Cool..... although it doesn't look terribly sturdy. Should look good. It would be nice to make it tough too. I'm thinking a full bumper skin replacement like they do on the Liberty.
Westin Bull Bar
1 - 20 of 56 Posts
AirJunky, I have been looking over the Westin Bull Bar and the mounting. I have come to the conclusion that all of the Westin parts exceed the strength of the location that it is mounted to the Nitro. If you take a look up under your front bumper, in front of the lower facia, you will see the collapsible bumper brace that is directly behind the plastic bumper. This bumper brace is very thin. You can almost flex this material between your thumb and index finger. The Westin parts sandwich the lower section of this brace between two much thicker pieces of steel, see the diagram. While the bull bar mounts with only one bolt on each side to this bracing, it is a 1/2" dia. bolt. I have not got the bull bar mounted yet, but I believe the collapsible bumper brace is the weakest point of this entire mounting. The Westin Bull Bar is a quality product. The limitation is the Nitro itself. The bull bar and two lights should weigh only about 20 lbs. I would not want to attempt to mount anything heavier to this location, as an example, a full grill guard. There would have to be better mounting location for something like that. I hope to get this mounted this weekend. For anyone that wants a really strong front bumper, you will have to replace the bumper with something like an ARB construction, just be prepared for the consequences of adding that much weight to this chassis. Yes, aluminum would be the preferred material, or as an alternative, heaven forbid, reinforced ABS plastic would be stronger than what is there now.
I am still waiting for my Nitro, but I also want to install a bull bar. I have not looked under the bumper, but is it possible to Weld or bolt some steel stock to these bumper braces to increase strenghth? 20-40 pounds of steel stock should add strength without changing to a 400 pound bumper.AirJunky, I have been looking over the Westin Bull Bar and the mounting. I have come to the conclusion that all of the Westin parts exceed the strength of the location that it is mounted to the Nitro. If you take a look up under your front bumper, in front of the lower facia, you will see the collapsible bumper brace that is directly behind the plastic bumper. This bumper brace is very thin. You can almost flex this material between your thumb and index finger. The Westin parts sandwich the lower section of this brace between two much thicker pieces of steel, see the diagram. While the bull bar mounts with only one bolt on each side to this bracing, it is a 7/16" dia. bolt. I have not got the bull bar mounted yet, but I believe the collapsible bumper brace is the weakest point of this entire mounting. The Westin Bull Bar is a quality product. The limitation is the Nitro itself. The bull bar and two lights should weigh only about 20 lbs. I would not want to attempt to mount anything heavier to this location, as an example, a full grill guard. There would have to be better mounting location for something like that. I hope to get this mounted this weekend. For anyone that wants a really strong front bumper, you will have to replace the bumper with something like an ARB construction, just be prepared for the consequences of adding that much weight to this chassis. Yes, aluminum would be the preferred material, or as an alternative, heaven forbid, reinforced ABS plastic would be stronger than what is there now.
2
Westin Bull Bar Installed
Well it's done. It looks good and it's not going anywhere. I haven't got around to installing the lights yet. Ran out of time today.
I want anyone that is interested in this bar to have all the facts I can supply. You have to be patient, and give yourself 3 hours to install it. When the directions tell you to use tape to cover your front fascia, you had better do it. I used blue painters tape because it is less sticky. The directions tell you to use duct tape. I would still be trying to remove that! At any rate, you have to work in the confined space behind the front bumper while laying on your back, preferrable a creeper if you have one. Installing these six nuts on the bolts doesn't take all that much time, but deciding that you have them where you really want them for forever does. Since they are part of the alignment, you have to get them just so. See first photo below.
![]()
Second photo is the completed installation. When aligning the bar on the mounting brackets, you will have to enlist a second pair of hands. It is not possible to hold the bar and install bolts and nuts on you own.
When you receive the bull bar, this skid plate is attached. You have to remove it to install the bar, then reinstall the skid plate. The skid plate is about the thickness of the steel on a 55 gal drum. It is brushed stainless, so it looks terrific! But, if you were to run into snow of much depth at speed, I think you would fold it like tinfoil. A little, maybe up to a foot should be OK, but any deeper, it would be toast.
OK, so now the bad part that may turn a lot of people off to these items. When you reach over and bump this bar with your fist it will deflect, front to rear, about 3/8 of an inch. If you bump it and back away (think ringing a gong) it will oscillate back and forth, front to rear, for about 15 seconds. Think bobble head and you get the idea. If there was another way to secure this bar at the top, it would be rock solid. As it is, the steel mounting brackets allow it to flex like a spring.
Overall, I am pleased with the way it looks. Once I have my long range KC Hilites installed it will also be functional. The Westin Bull Bar coupled with the MOPAR rock rails looks really good together. See these items in my other posts or in the members gallery.
![]()
Well it's done. It looks good and it's not going anywhere. I haven't got around to installing the lights yet. Ran out of time today.
I want anyone that is interested in this bar to have all the facts I can supply. You have to be patient, and give yourself 3 hours to install it. When the directions tell you to use tape to cover your front fascia, you had better do it. I used blue painters tape because it is less sticky. The directions tell you to use duct tape. I would still be trying to remove that! At any rate, you have to work in the confined space behind the front bumper while laying on your back, preferrable a creeper if you have one. Installing these six nuts on the bolts doesn't take all that much time, but deciding that you have them where you really want them for forever does. Since they are part of the alignment, you have to get them just so. See first photo below.
Second photo is the completed installation. When aligning the bar on the mounting brackets, you will have to enlist a second pair of hands. It is not possible to hold the bar and install bolts and nuts on you own.
When you receive the bull bar, this skid plate is attached. You have to remove it to install the bar, then reinstall the skid plate. The skid plate is about the thickness of the steel on a 55 gal drum. It is brushed stainless, so it looks terrific! But, if you were to run into snow of much depth at speed, I think you would fold it like tinfoil. A little, maybe up to a foot should be OK, but any deeper, it would be toast.
OK, so now the bad part that may turn a lot of people off to these items. When you reach over and bump this bar with your fist it will deflect, front to rear, about 3/8 of an inch. If you bump it and back away (think ringing a gong) it will oscillate back and forth, front to rear, for about 15 seconds. Think bobble head and you get the idea. If there was another way to secure this bar at the top, it would be rock solid. As it is, the steel mounting brackets allow it to flex like a spring.
Overall, I am pleased with the way it looks. Once I have my long range KC Hilites installed it will also be functional. The Westin Bull Bar coupled with the MOPAR rock rails looks really good together. See these items in my other posts or in the members gallery.
Looks Great ! Glad to see someone on here finally got their feet wet on this mod. Still waiting to win the lottery and get the whole front bumper replaced. Are you going to go with one or two pairs of the KC lights? epper:
epper:
1 - 20 of 56 Posts
