OEM Rear Bumper vs Aftermarket bumper (to keep BSN or not)

I am looking for advice on which route to take. Do I keep the aftermarket bumper or go back to stock?

I just installed an aftermarket rear bumper to prevent damage to my baby if I'm ever hit again.

I took out the BSN and parking sensor to install the aftermarket bumper.

But now I'm having regrets because I specifically bought my Tacoma with the tech package (BSM & parking sensors).

How did you feel losing it for people who have put on an aftermarket bumper with a Tacoma tech package? Do you regret it?

Pic of aftermarket bumper:

 

It's that the body armor?
I never used the blind spot, cross traffic was useful and one thing i miss but not a big deal since i know if someone rear ends me, it won't be as bad as having a plastic bumper. I was able to keep the back up sensors
I might try to create some brackets to see if i can hook then back up slightly under the bumper but i think the cables are too short that they wouldn't reach.

 

Good looking truck, my dude!

Yes, it's the body armor rear bumper. Thanks for your input. It definitely helps with my overthinking shit.

I'm assuming you used the OEM cable housing when installing your parking sensor/rear license plate light. Did you tape up the ends of the BSM cable?

 

I would really like a aftermarket rear bumper for many reasons. But since there are no BSM compatible ones.. I've really stopped looking. I went from a base model truck to a limited with BMS/cross traffic/parking alert. I couldn't bring myself to get rid of all that. If I got rear ended and was handed a check to for 2k from insurance.. I may think differently.

 

I turned my BSM off about 4-6 weeks before my bumper arrived to see if I would miss it. I didn't, so not using it after my bumper install was cake. I did reuse the parking sensors though. Those come in handy.

 

I’ve been contemplating this also. I haven’t ordered a new rear bumper just in fear of regretting deleting the BSM system from the truck. I don’t rely on the BSM, mostly just a backup in the event I have to avoid something. So would I miss it…maybe/probably even though I don’t use it that much.
Thanks for starting this thread! I’ll be watching!

 

Yes used the OEM cables. I believe i did tape it up but i did truck it up in the bumper so either way is not getting wet. I will take them up if i didn't do it.

 

I’m all for an aftermarket bumper as long as I got the bsm and parking still. The bsm is just randomly handy, but I always look around anyways. I was thinking that an aftermarket bumper is not going to help as much as you want based upon what I’ve seen people post after they’ve been rear ended. It’s all dependent upon speed, mass and whatever else you physics nerds are gonna shout out. But still, lots of frames bent at the cab.

 

Check out https://www.apogeeoffroad.com/ their rear bumper is supposed to keep all of the OEM sensor functionality.

 

absolutely badass

 

I feel your pain. I have been looking around at bumpers, trying to find one that'll allow me to keep everything and still be able to tow, mainly to protect me in a mild rear end collision. Well, a few weeks ago I was stopped at a light and some frickin idiot stopped behind me about a car length for about 2 minutes. The green arrow appeared and they floored it into me.. We were not in the turn lane and they were stopped far back enough to almost achieve ramming speed. Their insurance cut me a 2K check and said if the body shop needs to drill holes or cant get the dent out, they will buy me a new tail get because my truck is too new. I'm trying to decide of I should have the stock stuff fixed and buy an after market or just use the check for the aftermarket. The body shops around here are booked months out. I cant drop it off until March.

 

There’s a risk an accident will write off the truck versus just destroy the factory bumper. The rear frame sections aren’t the strongest and a plate bumper won’t yield at all, it will just transfer the energy into the frame and buckle it. The factory bumper will at least crumple and absorb some energy.

 

in a 5-20 mph rear ender, would that write off the truck vs. the stock? As far as the OP question goes, I'm still undecided.

 

I can’t say. I’m just speculating. But I’ve seen a fair number of buckled frames from rear enders on this forum alone.

 

Losing my BSM plus the added weight of the bumper and impact transfer in an accident were too many negatives to overcome on what actual positives a steel rear bumper would bring me. This of course is based on my life style your mileage may vary.

 

The OEM bumper is literally designed to absorb, crumple and disperse energy from a collision away from the frame. While it may hold up fairly well during a very low speed collision, a solid steel aftermarket bumper will generally do the exact opposite. There's no absorbing, no crumpling, and no dispersing...all the energy from a collision is directed right to the frame.

Either way, it doesn't take much speed cause significant rear end damage (and/or frame damage) with the OEM and aftermarket bumpers alike. But getting a solid steel rear bumper in hopes of providing "more protection" during a rear end collision is mostly false hope.

The real benefit of an aftermarket bumper is higher clearance, better recovery points, and asthetics.

 

As mentioned above, the apogee bumper allows you to maintain all sensors, including BSM. There are a few other brands that make BSM compatible bumpers, too, but apogee seems to have the best reputation.

IMO all the safety tech is nice to have, even if you feel like you don’t “need” it. I plan to add an aftermarket bumper down the road, and I’ll very likely go with the apogee.

 

The other benefit of an after market bumpet is the end covers won't randomly pop off while off roading.

 

Haha, there's that too I suppose.

The real point is that on the priority list of things an aftermarket bumper offers, "more protection" is pretty low. And that's okay.

I honestly have been looking at aftermarket rears myself for a while now. Unless something else hits the market, I've also settled the Apogee.

 

I just use the rear camera and make sure to be careful as best I can.