!

I just bought the TJM T-15 from Automotive Customizers

(Picture courtesy of 4x4parts.com)

Its an awsome deal for $600(+ s&h)!! My total ended up to be $750! The other quotes i was getting around town were $777(+ s&h), and came out to around $950 Aww.. too bad for everyone else that i got the last one that they had in stock... (ok... i'm done gloating now)

Thanks for all the help with pictures & all!

$750 delivered? Damn, that sounds so expensive...

You'll love it!

Good choice. My Calmini bumper after 18 months. I'll be painting it black soon.

Yea... its becuase its comming from tennessee on a freight truck.. and not something like UPS. They also claim that Chandler is out of the Phoenix Metro Area for shipping.. so that makes it about$50 more expencive.. but oh well. I'm still happy with how much i paid.

Paint it yourself, it will last longer:

Wow.... By painting your Shrockworks bumper Yellow, makes it the bumper look totally different! Interesting touch with the blue paint.. anymore pics of ur truck?

A couple:

That second pic is especially nice...

Very Nice! Is that the TJM snorkle? It looks reallly short as far as how far it goes up the window pillar.

WOW!.... I mean WOW
Niiiiccccceee!

It's a TJM. It is shorter up the "A" pillar and goes inside the fender, not all the way to the end like the ARB.

Mike, did you take that shot?

I think it's only a problem on the coasts or maybe up north with heavily salted roads. I live in Kansas, but for work have spent most of the last eight months living and working a couple miles from the Atlantic. I never worried about touch ups and had several scratches through the powdercoat. I didn't have a single problem with the powdercoat flaking off until this past winter on the Atlantic. It seemed to only take a pin prick in the powdercoat to start it rusting beneath it. And it was only a problem for the center tray area; the skidplate, uprights and outer wings aren't being affected. I ground it off and found a rattlecan at a local autoparts store that is a really close match to gray powdercoat. My bumper is from the first production run for the 2002's from October 2002.

I'm sure Calmini can get away with more/last longer in areas w/o excessive salt...in NJ though, my Shrockworks powder coat and my Skid Row Powder Coat last fine, the Calmini stuff falls off.



At least the shackle tabs don't rip out of the bumper like they do on ARB's.

You mean the Hi-lift jack point? I dont know why people think those are shackle mounts, they were designed to be a point to where the hi-lift could jack the front end up with the optional accessory.....

Sure it looks cool to have shackles on there, but thats *not* what its there for...

Yeah - I get it, its like those "Sport Bars" that look like they're supposed to be Roll Bars...





Here's the ARB website showing the way to hook up that spiffy Hi-lift Jack Point too....very clear it has nothing to do with winch hooks or shackles and such.

The paint on my calmini bumper is showing lots of rust bubbles and has already started to flake off some paint and its only 8 months old. The calmini sliders which are a year old are having some rust isssues away from the scratches. Right side is starting to flake large sections off while the left is about to start as the rust is visible under the paint. I'm planning on having them both sand blasted and will repaint them this summer. ND is a non salting state thank god.

I just paint the Calmini stuff black after letting the original paint flake off...its not like the metal isn't OK at least.

Is it flaking just in the center tray area or all over? Mine was only coming off in the center. It appeared on mine that the center area was a different grade of steel more susceptible to corrosion than the rest.

If I had to guess, it looks like Calmini's prep of the metal needs work before painting....when you have delamination like that, it usually means the paint didn't bond to the metal....and that's typically because the metal had a film of something on it that kept the paint from getting a good grip on the metal surface.

The SLR stuff, the Shrock stuff, the Skid Row Stuff is exposed to the same salt and abuse that my Calmini stuff is....but the Calmini stuff is the ONLY stuff loosing its paint.

I like generally Calmini from an engineering standpoint, but their painting sucks big hairy moose cock.

It is flaking in the center section. Rust bubbles are forming all over the rest of it though.

That's why I live in Good Old Rust-Free Arizona!

Why would you even use those tabs to recover in the first place. We have perfectly good tow hooks mounted to the frame. And btw having a winch hook attached to one of those hi lift points doesn't make it a recovery point. Even on the shrock there's no need to risk possibly tweaking the bumper when you can just hook up to a 10 dollar tow hook