Rock Hard 4x4 Patriot Stubby Bumper - Input?

So, I am in the market for a stubby front bumper with a recess winch mount and bull bar / grill hoop. I was sold on the Evo 1/4 pounder with a pure jeep bull bar due to the great reviews and 1/4" construction.

While checking out the Rock Hard site for a sport cage (distant future), I came across the Patriot Stubby bumper? It is also constructed of 1/4 inch steel and is doubly the same cost, but has some angled faces which would seem to help with function and also appearance. That being said, has anyone ran this bumper or had any experience with it?

http://www.rockhard4x4.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=RH-5002

The picture at the top doesn't show a recessed winch mount but the pictures below do. Any input?

Looks wise the EVO bumper is gorgeous - Mel makes a fantastic bumper that works great and we've never heard a bad thing about them. I haven't come across too many pictures of rigs on WAL with one of our front bumper variants, but I'll give you my :twocents: on what our bumper offers. Others are of course welcome to share their experiences with it.

Like you said, every one of our JK front bumpers is 1/4" thick steel or aluminum, depending on which you select. You are after a recessed winch mount - which our lowered bumpers drop the included winch tray 30%, freeing up grille space. Zeon, PowerPlant, etc are all compatible. When it comes to our stubby with lowered winch plate you do lose your OEM fog lights, but we include 2 welded tabs on our grille hoop (non stinger) that you can either mount individual pods onto or a 10" bar - as the tabs are 10" apart.

Our bumpers ship with 1" thick recovery tabs included, powder coat included, and do not require any frame modifications. We include a sway bar/crash bar skid plate that even has laser cut slots in it for a hi-lift jack lifting point.

If you ever plan on flat towing your Jeep in the future our bumper has optional tabs you can pick up that fit the major brands and are a simple bolt on addition that makes you 100% flat tow legal.

Lowered stubby steel: http://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-5002.htm
Lowered stubby aluminum: http://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-5042.htm


Lowered stubby steel stinger: http://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-5008.htm

I have no experience but thats a great looking bumper :thumb:

swampdog said:

So, I am in the market for a stubby front bumper with a recess winch mount and bull bar / grill hoop. I was sold on the Evo 1/4 pounder with a pure jeep bull bar due to the great reviews and 1/4" construction.

While checking out the Rock Hard site for a sport cage (distant future), I came across the Patriot Stubby bumper? It is also constructed of 1/4 inch steel and is doubly the same cost, but has some angled faces which would seem to help with function and also appearance. That being said, has anyone ran this bumper or had any experience with it?

http://www.rockhard4x4.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=RH-5002

The picture at the top doesn't show a recessed winch mount but the pictures below do. Any input?

Click to expand...

I have the non recessed version of the bumper you are interested in. It is a solid bumper and I can see why so many here on the forum choose Rock Hard for cages.

What kind of bumper is this?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71967z3kDbL._SL1500_.jpg

swampdog said:

So, I am in the market for a stubby front bumper with a recess winch mount and bull bar / grill hoop. I was sold on the Evo 1/4 pounder with a pure jeep bull bar due to the great reviews and 1/4" construction.

While checking out the Rock Hard site for a sport cage (distant future), I came across the Patriot Stubby bumper? It is also constructed of 1/4 inch steel and is doubly the same cost, but has some angled faces which would seem to help with function and also appearance. That being said, has anyone ran this bumper or had any experience with it?

http://www.rockhard4x4.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=RH-5002

The picture at the top doesn't show a recessed winch mount but the pictures below do. Any input?

Click to expand...

I can't speak to that exact RH bumper but I do have a RH on my CJ. The bumper is nice although it didn't just bolt on. I had to make some shims to take up the space between the top of the frame and bumper. Wasn't a big deal but I wasn't expecting to burn that couple extra hours it took to find some flat stock and then make the shims. Also had to trim the bumper in front of the shackles because the bumper was hitting them. Again this was a big deal but it did take some extra time for the install.
I did not receive a call back from RH after leaving a message to discuss the fitment. I don't know if this is their normal quality of customer service, but my experience with them wasn't what I was expecting.
All in all I am happy with the bumper and I'm considering their rear bumper.

Moto450r - sorry about that! That's certainly not normal cs from us. Please send us a pm or email/call us if we can help you in any way. :beer::beer: