Need VOTES: Lift Rear bumper or not?

[sk1er17]

Hey guys. Ok im leaning between two options right now. Im putting my 2" BL on (hopefully this weekend- i ordered that thing March 15 and they said it shipped yesterday).. But anyway- after reading how much of a pain the rear bumper is to locate i started thinking of other options. Also- i have a HITCH, and i tow boats and stuff so i wont be fabbing brackets to lift that up....

Heres my options:
1) Go through the hassle to lift the rear bumper, then have a gap between my Hitch and Bumper.

2) Dont lift rear bumper... in the 2" gap put 6 4.5"x1.34" 55watt fog lights (of course that would be nice and custom and wouldnt just be fog lights mounted there... id use plexiglass and other things to make it look stylish. I figure the fog lights back there would be awesome for reverse lights and would also ward off tailgaters....

So i need votes 1 or 2 ??
And has anyone done a 2" BL without lifting the rear bumper?? Just want to know if it looks really ugly, then #2 might be outta the question..

ANY OTHER OPTIONS ARE WELCOME! Im always open for new ideas.

Thanks guys

 

[Doug]

When i did my 3" bl i didnt bother to relocate my rear bumper. I havent decided if i will or not yet. I want to move it up so i can modify a reciever hitch to fit up close to the frame rails. What I see some people do that looks decent is they put a piece of sheet metal in the gap and then they put some red marker lights on it. Ive also had thought of doing that on my truck.

 

[sk1er17]

Yea, that sheet metal idea is kind of like what im thinking- except ill have bright fog lights built into it.

Your X doesnt look bad with the bumper not lifted... thats good because im only doing 2"...so my gap will be smaller.

 

[Yomie]

I had a 2" BL, i personally think it looks tacky from the sides cause the trim doesn't match up. All i did was notch the bumper and drill 2 new holes in the frame, used the stock brackets and never had a problem

 

[ExplorGM]

2" lift

With a 2" lift I would leave it alone. I've had both a 2" and 3" body lift on the X and witht the 2" it did not look too obvious to the uninitiated. The 3" looked pretty stupid so I raised the bumper for that one.
If you can drill the frame and raise it that way though, that would be the best solution.

We need a raised hidden hitch for raised Xs!

 

[Yomie]

These are pics with the 2" BL

http://www.imagestation.com/member/?name=Yomie

 

[X-1]

Lift it, a lower bumper in the rear only looks okay on a pickup.

 

[yob_yeknom]

LIFT IT! It looks like crap with the body lines not matching. Plus, it is VERY EASY to lift the rear bumper.

 

[jasonb]

lift it. i lifted the hitch on mine too though. it didn't look that bad with the gap b/w hitch and bumper. it looked bad with the gap b/w bumper and body.

 

[sk1er17]

You lifted the hitch?? What do you tow? I dont know if id feel safe towing my boat without the hitch mounted directly to the frame......

 

[jasonb]

its mounted directly to the frame.
i just redid it basically completely. i cut it from the brackets... and rewelded it about 2.5" higher on the mounts. of course i can't take the bolts out now that hold it on... but that's ok.

it'll hold anything or more than it did before i modified it.

 

[jasonb]

like this...

 

[biggs92EB]

i just put in a 2" BL and have yet to lift both front and back bumpers, It is disgusting, i absolutely hate it. Lift them bumper, buy a tubular hidden drop hitch they dont mount as far down, and you can mount some lights under the bumper with all that extra room you got lifting it!

 

[Heath]

I personally think they look like crap if you don't lift the bumper too... StadX2 hasn't lifted his hitch on his after the BL,and honestly you can't really tell all that much, he has the tube style hitch...

 

[ExplorGM]

7"

There's almost 7" between my hitch and the bumper now. Looks terrible. I got a good deal on the hitch used so I won't feel too bad "modifying" it.

With a 2" BL I don't think its worth the effort to lift the bumper. With a 3" lift absolutely!

 

[biggs92EB]

maybe i did something wrong? my bumpers look like sh*t, and its the first thing people point out when they see my X, its just one of those things that will bother you untill you fix it, or at least me i am picky, and want my x to look as good as possible. Kinda like my first dent, little itty bitty one, but youd think i lost a whole fender as much as people notice, but thats character so i live with it, but not lifting your bumpers would be like not wearing your false teeth ewwwwe

 

[sk1er17]

How about the rear bumper is a lot easier to lift than the front! All i had to do to get the rear brackets to work was put a 1/2" drill bit in the wholes and angle them towards each other. I didnt even cut the bumper and it looks good still. When i get a chance im going to cut where the bumper hits the frame to straighten it out- but its such a slight angle i can let it go for a while.

I also think it looks cool because the space between my hitch and bumper is filled with my spair tire... gives it some character.

The front is just horrible- i had to take off the lower section of my bumper so i lost my stock fog lights, then i still had to grind and bent a few pieces of the fram AND bumper along with adding spacers in between the new brackets and the bumper to get it to work properly.... whew<--- all that in one breath!

All in all- it looks good. just have to get my brush guard on and put my AAL's on the back and im set

(my 32x11.5 Dueler ATs w/ 15x8 black rock crawlers are going on tomorrrow... i should be able to get pics this weekend!)

 

[jasonb]

i only redid the hitch to gain clearance. i didn't really like its look hanging 3" below the bumper. it looks normal though after modifying it. its also painted since that pic was taken. there is no bare metal.
whatever you like is what you should do though! if it doesn't bother you.. don't raise anything!