Had an oopsie. Dented rear bumper Need suggestions

[ktl5005]

Stupid me had my back up sensors off and turning around at my brother-in-law‘s house backed into one of his pine trees. UGH. As you can see in the picture dented the bumper pretty good and it also looks like to the left of the dent the bumper kicked up and out away from the truck and to the right of the dent maybe kicked in a little bit. Anybody have recommendations on how to get the dent out?

 

[Dr. Jim]

I do not know how much it would cost but I'm thinking a new factory chrome bumper would be the best way to make the truck look like new again. BTW, I'm somewhat familiar with Clarks Summit. I take exit 194 off of I-81 to reach the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike when I travel to visit my son and his family in Perkasie, PA.

 

[mikeru82]

I'd say you're looking at a new bumper there chief. It's amazing how easily these bumpers can be damaged. I dented the rear bumper on a 2015 I used to own by barely backing into a rock that was covered with snow. I really didn't even feel anything. They're about as tough as a beer can.

 

[Ellisstrong]

Yep you are going to have to replace the chrome part of the bumper at least. There is a lot of plastic behind it that may be cracked up too. I found a takeoff in pretty good condition near me

 

[ktl5005]

Ugh that’s depressing to hear a new bumper is needed

 

[MidnightExpre$$]

Ugh that’s depressing to hear a new bumper is needed

. . .or a set of blinders to keep you from looking at it. .

 

[Richard320]

Leave it as-is and display it proudly as a badge of honor that your truck gets beaten up a little.
-or-
replace it with factory
-or-
upgrade it

 

[ktl5005]

Yep you are going to have to replace the chrome part of the bumper at least. There is a lot of plastic behind it that may be cracked up too. I found a takeoff in pretty good condition near me

Yeah I just looked under and I did crack some of the plastic behind there too. This sucks

 

[Ellisstrong]

Yeah I just looked under and I did crack some of the plastic behind there too. This sucks

Yeah I dented mine worse than you when i backed into a pole. Someone on here had the chrome bumper part only for sale that I think was in Arizona if I remember right

 

[PurpleRT]

Yep replace.. it’s just money stuff happens don’t stress over it. Check maybe car parts or Craigslist maybe you can find someone that pulled theirs off to upgrade for a decent price.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[ktl5005]

Yeah I dented mine worse than you when i backed into a pole. Someone on here had the chrome bumper part only for sale that I think was in Arizona if I remember right

Arizona is far from PA. I’ll have to go search for that post though.

 

[n8zcc]

Another option is to leave it alone. My history dictates if this happened to me, and I replaced the bumper, I would get rear-ended within months.

 

[djevox]

These bumpers are paper thin compared to the bumpers from older trucks. I get why, but it’s annoying when stuff like this happens. Since it’s chrome, you would need to have the dent pulled as good as possible, imperfections silver soldered/ braized (or another means if some new method has come out), and bumper chrome dipped. After all that labor, you might as well just get a new bumper and some plastic pieces.

 

[Shots]

As every noted, yes bumpers seem to dent "easy" but we should all keep in mind that we're talking about a lot of force exerted on them when you back into a tree/pole.
These trucks weigh roughly 5000 lbs unloaded (or more depending on configuration). At a mere 5 mph we're talking about over 8,000 lbs of force applied to to the bumper if you're stopped over 6". If that tree/pole doesn't yield and you're stopped in less distance, that impact force is increased to more than 14,000 lbs.

The likelihood to cause a dent is obviously depends on the size of the impact area too, but clearly it was narrow tree. Spreading the force over the entire bumper like hitting a wall distributes that force (lower psi) so you may not get a dent, but focused in a small area (higher psi) will be more likely leave damage. It's like walking on thin ice versus laying flat on it so you don't go through.


Edit:
Reference formula for calculating the force of an impact: F=(1/2MV^2) / d

 

[testcrewman]

Had my truck for less than 2 week when my trailer decided to separate from the hitch. Thankfully I had the chains attached, but when I came to a stop, the trailer smacked the bumper. Claimed it on insurance, $1500 to repair. That's of course, to get it color matched. I think the cost of the bumper was close to $800.

 

[mikeru82]

As every noted, yes bumpers seem to dent "easy" but we should all keep in mind that we're talking about a lot of force exerted on them when you back into a tree/pole.
These trucks weigh roughly 5000 lbs unloaded (or more depending on configuration). At a mere 5 mph we're talking about over 8,000 lbs of force applied to to the bumper if you're stopped over 6". If that tree/pole doesn't yield and you're stopped in less distance, that impact force is increased to more than 14,000 lbs or more.

The likelihood to cause a dent is obviously depends on the size of the impact area too, but clearly it was narrow tree. Spreading the force over the entire bumper like hitting a wall distributes that force (lower psi) so you may not get a dent, but focused in a small area (higher psi) will be more likely leave damage. It's like walking on thin ice versus laying flat on it so you don't go through.


Edit:
Reference formula for calculating the force of an impact: F=(1/2MV^2) / d

You're right. There is a lot of force involved. But these bumpers are definitely not as strong as they used to be. I grew up working on a farm, with several pickup trucks, mostly GMC and Chevy. I remember backing into all sorts of things when I was first driving (at age 13 LOL). I damaged combine headers, drills, fence posts, water troughs, barn doors, you name it. But there was rarely ever any damage to any of the bumpers on those trucks. If a modern truck was backed into the same things as those old trucks were, the bumper would have the texture of a golf ball, or worse.

 

[Fatherof3]

Might be a long shot but you could always check some scrap yards to see if they have a Ram with front end damage that you could get everything from the rear .

 

[Shots]

...but when I came to a stop, the trailer smacked the bumper. Claimed it on insurance, $1500 to repair.

OUCH!!! I'd be inclined to buy an aftermarket bumper for that price.

You're right. There is a lot of force involved. But these bumpers are definitely not as strong as they used to be. I grew up working on a farm, with several pickup trucks, mostly GMC and Chevy. I remember backing into all sorts of things when I was first driving (at age 13 LOL). I damaged combine headers, drills, fence posts, water troughs, barn doors, you name it. But there was rarely ever any damage to any of the bumpers on those trucks. If a modern truck was backed into the same things as those old trucks were, the bumper would have the texture of a golf ball, or worse.

LOL you're right. My old '85 S-10 bumped into plenty of stuff off-road with very little visible damage.
I'm sure the older trucks were made with thicker gauge steel all around which contributed to that strength. Of course it also added weigh which decreased fuel efficiency and that seems to be the main goal these days.
The SAE would also argue that the easier deformation reduces impact forces on the occupants in a crash because it increases the stopping distance and takes some of the force to deform the metal. I doubt it's enough to make a significant difference, and has nothing to do with safety though. I suspect it's because it's cheaper and helps them get better mileage.
You're absolutely right though, old trucks were tanks.

 

[Jake103]

I would look at an aftermarket offroad bumper, they are strong as hell. Have a buddy who has one on his 2020 definitely worth it. Better than the plastic/ sheet metal they put on them now

 

[Rototerrier]

Don’t do anything for a month. Make a decision after your emotions settle. You may find you no longer care about it or even notice it. You might even get a few more dings that supersede this one.